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<title>The Debian GNU/Linux FAQ - Keeping your Debian system up-to-date</title>

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<link href="ch-basic_defs.en.html" rel="chapter" title="1 Definitions and overview">
<link href="ch-getting.en.html" rel="chapter" title="2 Getting and installing Debian GNU/Linux">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html" rel="chapter" title="3 Choosing a Debian distribution">
<link href="ch-compat.en.html" rel="chapter" title="4 Compatibility issues">
<link href="ch-software.en.html" rel="chapter" title="5 Software available in the Debian system">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html" rel="chapter" title="6 The Debian FTP archives">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html" rel="chapter" title="7 Basics of the Debian package management system">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html" rel="chapter" title="8 The Debian package management tools">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html" rel="chapter" title="9 Keeping your Debian system up-to-date">
<link href="ch-kernel.en.html" rel="chapter" title="10 Debian and the kernel">
<link href="ch-customizing.en.html" rel="chapter" title="11 Customizing your installation of Debian GNU/Linux">
<link href="ch-support.en.html" rel="chapter" title="12 Getting support for Debian GNU/Linux">
<link href="ch-contributing.en.html" rel="chapter" title="13 Contributing to the Debian Project">
<link href="ch-redistrib.en.html" rel="chapter" title="14 Redistributing Debian GNU/Linux in a commercial product">
<link href="ch-nexttime.en.html" rel="chapter" title="15 Changes expected in the next major release of Debian">
<link href="ch-faqinfo.en.html" rel="chapter" title="16 General information about the FAQ">
<link href="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-whatisfaq" rel="section" title="1.1 What is this FAQ?">
<link href="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-whatisdebian" rel="section" title="1.2 What is Debian GNU/Linux?">
<link href="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-linux" rel="section" title="1.3 OK, now I know what Debian is... what is Linux?!">
<link href="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-non-linux" rel="section" title="1.4 Does Debian just do GNU/Linux?">
<link href="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-difference" rel="section" title="1.5 What is the difference between Debian GNU/Linux and other Linux distributions? Why should I choose Debian over some other distribution?">
<link href="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-gnu" rel="section" title="1.6 How does the Debian project fit in or compare with the Free Software Foundation's GNU project?">
<link href="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-pronunciation" rel="section" title="1.7 How does one pronounce Debian and what does this word mean?">
<link href="ch-getting.en.html#s-version" rel="section" title="2.1 What is the latest version of Debian?">
<link href="ch-getting.en.html#s-updatestable" rel="section" title="2.2 Are there package upgrades in `stable'?">
<link href="ch-getting.en.html#s-boot-floppies" rel="section" title="2.3 Where/how can I get the Debian installation disks?">
<link href="ch-getting.en.html#s-cdrom" rel="section" title="2.4 How do I install the Debian from CD-ROMs?">
<link href="ch-getting.en.html#s-cdimage-symlinks" rel="section" title="2.5 Why does the official stable released CD-ROM contain symlinks for `frozen' and `unstable'? I thought this CD contains just `stable'!">
<link href="ch-getting.en.html#s-remoteinstall" rel="section" title="2.6 Can I get and install Debian directly from a remote Internet site?">
<link href="ch-getting.en.html#s-alternativebootinstaller" rel="section" title="2.7 Are there any alternative strategies for booting the system installer?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1" rel="section" title="3.1 Which Debian distribution (stable/testing/unstable) is better for me?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.2" rel="section" title="3.2 But what about Knoppix, Linex, Ubuntu, and others?">
<link href="ch-compat.en.html#s-arches" rel="section" title="4.1 On what hardware architectures/systems does Debian GNU/Linux run?">
<link href="ch-compat.en.html#s-kernels" rel="section" title="4.2 What kernels does Debian GNU/Linux run?">
<link href="ch-compat.en.html#s-otherdistribs" rel="section" title="4.3 How compatible is Debian with other distributions of Linux?">
<link href="ch-compat.en.html#s-otherunices" rel="section" title="4.4 How source code compatible is Debian with other Unix systems?">
<link href="ch-compat.en.html#s-otherpackages" rel="section" title="4.5 Can I use Debian packages (&quot;.deb&quot; files) on my Red Hat/Slackware/... Linux system? Can I use Red Hat packages (&quot;.rpm&quot; files) on my Debian GNU/Linux system?">
<link href="ch-compat.en.html#s-non-debian-programs" rel="section" title="4.6 How should I install a non-Debian program?">
<link href="ch-compat.en.html#s-termcap" rel="section" title="4.7 Why can't I compile programs that require libtermcap?">
