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How to downgrade a package to an older version via apt-get?!

Another tools are also accepted but apt-get is preferred.

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6 Answers

If you have the version number, or the target release, apt-get supports choosing a particular version or target release. More details can be found on manual page of apt-get. It can also be accessed from terminal by typing man apt-get

sudo apt-get install <package-name>=<package-version-number> OR

sudo apt-get -t=<target release> install <package-name>

is the command to be run. This can be used to down-grade a package to a specific version.

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2  
Also, use apt-cache showpkg <package-name> to list available versions. – Sparhawk Apr 2 at 20:42
up vote 13 down vote accepted

USE

apt-get install pkg=version

OR

sudo aptitude install pkg=version.

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In my opinion, you should first uninstall or purge the package, like:

sudo apt-get remove <package>

or

sudo apt-get purge <package>

Then, you may download the version you would like to install and keep it in a folder, say abc.deb in Downloads. Open terminal, move to the folder using cd command and install the previous version using dpkg:

sudo dpkg -i abc.deb

Or else, there is a small utility called ppa-purge if you mean to downgrade packages updated via PPAs.

See this thread: http://www.webupd8.org/2009/12/remove-ppa-repositories-via-command.html

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1  
removing a package may remove many dependent ones, resulting in an unusable system. ppapurge sounds interesting though. – type May 20 '12 at 19:04
1  
Can you explain why you believe we ought to first uninstall packages (as a separate step) before installing older versions of them? – Eliah Kagan Oct 4 '12 at 20:48

To downgrade you have to do a command like

 sudo apt-get install pkg_name=version

in your terminal.

In the place of version put the previous version you want to downgrade to.

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If have upgraded software using ppa you can downgrade it by using ppa-purge. First you have to install ppa-purge suing code

sudo apt-get istall ppa-purge

Then you can remove the ppa using command

sudo ppa-purge ppa:user/ppa-name

this will autometically downgrade the software to its original version which shipped with ubuntu.

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Just press Ctrl+Alt+T on your keyboard to open Terminal. When it opens, run the command below.

sudo apt-get install the-new-package

If it's founded in your repository else you have to add it before.

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3  
That doesn't help with downgrading. A simple apt-get install will not replace a package with an older version. – Michael Jan 4 at 10:48

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