nala

modern package management utility for Debian-based systems, serving

TLDR

Refresh the package lists

$ sudo nala update

Install packages, with a readable summary of what will change

$ sudo nala install [package1] [package2]

Install without prompting

$ sudo nala install -y [package]

Preview an operation without carrying it out

$ sudo nala install --simulate [package]

Upgrade the whole system

$ sudo nala upgrade

Search names and descriptions

$ nala search [pattern]

Show a package's details

$ nala show [package]

List the packages that are currently installed

$ nala list --installed

Remove a package together with its configuration

$ sudo nala purge [package]

Remove everything no longer needed, configuration included

$ sudo nala autopurge

Rank the mirrors and keep the fastest ones

$ sudo nala fetch

Inspect one past transaction

$ nala history info [3]

Undo a past transaction

$ sudo nala history undo [3]

Delete the downloaded archives

$ sudo nala clean

SYNOPSIS

nala command [options] [packages]

nala is a modern package management utility for Debian-based systems, serving as a front-end for apt and the python-apt API. It provides improved formatting, parallel downloads, and a cleaner interface compared to traditional apt.Features include transaction history for reviewing and undoing changes, parallel downloads for faster operations, and the fetch command for automatically selecting fast mirrors based on latency and throughput testing.

PARAMETERS

--assume-yes, -y

Assume yes to all prompts

--download-only, -d

Download packages without installing

--no-install-recommends

Do not install recommended packages

--install-suggests

Also install suggested packages

--verbose, -v

Enable verbose output

--debug

Enable debug output

COMMANDS

install _packages_

Install packages or update to latest version

remove _packages_

Remove packages

purge _packages_

Remove packages and their configuration files

update

Update package list from repositories

upgrade

Update package list and upgrade installed packages

search _pattern_

Search package names and descriptions using regex or glob

show _packages_

Display package information

autoremove

Remove unused packages and dependencies

autopurge

Autoremove with purge (removes config files)

fetch

Fetch and select fast mirrors

history

Display transaction history

clean

Clear package cache

CAVEATS

Nala wraps apt and requires the same privileges. Not all apt features are exposed through nala. The fetch command modifies /etc/apt/sources.list. Transaction history is stored locally and can be used to undo/redo operations.

HISTORY

nala was developed by the Volian Linux project, first released in December 2021. It was created to provide a more user-friendly interface to apt with better visual output, inspired by the dnf package manager's formatting.