<link href="ch-compat.en.html#s-accelx" rel="section" title="4.8 Why can't I install AccelX?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-apps" rel="section" title="5.1 What types of applications and development software are available for Debian GNU/Linux?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-softwareauthors" rel="section" title="5.2 Who wrote all that software?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-pkglist" rel="section" title="5.3 How can I get a current list of programs that have been packaged for Debian?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-buildenv" rel="section" title="5.4 How can I install a developer's environment to build packages?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-missing" rel="section" title="5.5 What is missing from Debian GNU/Linux?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-no-devs" rel="section" title="5.6 Why do I get &quot;ld: cannot find -lfoo&quot; messages when compiling programs? Why aren't there any libfoo.so files in Debian library packages?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-java" rel="section" title="5.7 (How) Does Debian support Java?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-isitdebian" rel="section" title="5.8 How can I check that I am using a Debian system, and what version is it?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-nonenglish" rel="section" title="5.9 How does Debian support non-English languages?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-pine" rel="section" title="5.10 Where is pine?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-qmail" rel="section" title="5.11 Where is qmail/ezmlm/djbdns?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-flash" rel="section" title="5.12 Where is a player for Flash (SWF)?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-googleearth" rel="section" title="5.13 Where is Google Earth?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-voip" rel="section" title="5.14 Where is VoIP software?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-nonfreewireless" rel="section" title="5.15 I have a wireless network card which doesn't work with Linux. What should I do?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-dists" rel="section" title="6.1 How many Debian distributions are there?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-codenames" rel="section" title="6.2 What are all those names like etch, lenny, etc.?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-sid" rel="section" title="6.3 What about &quot;sid&quot;?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-stable" rel="section" title="6.4 What does the stable directory contain?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-testing" rel="section" title="6.5 What does the testing distribution contain?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-unstable" rel="section" title="6.6 What does the unstable distribution contain?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-dirtree" rel="section" title="6.7 What are all those directories at the Debian FTP archives?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-archsections" rel="section" title="6.8 What are all those directories inside dists/stable/main?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-source" rel="section" title="6.9 Where is the source code?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-pools" rel="section" title="6.10 What's in the pool directory?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-incoming" rel="section" title="6.11 What is &quot;incoming&quot;?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-ownrepository" rel="section" title="6.12 How do I set up my own apt-able repository?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-package" rel="section" title="7.1 What is a Debian package?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-deb-format" rel="section" title="7.2 What is the format of a Debian binary package?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-pkgname" rel="section" title="7.3 Why are Debian package file names so long?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-controlfile" rel="section" title="7.4 What is a Debian control file?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-conffile" rel="section" title="7.5 What is a Debian conffile?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-maintscripts" rel="section" title="7.6 What is a Debian preinst, postinst, prerm, and postrm script?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-priority" rel="section" title="7.7 What is an Essential, Required, Important, Standard, Optional, or Extra package?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-virtual" rel="section" title="7.8 What is a Virtual Package?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-depends" rel="section" title="7.9 What is meant by saying that a package Depends, Recommends, Suggests, Conflicts, Replaces, Breaks or Provides another package?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-pre-depends" rel="section" title="7.10 What is meant by Pre-Depends?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-pkgstatus" rel="section" title="7.11 What is meant by unknown, install, remove, purge and hold in the package status?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-puttingonhold" rel="section" title="7.12 How do I put a package on hold?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-sourcepkgs" rel="section" title="7.13 How do I install a source package?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-sourcebuild" rel="section" title="7.14 How do I build binary packages from a source package?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-creatingdebs" rel="section" title="7.15 How do I create Debian packages myself?">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-pkgprogs" rel="section" title="8.1 What programs does Debian provide for managing its packages?">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-updaterunning" rel="section" title="8.2 Debian claims to be able to update a running program; how is this accomplished?">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-whatpackages" rel="section" title="8.3 How can I tell what packages are already installed on a Debian system?">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-listfiles" rel="section" title="8.4 How to display the files of a package installed?">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-filesearch" rel="section" title="8.5 How can I find out what package produced a particular