'\" t
.\"     Title: aptitude
.\"    Author: 
.\" Generator: DocBook XSL Stylesheets v1.78.1 <http://docbook.sf.net/>
.\"      Date: 02/17/2014
.\"    Manual: Command-line reference
.\"    Source: aptitude 0.6.8.2
.\"  Language: English
.\"
.TH "APTITUDE" "8" "02/17/2014" "aptitude 0.6.8.2" "Command-line reference"
.\" -----------------------------------------------------------------
.\" * Define some portability stuff
.\" -----------------------------------------------------------------
.\" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
.\" http://bugs.debian.org/507673
.\" http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/groff/2009-02/msg00013.html
.\" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
.ie \n(.g .ds Aq \(aq
.el       .ds Aq '
.\" -----------------------------------------------------------------
.\" * set default formatting
.\" -----------------------------------------------------------------
.\" disable hyphenation
.nh
.\" disable justification (adjust text to left margin only)
.ad l
.\" -----------------------------------------------------------------
.\" * MAIN CONTENT STARTS HERE *
.\" -----------------------------------------------------------------
.SH "NAME"
aptitude \- high\-level interface to the package manager
.SH "SYNOPSIS"
.HP \w'\fBaptitude\fR\ 'u
\fBaptitude\fR [<\fIoptions\fR>...] {autoclean | clean | forget\-new | keep\-all | update}
.HP \w'\fBaptitude\fR\ 'u
\fBaptitude\fR [<\fIoptions\fR>...] {full\-upgrade | safe\-upgrade} [<\fIpackages\fR>...]
.HP \w'\fBaptitude\fR\ 'u
\fBaptitude\fR [<\fIoptions\fR>...] {build\-dep | build\-depends | changelog | download | forbid\-version | hold | install | markauto | purge | reinstall | remove | show | unhold | unmarkauto | versions} <\fIpackages\fR>...
.HP \w'\fBaptitude\fR\ 'u
\fBaptitude\fR extract\-cache\-subset <\fIoutput\-directory\fR> <\fIpackages\fR>...
.HP \w'\fBaptitude\fR\ 'u
\fBaptitude\fR [<\fIoptions\fR>...] search <\fIpatterns\fR>...
.HP \w'\fBaptitude\fR\ 'u
\fBaptitude\fR [<\fIoptions\fR>...] {add\-user\-tag | remove\-user\-tag} <\fItag\fR> <\fIpackages\fR>...
.HP \w'\fBaptitude\fR\ 'u
\fBaptitude\fR [<\fIoptions\fR>...] {why | why\-not} [<\fIpatterns\fR>...] <\fIpackage\fR>
.HP \w'\fBaptitude\fR\ 'u
\fBaptitude\fR [\-S\ <\fIfname\fR>] [\-\-autoclean\-on\-startup | \-\-clean\-on\-startup | \-i | \-u]
.HP \w'\fBaptitude\fR\ 'u
\fBaptitude\fR help
.SH "DESCRIPTION"
.PP
\fBaptitude\fR
is a text\-based interface to the Debian GNU/Linux package system\&.
.PP
It allows the user to view the list of packages and to perform package management tasks such as installing, upgrading, and removing packages\&. Actions may be performed from a visual interface or from the command\-line\&.
.SH "COMMAND-LINE ACTIONS"
.PP
The first argument which does not begin with a hyphen (\(lq\fB\-\fR\(rq) is considered to be an action that the program should perform\&. If an action is not specified on the command\-line,
\fBaptitude\fR
will start up in visual mode\&.
.PP
The following actions are available:
.PP
\fBinstall\fR
.RS 4
Install one or more packages\&. The packages should be listed after the
\(lqinstall\(rq
command; if a package name contains a tilde character (\(lq\fB~\fR\(rq) or a question mark (\(lq\fB?\fR\(rq), it will be treated as a search pattern and every package matching the pattern will be installed (see the section
\(lqSearch Patterns\(rq
in the
\fBaptitude\fR
reference manual)\&.
.sp
To select a particular version of the package, append
\(lq\fB=\fR\fB<\fIversion\fR>\fR\(rq
to the package name: for instance,
\(lq\fBaptitude install apt=0\&.3\&.1\fR\(rq\&. Similarly, to select a package from a particular archive, append
\(lq\fB/\fR\fB<\fIarchive\fR>\fR\(rq
to the package name: for instance,
\(lq\fBaptitude install apt/experimental\fR\(rq\&. You cannot specify both an archive and a version for a package\&.
.sp
Not every package listed on the command line has to be installed; you can tell
\fBaptitude\fR
to do something different with a package by appending an
\(lqoverride specifier\(rq
to the name of the package\&. For example,
\fBaptitude remove wesnoth+\fR
will install
\fBwesnoth\fR, not remove it\&. The following override specifiers are available:
.PP
<\fIpackage\fR>\fB+\fR
.RS 4
Install
<\fIpackage\fR>\&.
.RE
.PP
<\fIpackage\fR>\fB+M\fR
.RS 4
Install
<\fIpackage\fR>
and immediately mark it as
automatically installed
(note that if nothing depends on
<\fIpackage\fR>, this will cause it to be immediately removed)\&.
.RE
.PP
<\fIpackage\fR>\fB\-\fR
.RS 4
Remove
<\fIpackage\fR>\&.
.RE
.PP
<\fIpackage\fR>\fB_\fR
.RS 4
Purge
<\fIpackage\fR>: remove it and all its associated configuration and data files\&.
.RE
.PP
<\fIpackage\fR>\fB=\fR
.RS 4
Place
<\fIpackage\fR>
on hold: cancel any active installation, upgrade, or removal, and prevent this package from being automatically upgraded in the future\&.
.RE
.PP
<\fIpackage\fR>\fB:\fR
.RS 4
Keep
<\fIpackage\fR>
at its current version: cancel any installation, removal, or upgrade\&. Unlike
\(lqhold\(rq
(above) this does not prevent automatic upgrades in the future\&.
.RE
.PP
<\fIpackage\fR>\fB&M\fR
.RS 4
Mark
<\fIpackage\fR>
as having been
automatically installed\&.
.RE
.PP
<\fIpackage\fR>\fB&m\fR
.RS 4
Mark
<\fIpackage\fR>
as having been
manually installed\&.
.RE
.sp
As a special case,
\(lq\fBinstall\fR\(rq
with no arguments will act on any stored/pending actions\&.
.if n \{\
.sp
.\}
.RS 4
.it 1 an-trap
.nr an-no-space-flag 1
.nr an-break-flag 1
.br
.ps +1
\fBNote\fR
.ps -1
.br
Once you enter
\fBY\fR
at the final confirmation prompt, the
\(lq\fBinstall\fR\(rq
command will modify
\fBaptitude\fR\*(Aqs stored information about what actions to perform\&. Therefore, if you issue (e\&.g\&.) the command
\(lq\fBaptitude install foo bar\fR\(rq
and then abort the installation once
\fBaptitude\fR
has started downloading and installing packages, you will need to run
\(lq\fBaptitude remove foo bar\fR\(rq
to cancel that order\&.
.sp .5v
.RE
.RE
.PP
\fBremove\fR, \fBpurge\fR, \fBhold\fR, \fBunhold\fR, \fBkeep\fR, \fBreinstall\fR
.RS 4
These commands are the same as
\(lq\fBinstall\fR\(rq, but apply the named action to all packages given on the command line for which it is not
overridden\&. The difference between
\fBhold\fR
and
\fBkeep\fR
is that
\fBhold\fR
will cause a package to be ignored by future
\fBsafe\-upgrade\fR
or
\fBfull\-upgrade\fR
commands, while
\fBkeep\fR
merely cancels any scheduled actions on the package\&.
