What is APT in Linux? [Installation, Usage & More]

APT is an abbreviation for Advanced Package Tool. It is used for downloading, removing, or upgrading software packages. APT is a powerful tool that can also be used with sudo, which lets us be the super user or sudo root user. In this article, you will get to know all the aspects and features of APT in Linux.

How to Use APT in Linux

APT must be used with sudo. Because to install, remove or upgrade you need to be root users. As you know sudo gives the root privilege.

You can use apt in multiple ways, for various purposes. For example Installation, update, or removal of packages. Now we will look at some ways we can use APT.

How to Install Packages Using APT in Linux

Let’s say you want to view the calendar on our machine. You write the command below:

ncal

This should give you the calendar of the running month. The terminal should show-this is a picture of current calender monthBut if you didn’t install ncal on our machine, you will have to install ncal. No need to worry, I will show you how to resolve this problem.

Steps to Follow >

 Open your Ubuntu terminal.

➋  Write the following commands and press ENTER.

sudo apt install ncal

You will have to give the password. Don’t worry it’s just your user password, not the root user password.give password for using apt➌  Provide the password and you will see the installation start.installing ncal using aptNow I have already installed ncal so my machine didn’t install anything new. But yours will surely install ncal. You can install all the required software packages this way. There you go, you have mastered how to install software packages using APT.

Bonus: If you want to install multiple packages at a time execute the command.

sudo apt install pack1 pack2

How to Remove Packages Using APT

Now removing software packages isn’t something you do often. But it is important to know the command lines for that. Now, this too can be done using APT. Let’s say you want to get rid of ncal. For this, follow the steps below.

Steps to follow >

➊  Open the Ubuntu terminal.

➋  Write the commands below and press ENTER.

sudo apt remove ncal

➌  Now it will ask you if you want to delete it or not. Press yOutput >removing ncal using apt➍  ncal is removed.

Congratulations, you now know how to install and remove individual software packages using sudo apt command.

Now you can also use –purge. In this way, you can remove the package and the configuration files too. So be cautious while using -purge

   sudo apt purge package

Bonus: If you want to remove multiple packages at a time execute the command.

sudo apt remove pack1 pack2

Autoremove

While doing various command line operations there are some software packages that are installed by-products of those operations. After completing the operation you don’t really need these packages, so you delete them using autoremove.

Steps to Follow >

➊  Open the Ubuntu terminal.

➋  Write the commands and press ENTER.

sudo apt autoremove

➌  Now it will ask you if you want to delete it or not. Press yOutput >

How to Update Packages Using apt in Linux

Now if you want to make all the available packages up to date, we can use the update option.

Now follow the steps below.

Steps to Follow >

➊  Open the Ubuntu terminal.

➋  Write the commands and press ENTER.

sudo apt update

➌  Provide the password and you will see that update started.asking password for running aptOutput >showing output of apt updateNow there might be times when you need to upgrade your system rather than update. First, you will run an update, then the terminal will tell you if there is anything to update. You can see the list of upgrades using list.

Steps to Follow >

➊  Open the Ubuntu terminal.

➋  Write the commands and press ENTER.

sudo apt list --upgradable

Output >list of upgradable filesYou will have this list printed out on our terminal. Now how to upgrade them? No worries, I will discuss that in the next section.

How to Upgrade Using apt in Linux

To upgrade I do need root permission. So I must use sudo for enabling my root user privilege. Now there are two options, I can upgrade all the available packages or I can upgrade each package individually. I will show you both the options.

Steps to Follow >

➊  Open the Ubuntu terminal.

➋  Write the commands and press ENTER.