file?">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-datapackages" rel="section" title="8.6 Why doesn't get `foo-data' removed when I uninstall `foo'? How do I make sure old unused library-packages get purged?">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-howtocurrent" rel="section" title="9.1 How can I keep my Debian system current?">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-upgradesingle" rel="section" title="9.2 Must I go into single user mode in order to upgrade a package?">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-savedebs" rel="section" title="9.3 Do I have to keep all those .deb archive files on my disk?">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-keepingalog" rel="section" title="9.4 How can I keep a log of the packages I added to the system? I'd like to know when which package upgrades and removals have occured!">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-autoupdate" rel="section" title="9.5 Can I automatically update the system?">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-aptproxy" rel="section" title="9.6 I have several machines how can I download the updates only one time?">
<link href="ch-kernel.en.html#s-non-debian-kernel" rel="section" title="10.1 Can I install and compile a kernel without some Debian-specific tweaking?">
<link href="ch-kernel.en.html#s-customkernel" rel="section" title="10.2 What tools does Debian provide to build custom kernels?">
<link href="ch-kernel.en.html#s-custombootdisk" rel="section" title="10.3 How can I make a custom boot floppy?">
<link href="ch-kernel.en.html#s-modules" rel="section" title="10.4 What special provisions does Debian provide to deal with modules?">
<link href="ch-kernel.en.html#s-removeoldkernel" rel="section" title="10.5 Can I safely de-install an old kernel package, and if so, how?">
<link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-papersize" rel="section" title="11.1 How can I ensure that all programs use the same paper size?">
<link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-hardwareaccess" rel="section" title="11.2 How can I provide access to hardware peripherals, without compromising security?">
<link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-consolefont" rel="section" title="11.3 How do I load a console font on startup the Debian way?">
<link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-appdefaults" rel="section" title="11.4 How can I configure an X11 program's application defaults?">
<link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-booting" rel="section" title="11.5 Every distribution seems to have a different boot-up method. Tell me about Debian's.">
<link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-custombootscripts" rel="section" title="11.6 It looks as if Debian does not use rc.local to customize the boot process; what facilities are provided?">
<link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-interconffiles" rel="section" title="11.7 How does the package management system deal with packages that contain configuration files for other packages?">
<link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-divert" rel="section" title="11.8 How do I override a file installed by a package, so that a different version can be used instead?">
<link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-localpackages" rel="section" title="11.9 How can I have my locally-built package included in the list of available packages that the package management system knows about?">
<link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-diverse" rel="section" title="11.10 Some users like mawk, others like gawk; some like vim, others like elvis; some like trn, others like tin; how does Debian support diversity?">
<link href="ch-support.en.html#s-debiandocs" rel="section" title="12.1 What other documentation exists on and for a Debian system?">
<link href="ch-support.en.html#s-onlineresources" rel="section" title="12.2 Are there any on-line resources for discussing Debian?">
<link href="ch-support.en.html#s-searchtools" rel="section" title="12.3 Is there a quick way to search for information on Debian GNU/Linux?">
<link href="ch-support.en.html#s-buglogs" rel="section" title="12.4 Are there logs of known bugs?">
<link href="ch-support.en.html#s-bugreport" rel="section" title="12.5 How do I report a bug in Debian?">
<link href="ch-contributing.en.html#s-contrib" rel="section" title="13.1 How can I become a Debian software developer?">
<link href="ch-contributing.en.html#s-contribresources" rel="section" title="13.2 How can I contribute resources to the Debian project?">
<link href="ch-contributing.en.html#s-supportingorganizations" rel="section" title="13.3 How can I contribute financially to the Debian project?">
<link href="ch-redistrib.en.html#s-sellcds" rel="section" title="14.1 Can I make and sell Debian CDs?">
<link href="ch-redistrib.en.html#s-packagednonfree" rel="section" title="14.2 Can Debian be packaged with non-free software?">
<link href="ch-redistrib.en.html#s-childistro" rel="section" title="14.3 I am making a special Linux distribution for a &quot;vertical market&quot;. Can I use Debian GNU/Linux for the guts of a Linux system and add my own applications on top of it?">
<link href="ch-redistrib.en.html#s-commercialdebs" rel="section" title="14.4 Can I put my commercial program in a Debian &quot;package&quot; so that it installs effortlessly on any Debian system?">
<link href="ch-nexttime.en.html#s-i18n" rel="section" title="15.1 Extended support for non-English users">
<link href="ch-nexttime.en.html#s-dependencybasedboot" rel="section" title="15.2 Faster booting: Dependency based boot sequence">
<link href="ch-nexttime.en.html#s-di" rel="section" title="15.3 Improvements in the Debian Installer">
<link href="ch-nexttime.en.html#s-morearches" rel="section" title="15.4 More architectures">
<link href="ch-nexttime.en.html#s-morekernels" rel="section" title="15.5 More kernels">
