Ubuntu – apt-get equivalent of “aptitude why”

aptaptitude

In this answer, I came across this command:

aptitude why firefox

aptitude whylooks like an useful command but I don't want to install aptitude just for that. What is the apt-get equivalent of aptitude why?

Best Answer

Instead of apt-get I would have a look at apt-cache, though not one on one the same but close will be:

apt-cache --installed rdepends firefox

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Ubuntu – How to prevent apt-get/aptitude keeping a cache

According to the documentation you can add a config file to /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/ named no-cache containing Dir::Cache ""; and Dir::Cache::archives ""; according to manual of apt.conf. There is a bug report raising issues with this method, and I don't recommend it.

There is one remaining method according to this tutorial:

echo 'DPkg::Post-Invoke {"/bin/rm -f /var/cache/apt/archives/*.deb || true";};' | sudo tee /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/clean

This will carry out an rm command just before apt quits.

Ubuntu – Why does apt-get install Skype easily while aptitude complains about MAJOR dependency errors

This link will explain it better than I can:

https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/767/what-is-the-real-difference-between-apt-get-and-aptitude-how-about-wajig

They note the GUI as the primary difference, with other differences including the method of completion for tasks, error-handling(similar to the exceptions you listed in your question), wider functionality (or at least, single-use scope) on the aptitude side, etc. Hope this helps.

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Related Solutions

Ubuntu – How to prevent apt-get/aptitude keeping a cache

Ubuntu – Why does apt-get install Skype easily while aptitude complains about MAJOR dependency errors

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