aptitude

Advanced package management with dependency resolution

TLDR

Launch the full-screen interactive package browser

$ aptitude

Refresh the package lists

$ sudo aptitude update

Search by name using aptitude's own pattern language

$ aptitude search '~n[keyword]'

Find packages that are installed but no longer in any repository

$ aptitude search '~o'

Show the full record for one package

$ aptitude show [package]

Preview an installation without changing anything

$ sudo aptitude -s install [package]

Apply only the upgrades that install or remove nothing else

$ sudo aptitude safe-upgrade

Upgrade everything, allowing dependency changes

$ sudo aptitude full-upgrade

Explain why a package is on the system

$ aptitude why [package]

Explain why a package cannot be installed

$ aptitude why-not [package]

Pin a package at its current version

$ sudo aptitude hold [package]

Purge configuration files left behind by removed packages

$ sudo aptitude purge '~c'

SYNOPSIS

aptitude [options] command [arguments]

aptitude is a powerful package management utility for Debian and Ubuntu systems. It provides both a command-line interface and an interactive ncurses-based interface with advanced dependency resolution and search capabilities.

PARAMETERS

update

Synchronize package index files from sources

install package

Install or upgrade specified packages

remove package

Remove packages and dependent packages

purge package

Remove packages, configurations, and dependent packages

upgrade

Upgrade installed packages to newest versions

full-upgrade

Upgrade packages, removing obsolete ones as needed

search pattern

Search for packages matching pattern

show package

Display detailed package information

hold package

Prevent package from being upgraded

unhold package

Allow package to be upgraded

safe-upgrade

Upgrade packages conservatively

clean

Remove downloaded package files

autoclean

Remove old downloaded package files

why package

Explain why a package is installed or required

why-not package

Explain why a package cannot be installed

download package

Download .deb file without installing

reinstall package

Reinstall an already-installed package

versions package

List available versions of a package

forbid-version package

Prevent upgrade to a specific package version

markauto package

Mark package as automatically installed

unmarkauto package

Mark package as manually installed

-s, --simulate

Preview changes without applying them

-y, --assume-yes

Skip confirmation prompts

-D, --show-deps

Show explanations for automatic installations and removals

-V, --show-versions

Display package version details in listings

-P, --prompt

Always display a confirmation prompt before changes

-R, --without-recommends

Do not treat recommended packages as dependencies

-t release

Set the target release for package installation

-q, --quiet

Suppress progress indicators

changelog package

Download and display the changelog for a package

CONFIGURATION

~/.aptitude/config

User-specific aptitude configuration.

/etc/apt/apt.conf

APT configuration shared with apt and apt-get.

/etc/apt/apt.conf.d/

Directory for additional APT configuration fragments.

INSTALL

sudo apt install aptitude

CAVEATS

Aptitude uses its own search syntax with special terms like ?installed, ?automatic, etc. Different from apt-cache search syntax.

HISTORY

Created as an alternative to apt-get with more advanced features. First released for Debian in 2001 by Daniel Burrows.