\fBunhold\fR
will allow a package to be upgraded by future
\fBsafe\-upgrade\fR
or
\fBfull\-upgrade\fR
commands, without otherwise altering its state\&.
.sp
For instance,
\(lq\fBaptitude remove \*(Aq~ndeity\*(Aq\fR\(rq
will remove all packages whose name contains
\(lq\fBdeity\fR\(rq\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBmarkauto\fR, \fBunmarkauto\fR
.RS 4
Mark packages as automatically installed or manually installed, respectively\&. Packages are specified in exactly the same way as for the
\(lq\fBinstall\fR\(rq
command\&. For instance,
\(lq\fBaptitude markauto \*(Aq~slibs\*(Aq\fR\(rq
will mark all packages in the
\(lq\fBlibs\fR\(rq
section as having been automatically installed\&.
.sp
For more information on automatically installed packages, see the section
\(lqManaging Automatically Installed Packages\(rq
in the
\fBaptitude\fR
reference manual\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBbuild\-depends\fR, \fBbuild\-dep\fR
.RS 4
Satisfy the build\-dependencies of a package\&. Each package name may be a source package, in which case the build dependencies of that source package are installed; otherwise, binary packages are found in the same way as for the
\(lq\fBinstall\fR\(rq
command, and the build\-dependencies of the source packages that build those binary packages are satisfied\&.
.sp
If the command\-line parameter
\fB\-\-arch\-only\fR
is present, only architecture\-dependent build dependencies (i\&.e\&., not
\fBBuild\-Depends\-Indep\fR
or
\fBBuild\-Conflicts\-Indep\fR) will be obeyed\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBforbid\-version\fR
.RS 4
Forbid a package from being upgraded to a particular version\&. This will prevent
\fBaptitude\fR
from automatically upgrading to this version, but will allow automatic upgrades to future versions\&. By default,
\fBaptitude\fR
will select the version to which the package would normally be upgraded; you may override this selection by appending
\(lq\fB=\fR\fB<\fIversion\fR>\fR\(rq
to the package name: for instance,
\(lq\fBaptitude forbid\-version vim=1\&.2\&.3\&.broken\-4\fR\(rq\&.
.sp
This command is useful for avoiding broken versions of packages without having to set and clear manual holds\&. If you decide you really want the forbidden version after all,
\(lq\fBaptitude install \fR\fB<\fIpackage\fR>\fR\(rq
will remove the ban\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBupdate\fR
.RS 4
Updates the list of available packages from the
apt
sources (this is equivalent to
\(lq\fBapt\-get update\fR\(rq)
.RE
.PP
\fBsafe\-upgrade\fR
.RS 4
Upgrades installed packages to their most recent version\&. Installed packages will not be removed unless they are unused (see the section
\(lqManaging Automatically Installed Packages\(rq
in the
\fBaptitude\fR
reference manual)\&. Packages which are not currently installed may be installed to resolve dependencies unless the
\fB\-\-no\-new\-installs\fR
command\-line option is supplied\&.
.sp
If no
<\fIpackage\fR>s are listed on the command line,
\fBaptitude\fR
will attempt to upgrade every package that can be upgraded\&. Otherwise,
\fBaptitude\fR
will attempt to upgrade only the packages which it is instructed to upgrade\&. The
<\fIpackage\fR>s can be extended with suffixes in the same manner as arguments to
\fBaptitude install\fR, so you can also give additional instructions to
\fBaptitude\fR
here; for instance,
\fBaptitude safe\-upgrade bash dash\-\fR
will attempt to upgrade the
bash
package and remove the
dash
package\&.
.sp
It is sometimes necessary to remove one package in order to upgrade another; this command is not able to upgrade packages in such situations\&. Use the
\fBfull\-upgrade\fR
command to upgrade as many packages as possible\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBfull\-upgrade\fR
.RS 4
Upgrades installed packages to their most recent version, removing or installing packages as necessary\&. This command is less conservative than
\fBsafe\-upgrade\fR
and thus more likely to perform unwanted actions\&. However, it is capable of upgrading packages that
\fBsafe\-upgrade\fR
cannot upgrade\&.
.sp
If no
<\fIpackage\fR>s are listed on the command line,
\fBaptitude\fR
will attempt to upgrade every package that can be upgraded\&. Otherwise,
\fBaptitude\fR
will attempt to upgrade only the packages which it is instructed to upgrade\&. The
<\fIpackage\fR>s can be extended with suffixes in the same manner as arguments to
\fBaptitude install\fR, so you can also give additional instructions to
\fBaptitude\fR
here; for instance,
\fBaptitude full\-upgrade bash dash\-\fR
will attempt to upgrade the
bash
package and remove the
dash
package\&.
.if n \{\
.sp
.\}
.RS 4
.it 1 an-trap
.nr an-no-space-flag 1
.nr an-break-flag 1
.br
.ps +1
\fBNote\fR
.ps -1
.br
This command was originally named
\fBdist\-upgrade\fR
for historical reasons, and
\fBaptitude\fR
still recognizes
\fBdist\-upgrade\fR
as a synonym for
\fBfull\-upgrade\fR\&.
.sp .5v
.RE
.RE
.PP
\fBkeep\-all\fR
.RS 4
Cancels all scheduled actions on all packages; any packages whose sticky state indicates an installation, removal, or upgrade will have this sticky state cleared\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBforget\-new\fR
.RS 4
Forgets all internal information about what packages are
\(lqnew\(rq
(equivalent to pressing
\(lqf\(rq
when in visual mode)\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBsearch\fR
.RS 4
Searches for packages matching one of the patterns supplied on the command line\&. All packages which match any of the given patterns will be displayed; for instance,
\(lq\fBaptitude search \*(Aq~N\*(Aq edit\fR\(rq
will list all
\(lqnew\(rq
packages and all packages whose name contains
\(lqedit\(rq\&. For more information on search patterns, see the section
\(lqSearch Patterns\(rq
in the
\fBaptitude\fR
reference manual\&.
.if n \{\
.sp
.\}
.RS 4
.it 1 an-trap
.nr an-no-space-flag 1
.nr an-break-flag 1
.br
.ps +1
\fBNote\fR
.ps -1
.br
In the example above,
\(lq\fBaptitude search \*(Aq~N\*(Aq edit\fR\(rq
has two arguments after
\fBsearch\fR
and thus is searching for
\fItwo\fR
patterns:
\(lq\fB~N\fR\(rq
and
\(lq\fBedit\fR\(rq\&. As described in the
search pattern reference, a
\fIsingle\fR
pattern composed of two sub\-patterns separated by a space (such as
\(lq\fB~N edit\fR\(rq) matches only if
\fIboth\fR
patterns match\&. Thus, the command
\(lq\fBaptitude search \*(Aq~N edit\*(Aq\fR\(rq
will only show
\(lqnew\(rq
packages whose name contains
\(lqedit\(rq\&.
.sp .5v
.RE
Unless you pass the
\fB\-F\fR
option, the output of
\fBaptitude search\fR
will look something like this:
.sp
.if n \{\
.RS 4
.\}
.nf
i   apt                             \- Advanced front\-end for dpkg
pi  apt\-build                       \- frontend to apt to build, optimize and in
cp  apt\-file                        \- APT package searching utility \-\- command\-
ihA raptor\-utils                    \- Raptor RDF Parser utilities
.fi
.if n \{\
.RE
.\}
.sp
Each search result is listed on a separate line\&. The first character of each line indicates the current state of the package: the most common states are
\fBp\fR, meaning that no trace of the package exists on the system,
\fBc\fR, meaning that the package was deleted but its configuration files remain on the system,
\fBi\fR, meaning that the package is installed, and
\fBv\fR, meaning that the package is virtual\&. The second character indicates the stored action (if any; otherwise a blank space is displayed) to be performed on the package, with the most common actions being
\fBi\fR, meaning that the package will be installed,
\fBd\fR, meaning that the package will be deleted, and
\fBp\fR, meaning that the package and its configuration files will be removed\&. If the third character is
\fBA\fR, the package was automatically installed\&.