  • Upgrade all the packages: 
sudo apt upgrade

This will start upgrading all the existing packages in the system.upgrading all the files with apt upgrade

  • Upgrade a specific package:
sudo apt upgrade package_name

This will start upgrading that specific package. The terminal should look like the image below.upgrading one file at a timeNow I see that it asks for permission if I want to upgrade or not. I will press y for Yes n for No.giving permission

Bonus: If you want to directly upgrade without being asked, you use the commands below.

sudo apt -y upgrade

Upgrade vs Full Upgrade

First of all, the syntax for these commands is different. For upgrade, you will use

sudo apt upgrade

and for full-upgrade, you use

sudo apt full-upgrade

Secondly, these two commands function a little differently. The core difference between upgrade and full-upgrade– the latter will remove any pre-installed packages to upgrade the entire system if needed. So we must be very cautious while using full-upgrade.

Printing Lists with apt

Now you have already seen this example above when I listed out my upgradable software packages. But you have to remember that you can print out a list of any packages that are inside your machine. In this section, I will give an example.

sudo apt list --installed.

This will give me a list of all the packages that are installed in my system. Let’s take a look at the sample output below.

Output >list of installed package using apt

Searching Using apt

You can do a search on your system using apt. What it does is looks for matching package names within the machine’s existing package.

Steps to Follow >

➊  Open the Ubuntu terminal.

➋  Write the commands and press ENTER.

sudo apt search ncal

➌  Provide the user password if it’s already been 15 minutes since your last sudo session.

Output >doing search using apt

Using apt to Show Information about a Package

If you want to know how much space a package is holding. Or if you wanted to know about the source of a package, you can do that using show. So for that look below.

Steps to Follow >

➊  Open your Ubuntu terminal.

➋  Write the command and press ENTER.

sudo apt show ncal

➌  Provide the password (user password)

password for the user

Output >

This shows all the relevant data about ncalshowing information of ncal using apt

Some Advanced Use of apt (Combined Commands)

Let’s say you want to update and upgrade together rather than first updating and then upgrading. You can use Logical Operation. Does it sound difficult? If it does then don’t worry just follow me step by step.

Steps to Follow >

➊  Open your Ubuntu terminal.

➋  Write the commands and press  ENTER.

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

➌  Provide the password (user password)Output >logical operation with apt

Let’s Look at Another Advanced Use

Here you will separate ncal from all the installed packages.

Steps to Follow >

➊  Open your Ubuntu terminal.

➋  Write the commands and press ENTER.

sudo apt list | grep ncal

➌  Provide the password (user password)Output >using grep with apt

apt vs apt-get

apt is a better and newer version of apt-get. apt brought some key improvements in command line execution and also in terminal output.

Detailed output

apt gives more detailed output than apt-get. Let’s take a look at the image belowapt vs apt-get

Improved Designed Output

apt provided users with better-looking terminal output compared to apt-get. Now, look at the picture you should have a clear idea.better design of apt

New Commands

apt came with some new commands which don’t work with apt-get. For example:

➊  list doesn’t work with apt-get.new apt command

➋  edit-sources doesn’t work with apt-get.new apt command

apt Command Not Found in Linux

By now you should know what apt does. It has the ability to install, remove, update, or upgrade software packages into Linux Distribution. But this only works with Ubuntu, Debian and its derivatives.

So this error occurs when we try to install operating systems that are not compatible with apt, like Fedora, MacOS X etc.

How to resolve apt command not found problem

➊  One way to solve this problem is to use Linux Distribution that is compatible with apt.

➋  Install the latest apt package.

➌  Use apt with appropriate operating systems.

Conclusion

In this article, I have tried to explain how apt works, some useful command lines, and the difference between apt and apt-get. I tried to make it as simple as possible, considering how hard it is to learn to use the command line for beginners. So after reading this article you should be able to use apt properly and without facing many difficulties.

So if you found the above article helpful then check out Alias. This will help you further master the Linux command line.


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Md. Rafsan Zani

Hello, I’m Md. Rafsan Zani. I have recently completed my Undergraduate from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). Currently, I’m pursuing higher studies abroad. I’m really interested in computer science and would like to learn a lot about the wonderful world of computers. Currently, I’m working as a Linux Content Developer Executive and find Linux really interesting. I certainly would like to learn more about Linux and implement them in my future studies. Read Full Bio

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