<link href="ch-faqinfo.en.html#s-authors" rel="section" title="16.1 Authors">
<link href="ch-faqinfo.en.html#s-feedback" rel="section" title="16.2 Feedback">
<link href="ch-faqinfo.en.html#s-latest" rel="section" title="16.3 Availability">
<link href="ch-faqinfo.en.html#s-docformat" rel="section" title="16.4 Document format">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.1" rel="subsection" title="3.1.1 You asked me to install stable, but in stable so and so hardware is not detected/working. What should I do?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.2" rel="subsection" title="3.1.2 Will there be different versions of packages in different distributions?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.3" rel="subsection" title="3.1.3 The stable distributions really contains outdated packages. Just look at Kde, Gnome, Xorg or even the kernel. They are very old. Why is it so?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.4" rel="subsection" title="3.1.4 If I were to decide to change to another distribution, Can I do that?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.5" rel="subsection" title="3.1.5 Could you tell me whether to install testing or unstable?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.6" rel="subsection" title="3.1.6 You are talking about testing being broken. What do you mean by that?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.7" rel="subsection" title="3.1.7 Why is it that testing could be broken for months? Wont the fixes introduced in unstable flow directly down into testing?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.8" rel="subsection" title="3.1.8 From an administrator's point of view, Which distribution requires more attention?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.9" rel="subsection" title="3.1.9 What happens when a new release is made?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.10" rel="subsection" title="3.1.10 I have a working Desktop/cluster with Debian installed. How do I know which distribution I am running?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.11" rel="subsection" title="3.1.11 I am currently tracking stable. Can I change to testing or unstable? If so, How?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.12" rel="subsection" title="3.1.12 I am currently tracking testing (jessie). What will happen when a release is made? Will I still be tracking testing or will my machine be running the new stable distribution?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.13" rel="subsection" title="3.1.13 I am still confused. What did you say I should install?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.2.1" rel="subsection" title="3.2.1 I know that Knoppix/Linex/Ubuntu/... is Debian-based. So after installing it on the hard disk, can I use 'apt' package tools on it?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.2.2" rel="subsection" title="3.2.2 I installed Knoppix/Linex/Ubuntu/... on my hard disk. Now I have a problem. What should I do?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.2.3" rel="subsection" title="3.2.3 I'm using Knoppix/Linex/Ubuntu/... and now I want to use Debian. How do I migrate?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-oldcodenames" rel="subsection" title="6.2.1 Which other codenames have been used in the past?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-sourceforcodenames" rel="subsection" title="6.2.2 Where do these codenames come from?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-frozen" rel="subsection" title="6.5.1 What about &quot;testing&quot;? How is it `frozen'?">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-dpkg" rel="subsection" title="8.1.1 dpkg">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-apt-get" rel="subsection" title="8.1.2 APT">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-aptitude" rel="subsection" title="8.1.3 aptitude">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-synaptic" rel="subsection" title="8.1.4 synaptic">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-tasksel" rel="subsection" title="8.1.5 tasksel">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-dpkg-extra" rel="subsection" title="8.1.6 Other package management tools">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-dselect" rel="subsection" title="8.1.6.1 dselect">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-dpkg-deb" rel="subsection" title="8.1.6.2 dpkg-deb">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-dpkg-split" rel="subsection" title="8.1.6.3 dpkg-split">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-aptitude-upgrade" rel="subsection" title="9.1.1 aptitude">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-apt" rel="subsection" title="9.1.2 apt-get, dselect and apt-cdrom">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-update_aptitude" rel="subsection" title="9.1.3 aptitude">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-mirror" rel="subsection" title="9.1.4 mirror">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-dpkg-mountable" rel="subsection" title="9.1.5 dpkg-mountable">
<link href="ch-support.en.html#s12.2.1" rel="subsection" title="12.2.1 Mailing lists">
<link href="ch-support.en.html#s-mailinglistconduct" rel="subsection" title="12.2.1.1 What is the code of conduct for the mailing lists?">
<link href="ch-support.en.html#s12.2.2" rel="subsection" title="12.2.2 Web forums">
<link href="ch-support.en.html#s12.2.3" rel="subsection" title="12.2.3 Wiki">
<link href="ch-support.en.html#s12.2.4" rel="subsection" title="12.2.4 Maintainers">
<link href="ch-support.en.html#s12.2.5" rel="subsection" title="12.2.5 Usenet newsgroups">
<link href="ch-contributing.en.html#s-SPI" rel="subsection" title="13.3.1 Software in the Public Interest">
<link href="ch-contributing.en.html#s-FSF" rel="subsection" title="13.3.2 Free Software Foundation">