.sp
For a complete list of the possible state and action flags, see the section
\(lqAccessing Package Information\(rq
in the
\fBaptitude\fR
reference guide\&. To customize the output of
\fBsearch\fR, see the command\-line options
\fB\-F\fR
and
\fB\-\-sort\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBshow\fR
.RS 4
Displays detailed information about one or more packages, listed following the search command\&. If a package name contains a tilde character (\(lq\fB~\fR\(rq) or a question mark (\(lq\fB?\fR\(rq), it will be treated as a search pattern and all matching packages will be displayed (see the section
\(lqSearch Patterns\(rq
in the
\fBaptitude\fR
reference manual)\&.
.sp
If the verbosity level is 1 or greater (i\&.e\&., at least one
\fB\-v\fR
is present on the command\-line), information about all versions of the package is displayed\&. Otherwise, information about the
\(lqcandidate version\(rq
(the version that
\(lq\fBaptitude install\fR\(rq
would download) is displayed\&.
.sp
You can display information about a different version of the package by appending
\fB=\fR\fB<\fIversion\fR>\fR
to the package name; you can display the version from a particular archive or release by appending
\fB/\fR\fB<\fIarchive\fR>\fR
or
\fB/\fR\fB<\fIrelease\fR>\fR
to the package name: for instance,
\fB/unstable\fR
or
\fB/sid\fR\&. If either of these is present, then only the version you request will be displayed, regardless of the verbosity level\&.
.sp
If the verbosity level is 1 or greater, the package\*(Aqs architecture, compressed size, filename, and md5sum fields will be displayed\&. If the verbosity level is 2 or greater, the select version or versions will be displayed once for each archive in which they are found\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBversions\fR
.RS 4
Displays the versions of the packages listed on the command\-line\&.
.sp
.if n \{\
.RS 4
.\}
.nf
$ aptitude versions wesnoth
p   1:1\&.4\&.5\-1                                                             100
p   1:1\&.6\&.5\-1                                    unstable                 500
p   1:1\&.7\&.14\-1                                   experimental             1
.fi
.if n \{\
.RE
.\}
.sp
Each version is listed on a separate line\&. The leftmost three characters indicate the current state, planned state (if any), and whether the package was automatically installed; for more information on their meanings, see
the documentation of \fBaptitude search\fR\&. To the right of the version number you can find the releases from which the version is available, and the pin priority of the version\&.
.sp
If a package name contains a tilde character (\(lq\fB~\fR\(rq) or a question mark (\(lq\fB?\fR\(rq), it will be treated as a search pattern and all matching
\fIversions\fR
will be displayed (see the section
\(lqSearch Patterns\(rq
in the
\fBaptitude\fR
reference manual)\&. This means that, for instance,
\fBaptitude versions \*(Aq~i\*(Aq\fR
will display all the versions that are currently installed on the system and nothing else, not even other versions of the same packages\&.
.sp
.if n \{\
.RS 4
.\}
.nf
$ aptitude versions \*(Aq~nexim4\-daemon\-light\*(Aq
Package exim4\-daemon\-light:
i   4\&.71\-3                                                                100
p   4\&.71\-4                                       unstable                 500

Package exim4\-daemon\-light\-dbg:
p   4\&.71\-4                                       unstable                 500
.fi
.if n \{\
.RE
.\}
.sp
If the input is a search pattern, or if more than one package\*(Aqs versions are to be displayed,
\fBaptitude\fR
will automatically group the output by package, as shown above\&. You can disable this via
\fB--group-by\fR\fB=none\fR, in which case
\fBaptitude\fR
will display a single list of all the versions that were found and automatically include the package name in each output line:
.sp
.if n \{\
.RS 4
.\}
.nf
$ aptitude versions \-\-group\-by=none \*(Aq~nexim4\-daemon\-light\*(Aq
i   exim4\-daemon\-light 4\&.71\-3                                             100
p   exim4\-daemon\-light 4\&.71\-4                    unstable                 500
p   exim4\-daemon\-light\-dbg 4\&.71\-4                unstable                 500
.fi
.if n \{\
.RE
.\}
.sp
To disable the package name, pass
\fB--show-package-names\fR\fB=never\fR:
.sp
.if n \{\
.RS 4
.\}
.nf
$ aptitude versions \-\-show\-package\-names=never \-\-group\-by=none \*(Aq~nexim4\-daemon\-light\*(Aq
i   4\&.71\-3                                                                100
p   4\&.71\-4                                       unstable                 500
p   4\&.71\-4                                       unstable                 500
.fi
.if n \{\
.RE
.\}
.sp
In addition to the above options, the information printed for each version can be controlled by the command\-line option
\fB\-F\fR\&. The order in which versions are displayed can be controlled by the command\-line option
\fB\-\-sort\fR\&. To prevent
\fBaptitude\fR
from formatting the output into columns, use
\fB\-\-disable\-columns\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBadd\-user\-tag\fR, \fBremove\-user\-tag\fR
.RS 4
Adds a user tag to or removes a user tag from the selected group of packages\&. If a package name contains a tilde (\(lq\fB~\fR\(rq) or question mark (\(lq\fB?\fR\(rq), it is treated as a search pattern and the tag is added to or removed from all the packages that match the pattern (see the section
\(lqSearch Patterns\(rq
in the
\fBaptitude\fR
reference manual)\&.
.sp
User tags are arbitrary strings associated with a package\&. They can be used with the
\fB?user\-tag(\fR\fB<\fItag\fR>\fR\fB)\fR
search term, which will select all the packages that have a user tag matching
<\fItag\fR>\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBwhy\fR, \fBwhy\-not\fR
.RS 4
Explains the reason that a particular package should or cannot be installed on the system\&.
.sp
This command searches for packages that require or conflict with the given package\&. It displays a sequence of dependencies leading to the target package, along with a note indicating the installed state of each package in the dependency chain:
.sp
.if n \{\
.RS 4
.\}
.nf
$ aptitude why kdepim
i   nautilus\-data Recommends nautilus
i A nautilus      Recommends desktop\-base (>= 0\&.2)
i A desktop\-base  Suggests   gnome | kde | xfce4 | wmaker
p   kde           Depends    kdepim (>= 4:3\&.4\&.3)
.fi
.if n \{\
.RE
.\}
.sp
The command
\fBwhy\fR
finds a dependency chain that installs the package named on the command line, as above\&. Note that the dependency that
\fBaptitude\fR
produced in this case is only a suggestion\&. This is because no package currently installed on this computer depends on or recommends the
kdepim
package; if a stronger dependency were available,
\fBaptitude\fR
would have displayed it\&.
.sp
In contrast,
\fBwhy\-not\fR
finds a dependency chain leading to a conflict with the target package:
.sp
.if n \{\
.RS 4
.\}
.nf
$ aptitude why\-not textopo
i   ocaml\-core          Depends   ocamlweb
i A ocamlweb            Depends   tetex\-extra | texlive\-latex\-extra
i A texlive\-latex\-extra Conflicts textopo
.fi
.if n \{\
.RE
.\}
.sp
If one or more
<\fIpattern\fR>s are present, then
\fBaptitude\fR
will begin its search at these patterns; that is, the first package in the chain it prints will be a package matching the pattern in question\&. The patterns are considered to be package names unless they contain a tilde character (\(lq\fB~\fR\(rq) or a question mark (\(lq\fB?\fR\(rq), in which case they are treated as search patterns (see the section
\(lqSearch Patterns\(rq
in the
\fBaptitude\fR
reference manual)\&.
