Questions about software packages, installing them, removing them, updating them and finding them.
68
votes
10answers
56k views
How to list all installed packages?
I'd like to output a list of all installed packages into a text file, so that I can review it and bulk-install on another system. How to do this?
54
votes
56answers
6k views
What are the most useful programs installed after setup of a vanilla Ubuntu? [closed]
For me some of the following are a must have after I have installed Ubuntu.
Please add links. and a note if the program isn't free (as in freedom)
Update: Collecting all the packages listed below in ...
45
votes
3answers
36k views
How do I deal with “unauthenticated sources” errors in the Software Center?
Any install that I'm trying through the Software Center is telling me:
Requires installation of untrusted packages: The action would require the installation of packages from not authenticated ...
32
votes
7answers
2k views
Why don't the Ubuntu repositories have the latest versions of software?
Why are packages in the official Ubuntu repositories older than the latest (upstream) versions from Debian Sid, PPAs, the authors, etc.?
26
votes
2answers
705 views
What precautions should I take with .debs I find on the internet?
So I was browsing the web the other day, and I came across a few places that wanted me to download .deb files - and since those are installed by root (and as such have the "powers" and capabilities of ...
26
votes
3answers
6k views
How can I remove the Translation entries in apt?
This is the output of aptitude update:
Ign http://archive.canonical.com natty InRelease
Ign http://extras.ubuntu.com natty InRelease
Ign http://dl.google.com stable InRelease
Ign ...
24
votes
6answers
2k views
Why the software center doesn't allow multiple downloads?
I was wondering why the software center doesn't download all the requested apps and install one by one as they finish to download.
Or instead why the software center doesn't download an app while the ...
24
votes
1answer
1k views
How to create a meta-package that automatically installs other packages?
I'd like to be able to create a package that doesnt contain any code or programs itself, but instead installs other packages that exist in the repositories onto a computer, sort of how the ...
22
votes
5answers
5k views
If I build a package from source how can I uninstall or remove completely?
I used source code to build one package such as below:
./configure --prefix=/usr --sysconfdir=/etc --localstatedir=/var --libexecdir=/usr/lib --with-package-name="Myplugin" ...
21
votes
5answers
12k views
Will python2.7 be available for 10.04 in the future?
Since Ubuntu 10.04 is an LTS release will it support python 2.7 as a default package maintainer version or at least have a python2.7 package in future?
Since it will be the last major python 2.x ...
20
votes
6answers
13k views
How to Downgrade a Package via apt-get?
How to downgrade a package to an older version via apt-get?!
Another tools are also accepted but apt-get is preferred.
20
votes
4answers
5k views
How to set up an APT repository?
I would like to set up an APT repository on a server that will provide a couple of packages.
Is there a way to set one up without installing any software on the server?
How do the files have to be ...
20
votes
3answers
1k views
What does the “-ng” suffix mean in package names?
Several package names contain the suffix -ng:
$ apt-cache search "\-ng$"
linux-wlan-ng - utilities for wireless prism2 cards
aircrack-ng - wireless WEP/WPA cracking utilities
apt-cacher-ng - caching ...
18
votes
7answers
6k views
Where do I get a package for GNU Parallel?
I want to install GNU Parallel in Ubuntu but I can't find a package for it in the default Ubuntu repos. Where can I get it?
18
votes
2answers
334 views
Is there a congrats ubuntu page?
Say for example I use a particular package and want to say "Way to go maintainers" is there a way for me to do this?
18
votes
4answers
467 views
Is it possible to tell what packages I've installed that aren't in the vanilla install?
I've upgraded Ubuntu on my laptop all the way from 7.04 to 10.04 without ever wiping the disk. I have a sneaking suspicion that means I have a bunch of crufty packages that I don't use and that are ...
17
votes
6answers
5k views
Where can I look up my update history?
Is there a place where I can look what updates I've installed?
16
votes
4answers
930 views
Is this command to remove old kernels safe to use?
While browsing the internet for Ubuntu articles, I came across this command:
sudo dpkg -l 'linux-*' | sed '/^ii/!d;/'"$(uname -r | sed "s/\(.*\)-\([^0-9]\+\)/\1/")"'/d;s/^[^ ]* [^ ]* \([^ ...
16
votes
2answers
13k views
How can I install a package without root access?
I have no root access on this machine.
I would like to know if there is a way I can download Ubuntu packages and install them as non-root?
Probably in my ~/bin or ~/usr/share or something like that? ...
15
votes
5answers
3k views
How do I figure out what package something is in without resorting to Google?
I often find myself wanting to install something, but I'm unsure of what package it's in. This is a very common occurrence for me:
$ make html
sphinx-build -b djangohtml -d _build/doctrees . ...
15
votes
6answers
2k views
What is a “bad quality” package?
What does it mean to have a Bad Quality Package (What qualities would it have to be a Bad quality package) and what happens if I install a package that has bad quality but still installs.
15
votes
4answers
646 views
Why are softwares not packaged in a single file?
We see Most of the Windows softwares are packaged in a single executable file. When I double-click Setup file, it sets up all the files, binaries and libraries with it.
I understand the dependency ...
15
votes
1answer
779 views
What is the 'popularity-contest' package for?
I'm installing ubuntu server at the moment, and noticed it in the configuration phase.
What does this package do, what is it for?
14
votes
4answers
1k views
Where's the “task manager”?
I'm looking for that thing that shows running processes, lets me affect them by clicking on them and maybe shows some nice charts like CPU usage, that kind of thing.
14
votes
4answers
31k views
What happened to the ia32-libs package?
The ia32-libs package is longer present in Ubuntu 12.04 repositories for a 64bit system.
Are there any available replacement packages available for download?
