The Debian Advanced Packaging Tool, APT

Installing Debian Packages (apt)

Here are presented the most important options, with examples. For the complete reference visit The Apt-HowTo∞

command	description	example
dpkg --install	installs/updates the given package	dpkg --install package.deb
apt-get install	install a package ( known in the database package)	apt-get install package
dpkg --install	installs/updates the given package	dpkg --install package.deb
apt-get install	install a package ( known in the database package)	apt-get install package
apt-get remove	remove an installed package	apt-get remove package
apt-get update	update the package database	apt-get update
apt-get dist-upgrade	all installed packages will be updated unless the dependencies dont allow that	apt-get dist-upgrade
apt-cache search	Search (within the package database) the named package	apt-cache search package
apt-rdepends	show all packages that are needed by the given package
apt-rdepends	we kann also find all packages that depend on the given one	apt-rdepends -r package
dpkg -l	list all installed packages	dpkg --list
dpkg -S	search the package that contains the given file	dpkg -S /etc/mail.rc

Some useful options for apt-get:

-h	show the help message
-d	Download only - do NOT install or unpack archives
-f	Attempt to continue if the integrity check fails
-s	No-act. Perform ordering simulation
-y	Assume Yes to all queries and do not prompt
-u	Show a list of upgraded packages as well

apt-get dist-upgrade -d	download all packages that will be updated with the dist-upgrade
apt-get -f install package	install the given package even if the dependencies are not correctly satisfied (you think you know better!)
apt-get -f install	try to fix installation problems.