.sp
If no patterns are present, then
\fBaptitude\fR
will search for dependency chains beginning at manually installed packages\&. This effectively shows the packages that have caused or would cause a given package to be installed\&.
.if n \{\
.sp
.\}
.RS 4
.it 1 an-trap
.nr an-no-space-flag 1
.nr an-break-flag 1
.br
.ps +1
\fBNote\fR
.ps -1
.br
\fBaptitude why\fR
does not perform full dependency resolution; it only displays direct relationships between packages\&. For instance, if A requires B, C requires D, and B and C conflict,
\(lq\fBaptitude why\-not D\fR\(rq
will not produce the answer
\(lqA depends on B, B conflicts with C, and D depends on C\(rq\&.
.sp .5v
.RE
By default
\fBaptitude\fR
outputs only the
\(lqmost installed, strongest, tightest, shortest\(rq
dependency chain\&. That is, it looks for a chain that only contains packages which are installed or will be installed; it looks for the strongest possible dependencies under that restriction; it looks for chains that avoid ORed dependencies and Provides; and it looks for the shortest dependency chain meeting those criteria\&. These rules are progressively weakened until a match is found\&.
.sp
If the verbosity level is 1 or more, then
\fIall\fR
the explanations
\fBaptitude\fR
can find will be displayed, in inverse order of relevance\&. If the verbosity level is 2 or more, a truly excessive amount of debugging information will be printed to standard output\&.
.sp
This command returns 0 if successful, 1 if no explanation could be constructed, and \-1 if an error occurred\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBclean\fR
.RS 4
Removes all previously downloaded
\fB\&.deb\fR
files from the package cache directory (usually
/var/cache/apt/archives)\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBautoclean\fR
.RS 4
Removes any cached packages which can no longer be downloaded\&. This allows you to prevent a cache from growing out of control over time without completely emptying it\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBchangelog\fR
.RS 4
Downloads and displays the Debian changelog for each of the given source or binary packages\&.
.sp
By default, the changelog for the version which would be installed with
\(lq\fBaptitude install\fR\(rq
is downloaded\&. You can select a particular version of a package by appending
\fB=\fR\fB<\fIversion\fR>\fR
to the package name; you can select the version from a particular archive or release by appending
\fB/\fR\fB<\fIarchive\fR>\fR
or
\fB/\fR\fB<\fIrelease\fR>\fR
to the package name (for instance,
\fB/unstable\fR
or
\fB/sid\fR)\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBdownload\fR
.RS 4
Downloads the
\fB\&.deb\fR
file for the given package to the current directory\&. If a package name contains a tilde character (\(lq\fB~\fR\(rq) or a question mark (\(lq\fB?\fR\(rq), it will be treated as a search pattern and all the matching packages will be downloaded (see the section
\(lqSearch Patterns\(rq
in the
\fBaptitude\fR
reference manual)\&.
.sp
By default, the version which would be installed with
\(lq\fBaptitude install\fR\(rq
is downloaded\&. You can select a particular version of a package by appending
\fB=\fR\fB<\fIversion\fR>\fR
to the package name; you can select the version from a particular archive or release by appending
\fB/\fR\fB<\fIarchive\fR>\fR
or
\fB/\fR\fB<\fIrelease\fR>\fR
to the package name (for instance:
\fB/unstable\fR
or
\fB/sid\fR)\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBextract\-cache\-subset\fR
.RS 4
Copy the
apt
configuration directory (\fB/etc/apt\fR) and a subset of the package database to the specified directory\&. If no packages are listed, the entire package database is copied; otherwise only the entries corresponding to the named packages are copied\&. Each package name may be a search pattern, and all the packages matching that pattern will be selected (see the section
\(lqSearch Patterns\(rq
in the
\fBaptitude\fR
reference manual)\&. Any existing package database files in the output directory will be overwritten\&.
.sp
Dependencies in binary package stanzas will be rewritten to remove references to packages not in the selected set\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBhelp\fR
.RS 4
Displays a brief summary of the available commands and options\&.
.RE
.SH "OPTIONS"
.PP
The following options may be used to modify the behavior of the actions described above\&. Note that while all options will be accepted for all commands, some options don\*(Aqt apply to particular commands and will be ignored by those commands\&.
.PP
\fB\-\-add\-user\-tag \fR\fB<\fItag\fR>\fR
.RS 4
For
\fBfull\-upgrade\fR,
\fBsafe\-upgrade\fR,
\fBforbid\-version\fR,
\fBhold\fR,
\fBinstall\fR,
\fBkeep\-all\fR,
\fBmarkauto\fR,
\fBunmarkauto\fR,
\fBpurge\fR,
\fBreinstall\fR,
\fBremove\fR,
\fBunhold\fR, and
\fBunmarkauto\fR: add the user tag
<\fItag\fR>
to all packages that are installed, removed, or upgraded by this command as if with the
\fBadd\-user\-tag\fR
command\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-\-add\-user\-tag\-to \fR\fB<\fItag\fR>\fR\fB,\fR\fB<\fIpattern\fR>\fR
.RS 4
For
\fBfull\-upgrade\fR,
\fBsafe\-upgrade\fR\fBforbid\-version\fR,
\fBhold\fR,
\fBinstall\fR,
\fBkeep\-all\fR,
\fBmarkauto\fR,
\fBunmarkauto\fR,
\fBpurge\fR,
\fBreinstall\fR,
\fBremove\fR,
\fBunhold\fR, and
\fBunmarkauto\fR: add the user tag
<\fItag\fR>
to all packages that match
<\fIpattern\fR>
as if with the
\fBadd\-user\-tag\fR
command\&. The pattern is a search pattern as described in the section
\(lqSearch Patterns\(rq
in the
\fBaptitude\fR
reference manual\&.
.sp
For instance,
\fBaptitude safe\-upgrade \-\-add\-user\-tag\-to "new\-installs,?action(install)"\fR
will add the tag
\fBnew\-installs\fR
to all the packages installed by the
\fBsafe\-upgrade\fR
command\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-\-allow\-new\-upgrades\fR
.RS 4
When the safe resolver is being used (i\&.e\&.,
\fB\-\-safe\-resolver\fR
was passed, the action is
\fBsafe\-upgrade\fR, or
\fBAptitude::Always\-Use\-Safe\-Resolver\fR
is set to
\fBtrue\fR), allow the dependency resolver to install upgrades for packages regardless of the value of
\fBAptitude::Safe\-Resolver::No\-New\-Upgrades\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-\-allow\-new\-installs\fR
.RS 4
Allow the
\fBsafe\-upgrade\fR
command to install new packages; when the safe resolver is being used (i\&.e\&.,
\fB\-\-safe\-resolver\fR
was passed, the action is
\fBsafe\-upgrade\fR, or
\fBAptitude::Always\-Use\-Safe\-Resolver\fR
is set to
\fBtrue\fR), allow the dependency resolver to install new packages\&. This option takes effect regardless of the value of
\fBAptitude::Safe\-Resolver::No\-New\-Installs\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-\-allow\-untrusted\fR
.RS 4
Install packages from untrusted sources without prompting\&. You should only use this if you know what you are doing, as it could easily compromise your system\*(Aqs security\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-\-disable\-columns\fR
.RS 4
This option causes
\fBaptitude search\fR
and
\fBaptitude versions\fR
to output their results without any special formatting\&. In particular: normally
\fBaptitude\fR
will add whitespace or truncate search results in an attempt to fit its results into vertical
\(lqcolumns\(rq\&. With this flag, each line will be formed by replacing any format escapes in the format string with the corresponding text; column widths will be ignored\&.
