Ubuntu – Check for and remove unused PPAs

add-apt-repositoryaptpackage-managementppa

Since the installation, I have added not too few PPAs to my 15.04 system because I wanted a specific application. But sometimes I have removed that package later again, because it did not work, was not what I really wanted, or just because I don't need it any more. I don't know if that makes a difference, but some repositories were installed with add-apt-repository while others just came by a command that just created the file in /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ manually.

Now how can I check whether I have any packages from a PPA installed and if not, remove it from my software sources? This procedure should automatically work through all PPAs.

Best Answer

Here is a script. Without a parameter, the script lists some infos. With --delete, the list files will be removed, if no packages are installed.

#!/usr/bin/env bash
for f in /etc/apt/sources.list.d/*.list; do
    grep -Po "(?<=^deb\s).*?(?=#|$)" "$f" | while read -r ENTRY ; do
    echo "ENTRY: $ENTRY"

    # Sanitize entry line by removing stuff between square brackets
    ENTRY=$(echo "$ENTRY" | sed 's/\[.*\] //')

        HOST=$(cut -d/ -f3 <<< "$ENTRY")

        if [ "ppa.launchpad.net" = "$HOST" ]; then
          USER=$(cut -d/ -f4 <<< "$ENTRY")
          PPA=$(cut -d/ -f5 <<< "$ENTRY")
          packageCount=$(awk '$1=="Package:" {if (a[$2]++ == 0) {system("dpkg -l "$2)}}' /var/lib/apt/lists/*"$USER"*"$PPA"*Packages 2>/dev/null | awk '/^ii/' | wc -l)
          echo "PPA: ppa:$USER/$PPA"
          echo "FILENAME: $f"
          echo "$packageCount package(s) installed"
          if [ "$packageCount" -eq 0 ] && [ "$1" == "--delete" ]; then
            sudo rm "$f" && echo "$f deleted"
          fi
          echo
        else 
          USER=$(cut -d/ -f3 <<< "$ENTRY")
          PPA=$(cut -d/ -f4 <<< "$ENTRY")
          packageCount=$(awk '$1=="Package:" {if (a[$2]++ == 0) {system("dpkg -l "$2)}}' /var/lib/apt/lists/*"$USER"*Packages 2>/dev/null | awk '/^ii/' | wc -l)
          echo "REPOSITORY: $USER/$PPA"
          echo "FILENAME: $f"
          echo "$packageCount package(s) installed"
          if [ "$packageCount" -eq 0 ] && [ "$1" == "--delete" ]; then
            sudo rm "$f" && echo "$f deleted" 
          fi
          echo
        fi
    done
done

Copy the code above in a new file, e.g.:

mkdir -p ~/bin
nano ~/bin/checkPPAs

Make the script executable

chmod +x ~/bin/checkPPAs

And run it with

~/bin/checkPPAs

to list all repositories and the number of installed packages.

Start the script with

~/bin/checkPPAs --delete

to remove the list files.

Sample output on my system

ENTRY: http://ppa.launchpad.net/webupd8team/y-ppa-manager/ubuntu vivid main
PPA: ppa:webupd8team/y-ppa-manager
FILENAME: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/webupd8team-ubuntu-y-ppa-manager-vivid.list
3 package(s) installed

ENTRY: http://ppa.launchpad.net/nilarimogard/webupd8/ubuntu vivid main
PPA: ppa:nilarimogard/webupd8
FILENAME: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nilarimogard-ubuntu-webupd8-vivid.list
5 package(s) installed

ENTRY: http://ppa.launchpad.net/obsproject/obs-studio/ubuntu vivid main
PPA: ppa:obsproject/obs-studio
FILENAME: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/obsproject-ubuntu-obs-studio-vivid.list
1 package(s) installed

ENTRY: http://archive.getdeb.net/ubuntu vivid-getdeb apps
REPOSITORY: archive.getdeb.net/ubuntu vivid-getdeb apps
FILENAME: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/getdeb.list
7 package(s) installed

