apt-mark

TLDR

Mark a package as automatically installed

$ sudo apt-mark auto [package]

Mark a package as manually installed

$ sudo apt-mark manual [package]

Hold a package at its current version

$ sudo apt-mark hold [package]

Allow a package to be updated again

$ sudo apt-mark unhold [package]

Show manually installed packages

$ apt-mark showmanual

Show held packages

$ apt-mark showhold

SYNOPSIS

apt-mark [options] command package...

apt-mark is a utility to change the status of installed packages. It can mark packages as automatically installed (making them candidates for autoremove), manually installed, or held at their current version.

PARAMETERS

auto package

Mark package as automatically installed

manual package

Mark package as manually installed

hold package

Hold package at current version, preventing upgrades

unhold package

Remove hold, allowing package to be upgraded

showmanual

Show list of manually installed packages

showauto

Show list of automatically installed packages

showhold

Show list of held packages

minimize-manual

Mark all packages as auto except those with no auto-installed reverse depends

-f, --file

Read/write package stats from the filename specified

-v, --verbose

Verbose output

CAVEATS

Holding packages may cause dependency issues during system upgrades. Use sparingly.

HISTORY

Part of the APT (Advanced Package Tool) suite developed for Debian-based systems.