.sp
For instance, the first few lines of output from
\(lq\fBaptitude search \-F \*(Aq%p %V\*(Aq \-\-disable\-columns libedataserver\fR\(rq
might be:
.sp
.if n \{\
.RS 4
.\}
.nf
disksearch 1\&.2\&.1\-3
hp\-search\-mac 0\&.1\&.3
libbsearch\-ruby 1\&.5\-5
libbsearch\-ruby1\&.8 1\&.5\-5
libclass\-dbi\-abstractsearch\-perl 0\&.07\-2
libdbix\-fulltextsearch\-perl 0\&.73\-10
.fi
.if n \{\
.RE
.\}
.sp
As in the above example,
\fB\-\-disable\-columns\fR
is often useful in combination with a custom display format set using the command\-line option
\fB\-F\fR\&.
.sp
This corresponds to the configuration option
\fBAptitude::CmdLine::Disable-Columns\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-D\fR, \fB\-\-show\-deps\fR
.RS 4
For commands that will install or remove packages (\fBinstall\fR,
\fBfull\-upgrade\fR, etc), show brief explanations of automatic installations and removals\&.
.sp
This corresponds to the configuration option
\fBAptitude::CmdLine::Show-Deps\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-d\fR, \fB\-\-download\-only\fR
.RS 4
Download packages to the package cache as necessary, but do not install or remove anything\&. By default, the package cache is stored in
/var/cache/apt/archives\&.
.sp
This corresponds to the configuration option
\fBAptitude::CmdLine::Download-Only\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-F\fR <\fIformat\fR>, \fB\-\-display\-format\fR <\fIformat\fR>
.RS 4
Specify the format which should be used to display output from the
\fBsearch\fR
and
\fBversions\fR
commands\&. For instance, passing
\(lq\fB%p %V %v\fR\(rq
for
<\fIformat\fR>
will display a package\*(Aqs name, followed by its currently installed version and its available version (see the section
\(lqCustomizing how packages are displayed\(rq
in the
\fBaptitude\fR
reference manual for more information)\&.
.sp
The command\-line option
\fB\-\-disable\-columns\fR
is often useful in combination with
\fB\-F\fR\&.
.sp
For
\fBsearch\fR, this corresponds to the configuration option
\fBAptitude::CmdLine::Package-Display-Format\fR; for
\fBversions\fR, this corresponds to the configuration option
\fBAptitude::CmdLine::Version-Display-Format\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-f\fR
.RS 4
Try hard to fix the dependencies of broken packages, even if it means ignoring the actions requested on the command line\&.
.sp
This corresponds to the configuration item
\fBAptitude::CmdLine::Fix-Broken\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-\-full\-resolver\fR
.RS 4
When package dependency problems are encountered, use the default
\(lqfull\(rq
resolver to solve them\&. Unlike the
\(lqsafe\(rq
resolver activated by
\fB\-\-safe\-resolver\fR, the full resolver will happily remove packages to fulfill dependencies\&. It can resolve more situations than the safe algorithm, but its solutions are more likely to be undesirable\&.
.sp
This option can be used to force the use of the full resolver even when
\fBAptitude::Always\-Use\-Safe\-Resolver\fR
is true\&. The
\fBsafe\-upgrade\fR
command never uses the full resolver and does not accept the
\fB\-\-full\-resolver\fR
option\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-\-group\-by\fR <\fIgrouping\-mode\fR>
.RS 4
Control how the
\fBversions\fR
command groups its output\&. The following values are recognized:
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
\fBarchive\fR
to group packages by the archive they occur in (\(lq\fBstable\fR\(rq,
\(lq\fBunstable\fR\(rq, etc)\&. If a package occurs in several archives, it will be displayed in each of them\&.
.RE
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
\fBauto\fR
to group versions by their package unless there is exactly one argument and it is not a search pattern\&.
.RE
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
\fBnone\fR
to display all the versions in a single list without any grouping\&.
.RE
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
\fBpackage\fR
to group versions by their package\&.
.RE
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
\fBsource\-package\fR
to group versions by their source package\&.
.RE
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
\fBsource\-version\fR
to group versions by their source package and source version\&.
.RE
.sp
This corresponds to the configuration option
\fBAptitude::CmdLine::Versions-Group-By\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-h\fR, \fB\-\-help\fR
.RS 4
Display a brief help message\&. Identical to the
\fBhelp\fR
action\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-\-log\-file=\fR\fB<\fIfile\fR>\fR
.RS 4
If
<\fIfile\fR>
is a nonempty string, log messages will be written to it, except that if
<\fIfile\fR>
is
\(lq\fB\-\fR\(rq, the messages will be written to standard output instead\&. If this option appears multiple times, the last occurrence is the one that will take effect\&.
.sp
This does not affect the log of installations that
\fBaptitude\fR
has performed (/var/log/aptitude); the log messages written using this configuration include internal program events, errors, and debugging messages\&. See the command\-line option
\fB\-\-log\-level\fR
to get more control over what gets logged\&.
.sp
This corresponds to the configuration option
\fBAptitude::Logging::File\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-\-log\-level=\fR\fB<\fIlevel\fR>\fR, \fB\-\-log\-level=\fR\fB<\fIcategory\fR>\fR\fB:\fR\fB<\fIlevel\fR>\fR
.RS 4
\fB\-\-log\-level=\fR\fB<\fIlevel\fR>\fR
causes
\fBaptitude\fR
to only log messages whose level is
<\fIlevel\fR>
or higher\&. For instance, setting the log level to
\fBerror\fR
will cause only messages at the log levels
\fBerror\fR
and
\fBfatal\fR
to be displayed; all others will be hidden\&. Valid log levels (in descending order) are
\fBoff\fR,
\fBfatal\fR,
\fBerror\fR,
\fBwarn\fR,
\fBinfo\fR,
\fBdebug\fR, and
\fBtrace\fR\&. The default log level is
\fBwarn\fR\&.
.sp
\fB\-\-log\-level=\fR\fB<\fIcategory\fR>\fR\fB:\fR\fB<\fIlevel\fR>\fR
causes messages in
<\fIcategory\fR>
to only be logged if their level is
<\fIlevel\fR>
or higher\&.
.sp
\fB\-\-log\-level\fR
may appear multiple times on the command line; the most specific setting is the one that takes effect, so if you pass
\fB\-\-log\-level=aptitude\&.resolver:fatal\fR
and
\fB\-\-log\-level=aptitude\&.resolver\&.hints\&.match:trace\fR, then messages in
\fBaptitude\&.resolver\&.hints\&.parse\fR
will only be printed if their level is
\fBfatal\fR, but all messages in
\fBaptitude\&.resolver\&.hints\&.match\fR
will be printed\&. If you set the level of the same category two or more times, the last setting is the one that will take effect\&.
.sp
This does not affect the log of installations that
\fBaptitude\fR
has performed (/var/log/aptitude); the log messages written using this configuration include internal program events, errors, and debugging messages\&. See the command\-line option
\fB\-\-log\-file\fR
to change where log messages go\&.
.sp
This corresponds to the configuration group
\fBAptitude::Logging::Levels\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-\-log\-resolver\fR
.RS 4
Set some standard log levels related to the resolver, to produce logging output suitable for processing with automated tools\&. This is equivalent to the command\-line options
\fB\-\-log\-level=aptitude\&.resolver\&.search:trace \-\-log\-level=aptitude\&.resolver\&.search\&.tiers:info\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-\-no\-new\-installs\fR
.RS 4
Prevent
\fBsafe\-upgrade\fR
from installing any new packages; when the safe resolver is being used (i\&.e\&.,
\fB\-\-safe\-resolver\fR
was passed or
\fBAptitude::Always\-Use\-Safe\-Resolver\fR
is set to
\fBtrue\fR), forbid the dependency resolver from installing new packages\&. This option takes effect regardless of the value of
\fBAptitude::Safe\-Resolver::No\-New\-Installs\fR\&.