ENTRY: http://ppa.launchpad.net/psi-plus/ppa/ubuntu vivid main
PPA: ppa:psi-plus/ppa
FILENAME: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/psi-plus-ubuntu-ppa-vivid.list
15 package(s) installed

ENTRY: http://ppa.launchpad.net/libreoffice/ppa/ubuntu vivid main
PPA: ppa:libreoffice/ppa
FILENAME: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/libreoffice-ubuntu-ppa-vivid.list
24 package(s) installed

ENTRY: https://deb.nodesource.com/node_0.12 vivid main
REPOSITORY: deb.nodesource.com/node_0.12 vivid main
FILENAME: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nodesource.list
1 package(s) installed

ENTRY: http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main
REPOSITORY: dl.google.com/linux
FILENAME: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list
2 package(s) installed

ENTRY: http://ppa.launchpad.net/gnome3-team/gnome3/ubuntu vivid main
PPA: ppa:gnome3-team/gnome3
FILENAME: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/gnome3-team-ubuntu-gnome3-vivid.list
273 package(s) installed

ENTRY: http://ppa.launchpad.net/noobslab/apps/ubuntu vivid main
PPA: ppa:noobslab/apps
FILENAME: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/noobslab-ubuntu-apps-vivid.list
0 package(s) installed

ENTRY: http://ppa.launchpad.net/ubuntuhandbook1/corebird/ubuntu vivid main
PPA: ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/corebird
FILENAME: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ubuntuhandbook1-ubuntu-corebird-vivid.list
1 package(s) installed

ENTRY: http://ppa.launchpad.net/webupd8team/unstable/ubuntu vivid main
PPA: ppa:webupd8team/unstable
FILENAME: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/webupd8team-ubuntu-unstable-vivid.list
1 package(s) installed

ENTRY: http://download.mono-project.com/repo/debian wheezy main
REPOSITORY: download.mono-project.com/repo
FILENAME: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mono-xamarin.list
166 package(s) installed

ENTRY: http://ppa.launchpad.net/otto-kesselgulasch/gimp-edge/ubuntu vivid main
PPA: ppa:otto-kesselgulasch/gimp-edge
FILENAME: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/otto-kesselgulasch-ubuntu-gimp-edge-vivid.list
5 package(s) installed

ENTRY: http://ppa.launchpad.net/numix/ppa/ubuntu vivid main
PPA: ppa:numix/ppa
FILENAME: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/numix-ubuntu-ppa-vivid.list
3 package(s) installed

ENTRY: http://ppa.launchpad.net/webupd8team/atom/ubuntu vivid main
PPA: ppa:webupd8team/atom
FILENAME: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/webupd8team-ubuntu-atom-vivid.list
1 package(s) installed

ENTRY: https://packages.graylog2.org/repo/debian/ trusty 1.0
REPOSITORY: packages.graylog2.org/repo
FILENAME: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/graylog.list
3 package(s) installed

ENTRY: http://ppa.launchpad.net/ubuntu-mate-dev/ppa/ubuntu vivid main
PPA: ppa:ubuntu-mate-dev/ppa
FILENAME: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ubuntu-mate-dev-ubuntu-ppa-vivid.list
0 package(s) installed

ENTRY: http://ppa.launchpad.net/gnome3-team/gnome3-staging/ubuntu vivid main
PPA: ppa:gnome3-team/gnome3-staging
FILENAME: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/gnome3-team-ubuntu-gnome3-staging-vivid.list
268 package(s) installed

ENTRY: http://debian.koha-community.org/koha stable main
REPOSITORY: debian.koha-community.org/koha stable main
FILENAME: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/koha.list
0 package(s) installed

ENTRY: http://ppa.launchpad.net/pgavin/ghdl/ubuntu trusty main
PPA: ppa:pgavin/ghdl
FILENAME: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pgavin-ubuntu-ghdl-vivid.list
0 package(s) installed

ENTRY: http://ppa.launchpad.net/ubuntu-mate-dev/vivid-mate/ubuntu vivid main
PPA: ppa:ubuntu-mate-dev/vivid-mate
FILENAME: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ubuntu-mate-dev-ubuntu-vivid-mate-vivid.list
3 package(s) installed

