apt-get dist upgrade

Question

I am using Ubuntu 12.04 right now. If I use command sudo apt-get dist-upgrade will that upgrade my ubuntu to 12.10? Does that mean I am not using the LTS version after that? I don't want to use Ubuntu 12.10 because I already tried it and it's very heavy for my netbook.

Answer 1

No, sudo apt-get dist-upgrade will not upgrade to a new Ubuntu release. It will just install available updates for the Ubuntu release you already have installed.

Unlike sudo apt-get upgrade it may install new packages or remove installed packages if that is necessary to satisfy dependencies. So be careful when using it.

Answer 2

You can read the man-page of apt-get to see what each command do.

Open the manual

man apt-get

Find the section dist-upgrade and read

dist-upgrade

       in addition to performing the function of upgrade,
       also intelligently handles changing dependencies with new versions
       of packages; apt-get has a "smart" conflict resolution system, and
       it will attempt to upgrade the most important packages at the
       expense of less important ones if necessary. So, dist-upgrade
       command may remove some packages. The /etc/apt/sources.list file
       contains a list of locations from which to retrieve desired package
       files. See also apt_preferences(5) for a mechanism for overriding
       the general settings for individual packages

Also , read this question here: What is “dist-upgrade” and why does it upgrade more than “upgrade”?

In order to upgrade the Ubuntu release to a newer , you have to run in terminal

sudo do-release-upgrade

We read from the man-page

man do-release-upgrade

DESCRIPTION

Upgrade the operating system to the latest release from the com‐ mand-line. This is the preferred command if the machine has no graphic environment or if the machine is to be upgraded over a remote connection

.

Answer 3

If you do not want to upgrade to non-LTS versions, follow these steps:

• Open Ubuntu Software Center.

• Go to Edit -> Software Sources.

• Go to the Updates tab and make sure you have selected For long-term support versions in the Notify of a new Ubuntu version.

• Open a terminal and run sudo apt-get update (just to be sure :) ).

• Now, when you run sudo apt-get dist-upgrade it'd be upgraded to the next LTS version and not non-LTS versions.

Answer 4

you cannot jump from 12.04 to 13.04 directly you would have to have update manger set to normal then do

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade or sudo do-release-upgrade

the difference between the commands is that dist-upgrade wants you to change your config files during the upgrade

they both will upgrade your dist when the time comes sudo apt-get upgrade only upgrades the software on your system it does not install or remove packages like dist-upgrade