.sp
This mimics the historical behavior of
\fBapt\-get upgrade\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-\-no\-new\-upgrades\fR
.RS 4
When the safe resolver is being used (i\&.e\&.,
\fB\-\-safe\-resolver\fR
was passed or
\fBAptitude::Always\-Use\-Safe\-Resolver\fR
is set to
\fBtrue\fR), forbid the dependency resolver from installing upgrades for packages regardless of the value of
\fBAptitude::Safe\-Resolver::No\-New\-Upgrades\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-\-no\-show\-resolver\-actions\fR
.RS 4
Do not display the actions performed by the
\(lqsafe\(rq
resolver, overriding any configuration option or earlier
\fB\-\-show\-resolver\-actions\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-O\fR <\fIorder\fR>, \fB\-\-sort\fR <\fIorder\fR>
.RS 4
Specify the order in which output from the
\fBsearch\fR
and
\fBversions\fR
commands should be displayed\&. For instance, passing
\(lq\fBinstallsize\fR\(rq
for
<\fIorder\fR>
will list packages in order according to their size when installed (see the section
\(lqCustomizing how packages are sorted\(rq
in the
\fBaptitude\fR
reference manual for more information)\&.
.sp
The default sort order is
\fBname,version\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-o\fR <\fIkey\fR>\fB=\fR<\fIvalue\fR>
.RS 4
Set a configuration file option directly; for instance, use
\fB\-o Aptitude::Log=/tmp/my\-log\fR
to log
\fBaptitude\fR\*(Aqs actions to
/tmp/my\-log\&. For more information on configuration file options, see the section
\(lqConfiguration file reference\(rq
in the
\fBaptitude\fR
reference manual\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-P\fR, \fB\-\-prompt\fR
.RS 4
Always display a prompt before downloading, installing or removing packages, even when no actions other than those explicitly requested will be performed\&.
.sp
This corresponds to the configuration option
\fBAptitude::CmdLine::Always-Prompt\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-\-purge\-unused\fR
.RS 4
If
\fBAptitude::Delete-Unused\fR
is set to
\(lq\fBtrue\fR\(rq
(its default), then in addition to removing each package that is no longer required by any installed package,
\fBaptitude\fR
will also purge them, removing their configuration files and perhaps other important data\&. For more information about which packages are considered to be
\(lqunused\(rq, see the section
\(lqManaging Automatically Installed Packages\(rq
in the
\fBaptitude\fR
reference manual\&.
\fITHIS OPTION CAN CAUSE DATA LOSS! DO NOT USE IT UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING!\fR
.sp
This corresponds to the configuration option
\fBAptitude::Purge-Unused\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-q\fR\fB[=<\fIn\fR>]\fR, \fB\-\-quiet\fR\fB[=<\fIn\fR>]\fR
.RS 4
Suppress all incremental progress indicators, thus making the output loggable\&. This may be supplied multiple times to make the program quieter, but unlike
\fBapt\-get\fR,
\fBaptitude\fR
does not enable
\fB\-y\fR
when
\fB\-q\fR
is supplied more than once\&.
.sp
The optional
\fB=\fR\fB<\fIn\fR>\fR
may be used to directly set the amount of quietness (for instance, to override a setting in
/etc/apt/apt\&.conf); it causes the program to behave as if
\fB\-q\fR
had been passed exactly
<\fIn\fR>
times\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-R\fR, \fB\-\-without\-recommends\fR
.RS 4
Do
\fInot\fR
treat recommendations as dependencies when installing new packages (this overrides settings in
/etc/apt/apt\&.conf
and
~/\&.aptitude/config)\&. Packages previously installed due to recommendations will not be removed\&.
.sp
This corresponds to the pair of configuration options
\fBApt::Install-Recommends\fR
and
\fBApt::AutoRemove::InstallRecommends\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-r\fR, \fB\-\-with\-recommends\fR
.RS 4
Treat recommendations as dependencies when installing new packages (this overrides settings in
/etc/apt/apt\&.conf
and
~/\&.aptitude/config)\&.
.sp
This corresponds to the configuration option
\fBApt::Install-Recommends\fR
.RE
.PP
\fB\-\-remove\-user\-tag \fR\fB<\fItag\fR>\fR
.RS 4
For
\fBfull\-upgrade\fR,
\fBsafe\-upgrade\fR\fBforbid\-version\fR,
\fBhold\fR,
\fBinstall\fR,
\fBkeep\-all\fR,
\fBmarkauto\fR,
\fBunmarkauto\fR,
\fBpurge\fR,
\fBreinstall\fR,
\fBremove\fR,
\fBunhold\fR, and
\fBunmarkauto\fR: remove the user tag
<\fItag\fR>
from all packages that are installed, removed, or upgraded by this command as if with the
\fBadd\-user\-tag\fR
command\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-\-remove\-user\-tag\-from \fR\fB<\fItag\fR>\fR\fB,\fR\fB<\fIpattern\fR>\fR
.RS 4
For
\fBfull\-upgrade\fR,
\fBsafe\-upgrade\fR\fBforbid\-version\fR,
\fBhold\fR,
\fBinstall\fR,
\fBkeep\-all\fR,
\fBmarkauto\fR,
\fBunmarkauto\fR,
\fBpurge\fR,
\fBreinstall\fR,
\fBremove\fR,
\fBunhold\fR, and
\fBunmarkauto\fR: remove the user tag
<\fItag\fR>
from all packages that match
<\fIpattern\fR>
as if with the
\fBremove\-user\-tag\fR
command\&. The pattern is a search pattern as described in the section
\(lqSearch Patterns\(rq
in the
\fBaptitude\fR
reference manual\&.
.sp
For instance,
\fBaptitude safe\-upgrade \-\-remove\-user\-tag\-from "not\-upgraded,?action(upgrade)"\fR
will remove the
\fBnot\-upgraded\fR
tag from all packages that the
\fBsafe\-upgrade\fR
command is able to upgrade\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-s\fR, \fB\-\-simulate\fR
.RS 4
In command\-line mode, print the actions that would normally be performed, but don\*(Aqt actually perform them\&. This does not require
root
privileges\&. In the visual interface, always open the cache in read\-only mode regardless of whether you are
root\&.
.sp
This corresponds to the configuration option
\fBAptitude::Simulate\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-\-safe\-resolver\fR
.RS 4
When package dependency problems are encountered, use a
\(lqsafe\(rq
algorithm to solve them\&. This resolver attempts to preserve as many of your choices as possible; it will never remove a package or install a version of a package other than the package\*(Aqs default candidate version\&. It is the same algorithm used in
\fBsafe\-upgrade\fR; indeed,
\fBaptitude \-\-safe\-resolver full\-upgrade\fR
is equivalent to
\fBaptitude safe\-upgrade\fR\&. Because
\fBsafe\-upgrade\fR
always uses the safe resolver, it does not accept the
\fB\-\-safe\-resolver\fR
flag\&.
.sp
This option is equivalent to setting the configuration variable
\fBAptitude::Always\-Use\-Safe\-Resolver\fR
to
\fBtrue\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-\-schedule\-only\fR
.RS 4
For commands that modify package states, schedule operations to be performed in the future, but don\*(Aqt perform them\&. You can execute scheduled actions by running
\fBaptitude install\fR
with no arguments\&. This is equivalent to making the corresponding selections in
visual mode, then exiting the program normally\&.
.sp
For instance,
\fBaptitude \-\-schedule\-only install evolution\fR
will schedule the
\fBevolution\fR
package for later installation\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-\-show\-package\-names\fR <\fIwhen\fR>
.RS 4
Controls when the
\fBversions\fR
command shows package names\&. The following settings are allowed:
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
\fBalways\fR: display package names every time that
\fBaptitude versions\fR
runs\&.