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<p>
[ <a href="ch-pkgtools.en.html">previous</a> ]
[ <a href="index.en.html#contents">Contents</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-basic_defs.en.html">1</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-getting.en.html">2</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-choosing.en.html">3</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-compat.en.html">4</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-software.en.html">5</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-ftparchives.en.html">6</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html">7</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-pkgtools.en.html">8</a> ]
[ 9 ]
[ <a href="ch-kernel.en.html">10</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-customizing.en.html">11</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-support.en.html">12</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-contributing.en.html">13</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-redistrib.en.html">14</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-nexttime.en.html">15</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-faqinfo.en.html">16</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-kernel.en.html">next</a> ]
</p>

<hr>

<h1>
The Debian GNU/Linux FAQ
<br>Chapter 9 - Keeping your Debian system up-to-date
</h1>

<hr>

<p>
A Debian goal is to provide a consistent upgrade path and a secure upgrade
process.  We always do our best to make upgrading to new releases a smooth
procedure.  In case there's some important note to add to the upgrade process,
the packages will alert the user, and often provide a solution to a possible
problem.
</p>

<p>
You should also read the Release Notes document that describes the details of
specific upgrades.  It is available on the Debian website at <code><a
href="http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/releasenotes">http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/releasenotes</a></code>
and is also shipped on the Debian CDs, DVDs and Blu-Ray discs
</p>

<hr>

<h2 id="s-howtocurrent">9.1 How can I keep my Debian system current?</h2>

<p>
One could simply execute an anonymous ftp call to a Debian archive, then peruse
the directories until one finds the desired file, and then fetch it, and
finally install it using <samp>dpkg</samp>.  Note that <samp>dpkg</samp> will
install upgrade files in place, even on a running system.  Sometimes, a revised
package will require the installation of a newly revised version of another
package, in which case the installation will fail until/unless the other
package is installed.
</p>

<p>
Many people find this approach much too time-consuming, since Debian evolves so
quickly -- typically, a dozen or more new packages are uploaded every week.
This number is larger just before a new major release.  To deal with this
avalanche, many people prefer to use a more automated method.  Several
different packages are available for this purpose:
</p>

<hr>

<h3 id="s-aptitude-upgrade">9.1.1 aptitude</h3>

<p>
APT is an advanced interface to the Debian packaging system.  It features
complete installation ordering, multiple source capability and several other
unique features, see the User's Guide in
<samp>/usr/share/doc/apt-doc/guide.html/index.html</samp> (you will have to
install the <samp>apt-doc</samp> package).
</p>

<p>
<code>aptitude</code> is the recommended package manager for Debian GNU/Linux
systems.  It is a text-based interface to APT using the curses library, and can
be used to perform management tasks in a fast and easy way.
</p>

<p>
Before you can use <code>aptitude</code>, you'll have to edit the
<samp>/etc/apt/sources.list</samp> file to set it up.  If you wish to upgrade
to the latest stable version of Debian, you'll probably want to use a source
like this one:
</p>

<pre>
     http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian stable main contrib non-free
</pre>

<p>
You can replace ftp.us.debian.org with the name of a faster Debian mirror near
you.  See the mirror list at <code><a
href="http://www.debian.org/mirror/list">http://www.debian.org/mirror/list</a></code>
for more information.
</p>

<p>
More details on this can be found in the <code>sources.list(8)</code> manual
page.
</p>

<p>
To update your system, run
</p>

<pre>
     aptitude update
</pre>

<p>
followed by
</p>

<pre>
     aptitude dist-upgrade
</pre>

<p>
Answer any questions that might come up, and your system will be upgraded.  See
also <a href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-aptitude">aptitude, Section 8.1.3</a>.
</p>

<hr>

<h3 id="s-apt">9.1.2 apt-get, dselect and apt-cdrom</h3>

<p>
<code>apt-get</code> is an APT-based command-line tool for handling packages,
and the APT dselect method is an interface to APT through <code>dselect</code>.
Both of these provide a simple, safe way to install and upgrade packages.
</p>