ENTRY: http://ppa.launchpad.net/webupd8team/sublime-text-3/ubuntu vivid main
PPA: ppa:webupd8team/sublime-text-3
FILENAME: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/webupd8team-ubuntu-sublime-text-3-vivid.list
1 package(s) installed

ENTRY: http://ppa.launchpad.net/webupd8team/java/ubuntu vivid main
PPA: ppa:webupd8team/java
FILENAME: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/webupd8team-ubuntu-java-vivid.list
1 package(s) installed

ENTRY: http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main
REPOSITORY: dl.google.com/linux
FILENAME: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google.list
2 package(s) installed

ENTRY: http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main
REPOSITORY: dl.google.com/linux
FILENAME: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome-beta.list
2 package(s) installed

No, there is no unofficial "PPA" software center for Ubuntu.

One of Ubuntu's primary goals is to be a stable and reliable desktop Linux for the masses. That is why the packages (and specific versions) in the Software Center/official repositories are carefully vetted and checked for stability. The official repositories (with partners, etc.) should be sufficient for the needs of most regular users.

Why? : Software from a PPA should not be blindly installed

In theory, adding even one PPA package, no matter how "trusted" the source, has the potential to break Ubuntu such that it would be beyond the capability of the average user to fix it.

Thus, installing software from a PPA has to be a conscious and considered choice:

What am I installing?
Why I am installing it?
How is it going to affect my system?

Most of the answers of the type you mention -- "add this repository and install" -- WILL address these concerns for the questioner/user; those that don't are quickly edited/downvoted/commented on.

The three-step add-update-install-from-PPA process makes it more likely people will think a little about what they are doing

The "pain" of adding individual PPAs is somewhat like the "pain" of having to use sudo instead of just being root all the time. Compared to a one-click install of unofficial packages, the terminal-based three-step process increases the chances that the user has given some thought to what he or she is doing.

Updating PPAs can take longer, because they are not mirrored

I agree that updating PPAs often takes longer for many users, because they are hosted only on launchpad.net and not mirrored. Hopefully Canonical is aware of this and is considering some kind of solution. Note that there is no intrinsic (software/design-wise) reason PPAs should take longer to update than any other repository - they have the same structure.

You can always use a PPA manager to make life easier - try Y-PPA Manager!

Managing PPAs from the command-line can become tiring; if you have three or more PPAs, I recommend you consider the Y-PPA Manager utility. You must install it from a PPA (naturally! :-), and is available as:

y-ppa-manager in ppa:webupd8team/y-ppa-manager
It lets you search PPAs for a particular package (via Launchpad)
And other management functions such adding, deleting, purging, etc.

Some screenshots to give you an idea:

Main Window:
Searching all PPAs for "vlc":
Listing all packages in a PPA:

For a true user-contributed "Software Center", try Arch Linux

Other distributions which have different goals than Ubuntu and are targeted towards users more comfortable/skilled with Linux do have what you want.
e.g. Arch Linux has a one-stop "unofficial Software Center" - it's called "Arch User Repositories" (AUR)
Any user can contribute a package, any other user can install it (after building from source), and the community can vote on packages as a sign of trust/helpfulness. Popular, high-voted packages can even make it into their official repositories.

Ubuntu – Remove PPAs: “add-apt-repository –remove” vs. “rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/???.list”

Both commands remove the PPA, but there is one basic difference:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:???/???

This command will only delete content of .list file. It will not remove the file itself.

sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/????.list

Once you run this command, it will completely remove the PPA file.

However, in my opinion, it's better to use :

sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/????.list*

I generally use the last command with the trailing asterisk (*), because whenever we add any repository it will create two files under /etc/apt/sources.list.d/. First one is the .list file and second one is a backup of that, having the extension .list.save.

same case with command sudo apt-key del ???? and sudo rm /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/file.gpg. whenever we add keys two file created under /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/ file.gpg and file.gpg~ when you run command

sudo apt-key del ????

one file file.gpg will be deleted and second one will remain file.gpg~ as it is . However, in my opinion, it's better to use :

sudo rm /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/file.gpg*