.RE
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
\fBauto\fR: display package names when
\fBaptitude versions\fR
runs if the output is not grouped by package, and either there is a pattern\-matching argument or there is more than one argument\&.
.RE
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
\fBnever\fR: never display package names in the output of
\fBaptitude versions\fR\&.
.RE
.sp
This option corresponds to the configuration item
\fBAptitude::CmdLine::Versions\-Show\-Package\-Names\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-\-show\-resolver\-actions\fR
.RS 4
Display the actions performed by the
\(lqsafe\(rq
resolver and by
\fBsafe\-upgrade\fR\&.
.sp
When executing the command
\fBsafe\-upgrade\fR
or when the option
--safe-resolver
is present,
\fBaptitude\fR
will display a summary of the actions performed by the resolver before printing the installation preview\&. This is equivalent to the configuration option
\fBAptitude::Safe\-Resolver::Show\-Resolver\-Actions\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-\-show\-summary\fR\fB[=<\fIMODE\fR>]\fR
.RS 4
Changes the behavior of
\(lq\fBaptitude why\fR\(rq
to summarize each dependency chain that it outputs, rather than displaying it in long form\&. If this option is present and
<\fIMODE\fR>
is not
\(lq\fBno\-summary\fR\(rq, chains that contain Suggests dependencies will not be displayed: combine
\fB\-\-show\-summary\fR
with
\fB\-v\fR
to see a summary of all the reasons for the target package to be installed\&.
.sp
<\fIMODE\fR>
can be any one of the following:
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04' 1.\h'+01'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP "  1." 4.2
.\}
\fBno\-summary\fR: don\*(Aqt show a summary (the default behavior if
\fB\-\-show\-summary\fR
is not present)\&.
.RE
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04' 2.\h'+01'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP "  2." 4.2
.\}
\fBfirst\-package\fR: display the first package in each chain\&. This is the default value of
<\fIMODE\fR>
if it is not present\&.
.RE
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04' 3.\h'+01'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP "  3." 4.2
.\}
\fBfirst\-package\-and\-type\fR: display the first package in each chain, along with the strength of the weakest dependency in the chain\&.
.RE
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04' 4.\h'+01'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP "  4." 4.2
.\}
\fBall\-packages\fR: briefly display each chain of dependencies leading to the target package\&.
.RE
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04' 5.\h'+01'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP "  5." 4.2
.\}
\fBall\-packages\-with\-dep\-versions\fR: briefly display each chain of dependencies leading to the target package, including the target version of each dependency\&.
.RE
.sp
This option corresponds to the configuration item
\fBAptitude::CmdLine::Show\-Summary\fR; if
\fB\-\-show\-summary\fR
is present on the command\-line, it will override
\fBAptitude::CmdLine::Show\-Summary\fR\&.
.PP
\fBExample\ \&10.\ \&Usage of \-\-show\-summary\fR
\fB\-\-show\-summary\fR
used with
\fB\-v\fR
to display all the reasons a package is installed:
.sp
.if n \{\
.RS 4
.\}
.nf
$ aptitude \-v \-\-show\-summary why foomatic\-db
Packages requiring foomatic\-db:
  cupsys\-driver\-gutenprint
  foomatic\-db\-engine
  foomatic\-db\-gutenprint
  foomatic\-db\-hpijs
  foomatic\-filters\-ppds
  foomatic\-gui
  kde
  printconf
  wine

$ aptitude \-v \-\-show\-summary=first\-package\-and\-type why foomatic\-db
Packages requiring foomatic\-db:
  [Depends] cupsys\-driver\-gutenprint
  [Depends] foomatic\-db\-engine
  [Depends] foomatic\-db\-gutenprint
  [Depends] foomatic\-db\-hpijs
  [Depends] foomatic\-filters\-ppds
  [Depends] foomatic\-gui
  [Depends] kde
  [Depends] printconf
  [Depends] wine

$ aptitude \-v \-\-show\-summary=all\-packages why foomatic\-db
Packages requiring foomatic\-db:
  cupsys\-driver\-gutenprint D: cups\-driver\-gutenprint D: cups R: foomatic\-filters R: foomatic\-db\-engine D: foomatic\-db
  foomatic\-filters\-ppds D: foomatic\-filters R: foomatic\-db\-engine D: foomatic\-db
  kde D: kdeadmin R: system\-config\-printer\-kde D: system\-config\-printer R: hal\-cups\-utils D: cups R: foomatic\-filters R: foomatic\-db\-engine D: foomatic\-db
  wine D: libwine\-print D: cups\-bsd R: cups R: foomatic\-filters R: foomatic\-db\-engine D: foomatic\-db
  foomatic\-db\-engine D: foomatic\-db
  foomatic\-db\-gutenprint D: foomatic\-db
  foomatic\-db\-hpijs D: foomatic\-db
  foomatic\-gui D: python\-foomatic D: foomatic\-db\-engine D: foomatic\-db
  printconf D: foomatic\-db

$ aptitude \-v \-\-show\-summary=all\-packages\-with\-dep\-versions why foomatic\-db
Packages requiring foomatic\-db:
  cupsys\-driver\-gutenprint D: cups\-driver\-gutenprint (>= 5\&.0\&.2\-4) D: cups (>= 1\&.3\&.0) R: foomatic\-filters (>= 4\&.0) R: foomatic\-db\-engine (>= 4\&.0) D: foomatic\-db (>= 20090301)
  foomatic\-filters\-ppds D: foomatic\-filters R: foomatic\-db\-engine (>= 4\&.0) D: foomatic\-db (>= 20090301)
  kde D: kdeadmin (>= 4:3\&.5\&.5) R: system\-config\-printer\-kde (>= 4:4\&.2\&.2\-1) D: system\-config\-printer (>= 1\&.0\&.0) R: hal\-cups\-utils D: cups R: foomatic\-filters (>= 4\&.0) R: foomatic\-db\-engine (>= 4\&.0) D: foomatic\-db (>= 20090301)
  wine D: libwine\-print (= 1\&.1\&.15\-1) D: cups\-bsd R: cups R: foomatic\-filters (>= 4\&.0) R: foomatic\-db\-engine (>= 4\&.0) D: foomatic\-db (>= 20090301)
  foomatic\-db\-engine D: foomatic\-db
  foomatic\-db\-gutenprint D: foomatic\-db
  foomatic\-db\-hpijs D: foomatic\-db
  foomatic\-gui D: python\-foomatic (>= 0\&.7\&.9\&.2) D: foomatic\-db\-engine D: foomatic\-db (>= 20090301)
  printconf D: foomatic\-db
	    
.fi
.if n \{\
.RE
.\}
.sp
\fB\-\-show\-summary\fR
used to list a chain on one line:
.sp
.if n \{\
.RS 4
.\}
.nf
$ aptitude \-\-show\-summary=all\-packages why aptitude\-gtk libglib2\&.0\-data
Packages requiring libglib2\&.0\-data:
  aptitude\-gtk D: libglib2\&.0\-0 R: libglib2\&.0\-data
.fi
.if n \{\
.RE
.\}
.RE
.PP
\fB\-t\fR <\fIrelease\fR>, \fB\-\-target\-release\fR <\fIrelease\fR>
.RS 4
Set the release from which packages should be installed\&. For instance,
\(lq\fBaptitude \-t experimental \&.\&.\&.\fR\(rq
will install packages from the experimental distribution unless you specify otherwise\&. For the command\-line actions
\(lqchangelog\(rq,
\(lqdownload\(rq, and
\(lqshow\(rq, this is equivalent to appending
\fB/\fR\fB<\fIrelease\fR>\fR
to each package named on the command\-line; for other commands, this will affect the default candidate version of packages according to the rules described in
\fBapt_preferences\fR(5)\&.