<p>
To use <code>apt-get</code>, install the <code>apt</code> package, and edit the
<samp>/etc/apt/sources.list</samp> file to set it up, just as for <a
href="#s-aptitude-upgrade">aptitude, Section 9.1.1</a>.
</p>

<p>
Then run
</p>

<pre>
     apt-get update
</pre>

<p>
followed by
</p>

<pre>
     apt-get dist-upgrade
</pre>

<p>
Answer any questions that might come up, and your system will be upgraded.  See
also the <code>apt-get(8)</code> manual page, as well as <a
href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-apt-get">APT, Section 8.1.2</a>.
</p>

<p>
To use APT with <code>dselect</code>, choose the APT access method in dselect's
method selection screen (option 0) and then specify the sources that should be
used.  The configuration file is <code>/etc/apt/sources.list</code>.  See also
<a href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-dselect">dselect, Section 8.1.6.1</a>.
</p>

<p>
If you want to use CDs to install packages, you can use <code>apt-cdrom</code>.
For details, please see the Release Notes, section &quot;Setting up for an
upgrade from a local mirror&quot;.
</p>

<p>
Please note that when you get and install the packages, you'll still have them
kept in your /var directory hierarchy.  To keep your partition from
overflowing, remember to delete extra files using <samp>apt-get clean</samp>
and <samp>apt-get autoclean</samp>, or to move them someplace else (hint: use
<code>apt-move</code>).
</p>

<hr>

<h3 id="s-update_aptitude">9.1.3 aptitude</h3>

<p>
<code>aptitude</code> is a text-based interface to the Debian package system.
It allows the user to view the list of packages and to perform package
management tasks such as installing, upgrading, and removing packages (see <a
href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-aptitude">aptitude, Section 8.1.3</a>).  Actions
may be performed from a visual interface or from the command-line.
</p>

<p>
In command line, the actions are similar to that of APT, so to upgrade your
system run
</p>

<pre>
     aptitude update
</pre>

<p>
followed by
</p>

<pre>
     aptitude dist-upgrade
</pre>

<p>
Note that <code>aptitude</code> is not the recommended tool for doing upgrades
from one Debian GNU/Linux release to another.  For upgrades between releases
you should read the <code><a
href="http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/releasenotes">Release
Notes</a></code>.  This document describes in detail the recommended steps for
upgrades from previous releases as well as known issues you should consider
before upgrading.
</p>

<p>
For details, see the manual page <code>aptitude(8)</code>, and the file
<code>/usr/share/aptitude/README</code>
</p>

<hr>

<h3 id="s-mirror">9.1.4 mirror</h3>

<p>
This Perl script, and its (optional) manager program called
<code>mirror-master</code>, can be used to fetch user-specified parts of a
directory tree from a specified host <em>via</em> anonymous FTP.
</p>

<p>
<code>mirror</code> is particularly useful for downloading large volumes of
software.  After the first time files have been downloaded from a site, a file
called <samp>.mirrorinfo</samp> is stored on the local host.  Changes to the
remote file system are tracked automatically by <code>mirror</code>, which
compares this file to a similar file on the remote system and downloads only
changed files.
</p>

<p>
The <code>mirror</code> program is generally useful for updating local copies
of remote directory trees.  The files fetched need not be Debian files.  (Since
<code>mirror</code> is a Perl script, it can also run on non-Unix systems.)
Though the <code>mirror</code> program provides mechanisms for excluding files
names of which match user-specified strings, this program is most useful when
the objective is to download whole directory trees, rather than selected
packages.
</p>

<hr>

<h3 id="s-dpkg-mountable">9.1.5 dpkg-mountable</h3>

<p>
dpkg-mountable adds an access method called `mountable' to dselect's list,
which allows you to install from any file system specified in /etc/fstab.  For
example, the archive could be a normal hard disk partition or an NFS server,
which it will automatically mount and umount for you if necessary.
</p>

<p>
It also has some extra features not found in the standard dselect methods, such
as provision for a local file tree (either parallel to the main distribution or
totally separate), and only getting packages which are required, rather than
the time-consuming recursive directory scan, as well as logging of all dpkg
actions in the install method.
</p>

<hr>

<h2 id="s-upgradesingle">9.2 Must I go into single user mode in order to upgrade a package?</h2>