14
votes
1answer
3k views
What's the difference between flashplugin-installer and adobe-flashplugin?
I usually installed flashplugin-installer and by chance noticed that in the partner repository the Flash entry says it's not installed. It also says the package flashplugin-installer will be removed ...
14
votes
3answers
277 views
How are packages suggested and what is the difference between extra and new packages?
When installing a new package via "apt-get install", I usually just tick yes if it is a program I need/want, but, I read through it, and, I am a little curious as to what the sections actually mean.
...
13
votes
5answers
3k views
Is it possible to install a .deb from a URL?
Is there a way to install a deb package directly from a URL, using a shell?
Something like
dpkg -i http://domain.com/path/to/package.deb
(I know I could use wget and then dpkg, I'm just wondering ...
13
votes
2answers
364 views
Why isn't Ubuntu using the latest versions of some applications?
What reasons are there for applications in Ubuntu not being the most up-to-date in its repositories?
13
votes
2answers
539 views
What are the conceptual and technical differences between “Apps” and packages?
I'm a bit confused by the recent announcement (http://developer.ubuntu.com/2011/09/announcing-the-ubuntu-app-developer-site/) of the new "App" developer site. I've fallen out of Ubuntu development and ...
13
votes
3answers
12k views
Requires installation of untrusted packages?
I tried installing VLC Player yesterday, and I got the Requires installation of untrusted packages error. I searched for hours for a solution to this problem, and finally came upon a suggestion that ...
13
votes
2answers
24k views
What does Package <package> has no installation candidate mean?
What does the above Error mean? What is an installation candidate?
I was trying to do
sudo apt-get install munin-memcached
and i get this message:
Reading package lists... Done
Building ...
13
votes
1answer
5k views
How to check if a LaTeX package has been installed?
How to check if a LaTeX package has been installed in Ubuntu?
When installing, I followed the methods mentioned in http://math.arizona.edu/support/tex/accountpackages.html and ...
13
votes
2answers
841 views
What are the downsides of removing ubuntu-desktop metapackage?
I once advised someone to remove a package that depends on ubuntu-desktop meta-package, if she didn't need it (EG: if one uses a different editor than gedit). Someone else said that doing so (removing ...
12
votes
4answers
3k views
How to install GUI desktop on a server?
After installing Ubuntu server how do I install the desktop environment?
12
votes
2answers
2k views
What exactly is in ubuntu-desktop?
I'm also interested in its variants, like kubuntu-desktop. It appears to include GNOME (or KDE) and a bunch of other things. But it's quite large - is there a breakdown of what is included in ...
12
votes
3answers
3k views
Is there an apt command to download a deb file from the repositories to the current directory?
I am often interested in the installation triggers (postinst, postrm) or certain parts of packages (like /usr/share and /etc). Currently, I am running the next command to retrieve the source code:
...
12
votes
2answers
3k views
Is it possible to install Python 2.5 in 11.04?
I occasionally have to work on some legacy Python code that is run by the Python 2.5 interpreter in production. I'd like to set my development environment up just like production, so I need to install ...
12
votes
1answer
192 views
Apport support for non ubuntu packages
I have been reading about apport and its usage for a week by now. But could not understand the below things.
Scenario:
I have developed an application and packaged it. And its name is MyApp.deb. The ...
11
votes
3answers
1k views
Why do some packages conflict with themselves?
After an upgrade to Oneiric I have had some troubles with the package manager (it wanted to remove half of my system, including libc6, zlib1g packages etc). During the fight with aptitude I've noticed ...
11
votes
6answers
2k views
What package is right for my computer?
I am running on Ubuntu 11.10 32 bit, and I am wondering what packages of software I should download; namely, RPM, DEB, or TAR GZ. I have encountered having to choose from this list while trying to ...
11
votes
3answers
5k views
How to disable multiarch support?
I don't want to install any i386 package.
Is there any way to disable functionality?
11
votes
2answers
16k views
How do I use apt-get to only download packages?
I have apt-get 0.7.23.1 on host machine. I do not have root, thus not able to update it, or install other packages.
I want to download .deb packages with it, but neither
apt-get -d bash (Invalid ...
11
votes
4answers
7k views
How do I add the kernel PPA?
I can get Ubuntu mainline kernels from this kernel PPA - is there a way to add it to my repository list the same as regular Launchpad PPAs?
11
votes
1answer
261 views
What's the significance of “-0ubuntu1” at the end of a package version string?
Many packages built for Ubuntu seem to have a "-0ubuntu1" suffix (or, more generally, -XubuntuY). For example, the version string for a bleeeding-edge package from the nova project looks like:
...
11
votes
2answers
8k views
What does the “Basic Ubuntu Server” package contain in software selection during installation?
I'm installing Ubuntu 12.04 from an Ubuntu Minimal image, and I've gotten to the software selection part. What I'm wondering is, which packages are included in the "Basic Ubuntu Server" option?
I'm ...
10
votes
8answers
2k views
How do I find packages to install via apt-get
After doing a man apt-get and cursory Google search it's not clear how I find new programs to install (from the internet) using apt-get (which is amazingly powerful and simple coming from another ...
10
votes
4answers
12k views
How to install updates via command line?
Good day,
When I log into my web server via SSH I see the information:
88 packages can be updated.
80 updates are security updates
I tried apt-get update then apt-get upgrade but each time I log ...
10
votes
2answers
2k views
How do I create a PPA for a working program?
Let's assume I have a working application written in C, C++ or Python. I want to create a Launchpad PPA so others can easily install it from a package. Please give step by step instructions for doing ...
10
votes
4answers
1k views
What is the difference between a meta-package and a package?
I've heard some packages being classified as a meta-package. So now I am left wondering what is the difference between a meta-package and a package?