.sp
This corresponds to the configuration item
\fBAPT::Default\-Release\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-V\fR, \fB\-\-show\-versions\fR
.RS 4
Show which versions of packages will be installed\&.
.sp
This corresponds to the configuration option
\fBAptitude::CmdLine::Show-Versions\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-v\fR, \fB\-\-verbose\fR
.RS 4
Causes some commands (for instance,
\fBshow\fR) to display extra information\&. This may be supplied multiple times to get more and more information\&.
.sp
This corresponds to the configuration option
\fBAptitude::CmdLine::Verbose\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-\-version\fR
.RS 4
Display the version of
\fBaptitude\fR
and some information about how it was compiled\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-\-visual\-preview\fR
.RS 4
When installing or removing packages from the command line, instead of displaying the usual prompt, start up the visual interface and display its preview screen\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-W\fR, \fB\-\-show\-why\fR
.RS 4
In the preview displayed before packages are installed or removed, show which manually installed package requires each automatically installed package\&. For instance:
.sp
.if n \{\
.RS 4
.\}
.nf
$ aptitude \-\-show\-why install mediawiki
\&.\&.\&.
The following NEW packages will be installed:
  libapache2\-mod\-php5{a} (for mediawiki)  mediawiki  php5{a} (for mediawiki)
  php5\-cli{a} (for mediawiki)  php5\-common{a} (for mediawiki)
  php5\-mysql{a} (for mediawiki)
.fi
.if n \{\
.RE
.\}
.sp
When combined with
\fB\-v\fR
or a non\-zero value for
\fBAptitude::CmdLine::Verbose\fR, this displays the entire chain of dependencies that lead each package to be installed\&. For instance:
.sp
.if n \{\
.RS 4
.\}
.nf
$ aptitude \-v \-\-show\-why install libdb4\&.2\-dev
The following NEW packages will be installed:
  libdb4\&.2{a} (libdb4\&.2\-dev D: libdb4\&.2)  libdb4\&.2\-dev
The following packages will be REMOVED:
  libdb4\&.4\-dev{a} (libdb4\&.2\-dev C: libdb\-dev P<\- libdb\-dev)
.fi
.if n \{\
.RE
.\}
.sp
This option will also describe why packages are being removed, as shown above\&. In this example,
libdb4\&.2\-dev
conflicts with
libdb\-dev, which is provided by
libdb\-dev\&.
.sp
This argument corresponds to the configuration option
\fBAptitude::CmdLine::Show-Why\fR
and displays the same information that is computed by
\fBaptitude why\fR
and
\fBaptitude why\-not\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-w\fR <\fIwidth\fR>, \fB\-\-width\fR <\fIwidth\fR>
.RS 4
Specify the display width which should be used for output from the
\fBsearch\fR
command (by default, the terminal width is used)\&.
.sp
This corresponds to the configuration option
\fBAptitude::CmdLine::Package-Display-Width\fR
.RE
.PP
\fB\-y\fR, \fB\-\-assume\-yes\fR
.RS 4
When a yes/no prompt would be presented, assume that the user entered
\(lqyes\(rq\&. In particular, suppresses the prompt that appears when installing, upgrading, or removing packages\&. Prompts for
\(lqdangerous\(rq
actions, such as removing essential packages, will still be displayed\&. This option overrides
\fB\-P\fR\&.
.sp
This corresponds to the configuration option
\fBAptitude::CmdLine::Assume-Yes\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-Z\fR
.RS 4
Show how much disk space will be used or freed by the individual packages being installed, upgraded, or removed\&.
.sp
This corresponds to the configuration option
\fBAptitude::CmdLine::Show-Size-Changes\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
The following options apply to the visual mode of the program, but are primarily for internal use; you generally won\*(Aqt need to use them yourself\&.
.PP
\fB\-\-autoclean\-on\-startup\fR
.RS 4
Deletes old downloaded files when the program starts (equivalent to starting the program and immediately selecting
Actions \(-> Clean obsolete files)\&. You cannot use this option and
\(lq\fB\-\-autoclean\-on\-startup\fR\(rq,
\(lq\fB\-i\fR\(rq, or
\(lq\fB\-u\fR\(rq
at the same time\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-\-clean\-on\-startup\fR
.RS 4
Cleans the package cache when the program starts (equivalent to starting the program and immediately selecting
Actions \(-> Clean package cache)\&. You cannot use this option and
\(lq\fB\-\-autoclean\-on\-startup\fR\(rq,
\(lq\fB\-i\fR\(rq, or
\(lq\fB\-u\fR\(rq
at the same time\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-i\fR
.RS 4
Displays a download preview when the program starts (equivalent to starting the program and immediately pressing
\(lqg\(rq)\&. You cannot use this option and
\(lq\fB\-\-autoclean\-on\-startup\fR\(rq,
\(lq\fB\-\-clean\-on\-startup\fR\(rq, or
\(lq\fB\-u\fR\(rq
at the same time\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-S\fR <\fIfname\fR>
.RS 4
Loads the extended state information from
<\fIfname\fR>
instead of the standard state file\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-u\fR
.RS 4
Begins updating the package lists as soon as the program starts\&. You cannot use this option and
\(lq\fB\-\-autoclean\-on\-startup\fR\(rq,
\(lq\fB\-\-clean\-on\-startup\fR\(rq, or
\(lq\fB\-i\fR\(rq
at the same time\&.
.RE
.SH "ENVIRONMENT"
.PP
\fBHOME\fR
.RS 4
If
$HOME/\&.aptitude
exists,
\fBaptitude\fR
will store its configuration file in
$HOME/\&.aptitude/config\&. Otherwise, it will look up the current user\*(Aqs home directory using
\fBgetpwuid\fR(2)
and place its configuration file there\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBPAGER\fR
.RS 4
If this environment variable is set,
\fBaptitude\fR
will use it to display changelogs when
\(lq\fBaptitude changelog\fR\(rq
is invoked\&. If not set, it defaults to
\fBmore\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBTMP\fR
.RS 4
If
\fBTMPDIR\fR
is unset,
\fBaptitude\fR
will store its temporary files in
\fBTMP\fR
if that variable is set\&. Otherwise, it will store them in
/tmp\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBTMPDIR\fR
.RS 4
\fBaptitude\fR
will store its temporary files in the directory indicated by this environment variable\&. If
\fBTMPDIR\fR
is not set, then
\fBTMP\fR
will be used; if
\fBTMP\fR
is also unset, then
\fBaptitude\fR
will use
/tmp\&.
.RE
.SH "FILES"
.PP
/var/lib/aptitude/pkgstates
.RS 4
The file in which stored package states and some package flags are stored\&.
.RE
.PP
/etc/apt/apt\&.conf, /etc/apt/apt\&.conf\&.d/*, ~/\&.aptitude/config
.RS 4
The configuration files for
\fBaptitude\fR\&.
~/\&.aptitude/config
overrides
/etc/apt/apt\&.conf\&. See
\fBapt.conf\fR(5)
for documentation of the format and contents of these files\&.
.RE
.SH "SEE ALSO"
.PP
\fBapt-get\fR(8),
\fBapt\fR(8),
/usr/share/doc/aptitude/html/<\fIlang\fR>/index\&.html
from the package aptitude\-doc\-<\fIlang\fR>
.SH "AUTHOR"
.PP
\fBDaniel Burrows\fR <\&dburrows@debian.org\&>
.RS 4
Author.
.RE
.SH "COPYRIGHT"
.br
.PP
Copyright 2004\-2011 Daniel Burrows\&.
.PP
This manual page is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version\&.
.PP
This manual page is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE\&. See the GNU General Public License for more details\&.
.PP
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc\&., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110\-1301 USA\&.
.sp