<p>
No.  Packages can be upgraded in place, even in running systems.  Debian has a
<samp>start-stop-daemon</samp> program that is invoked to stop, then restart
running process if necessary during a package upgrade.
</p>

<hr>

<h2 id="s-savedebs">9.3 Do I have to keep all those .deb archive files on my disk?</h2>

<p>
No.  If you have downloaded the files to your disk then after you have
installed the packages, you can remove them from your system, e.g.  by running
<samp>aptitude clean</samp>.
</p>

<hr>

<h2 id="s-keepingalog">9.4 How can I keep a log of the packages I added to the system? I'd like to know when which package upgrades and removals have occured!</h2>

<p>
Passing the <samp>--log</samp>-option to <code>dpkg</code> makes
<code>dpkg</code> log status change updates and actions.  It logs both the
<code>dpkg</code>-invokation (e.g.
</p>

<pre>
     2005-12-30 18:10:33 install hello 1.3.18 2.1.1-4
</pre>

<p>
) and the results (e.g.
</p>

<pre>
     2005-12-30 18:10:35 status installed hello 2.1.1-4
</pre>

<p>
) If you'd like to log all your <code>dpkg</code> invokations (even those done
using frontends like <code>aptitude</code>), you could add
</p>

<pre>
     log /var/log/dpkg.log
</pre>

<p>
to your <code>/etc/dpkg/dpkg.cfg</code>.  Be sure the created logfile gets
rotated periodically.  If you're using <code>logrotate</code>, this can be
achieved by creating a file <code>/etc/logrotate.d/dpkg</code> with contents
</p>

<pre>
     /var/log/dpkg {
       missingok
       notifempty
     }
</pre>

<p>
More details on <code>dpkg</code> logging can be found in the
<code>dpkg(1)</code> manual page.
</p>

<p>
<code>aptitude</code> logs the package installations, removals, and upgrades
that it intends to perform to <code>/var/log/aptitude</code>.  Note that the
<em>results</em> of those actions are not recorded in this file!
</p>

<p>
Another way to record your actions is to run your package management session
within the <code>script(1)</code> program.
</p>

<hr>

<h2 id="s-autoupdate">9.5 Can I automatically update the system?</h2>

<p>
Yes.  You can use <code>cron-apt</code>, this tool updates the system at
regular interval by using a cron job.  By default it just updates the package
list and download new packages without installing.
</p>

<p>
Note: Automatic upgrade of packages is <strong>NOT</strong> recommended in
<em>testing</em> or <em>unstable</em> systems as this might bring unexpected
behaviour and remove packages without notice.
</p>

<hr>

<h2 id="s-aptproxy">9.6 I have several machines how can I download the updates only one time?</h2>

<p>
If you have more than one Debian machine on your network, it is useful to use
<code>apt-proxy</code> to keep all of your Debian systems up-to-date.
</p>

<p>
<code>apt-proxy</code> reduces the bandwidth requirements of Debian mirrors by
restricting the frequency of Packages, Releases and Sources file updates from
the back end and only doing a single fetch for any file, independently of the
actual request it from the proxy.  <code>apt-proxy</code> automatically builds
a Debian HTTP mirror based on requests which pass through the proxy.
</p>

<p>
For more details, see the apt-proxy homepage at <code><a
href="http://apt-proxy.sourceforge.net/">http://apt-proxy.sourceforge.net/</a></code>
</p>

<p>
Of course, you can get the same benefit if you are already using a standard
caching proxy and all your systems are configured to use it.
</p>

<hr>

<p>
[ <a href="ch-pkgtools.en.html">previous</a> ]
[ <a href="index.en.html#contents">Contents</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-basic_defs.en.html">1</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-getting.en.html">2</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-choosing.en.html">3</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-compat.en.html">4</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-software.en.html">5</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-ftparchives.en.html">6</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html">7</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-pkgtools.en.html">8</a> ]
[ 9 ]
[ <a href="ch-kernel.en.html">10</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-customizing.en.html">11</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-support.en.html">12</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-contributing.en.html">13</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-redistrib.en.html">14</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-nexttime.en.html">15</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-faqinfo.en.html">16</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-kernel.en.html">next</a> ]
</p>

<hr>

<p>
The Debian GNU/Linux FAQ
</p>

<address>
version 5.0.2ubuntu1, 17 June 2013<br>
<br>
Authors are listed at <a href="ch-faqinfo.en.html#s-authors">Debian FAQ Authors</a><br>
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