NAME¶

cupt - console package management tool

DESCRIPTION¶

Cupt is a high-level package manager for Debian and Debian-based systems. You might want to read cupt_tutorial(7) (or its HTML version at /usr/share/doc/cupt/tutorial.html) before.

SYNOPSIS¶

cupt [ option... ] action [ { parameter | option } ... ]

ACTIONS¶

Query actions¶

version,-v,--version

prints versions of packages 'cupt' and 'libcupt-perl'

help,-h,--help

prints the short help for available actions

config-dump

prints all configuration variables to standard output

 

Example:

 

"cupt config-dump"

show

prints version info of specified binary packages

 

This subcommand receives list of "Binary package version expression"'s, see below.

 

Specific options:

showsrc

The same as show, only for source packages.

 

Examples:

 

"cupt showsrc --all-versions qmmp"

 

"cupt showsrc --with-release-info audacious/testing apt"

 

"cupt showsrc libxine1"

search

searches for packages that contains some string within package names and package descriptions

 

This subcommand receives a list a Perl-compatible Regular Expressions (PCRE) to search. Only those packages will be printed that contain all of specified patterns.

 

Specific options:

showauto

prints list of automatically/manually installed packages, one package name per line

 

"cupt showauto": prints list of automatically installed packages

 

"cupt showauto --invert": prints list of manually installed packages

depends

prints dependency relation expressions for given version of package

 

By default prints 'Pre-Depends', 'Depends' and 'Recommends' for the version.

 

This subcommand receives list of "Binary package version expression"'s, see below.

 

Specific options:

rdepends

same as depends, but prints reverse relations instead of forward ones

why

prints one of available dependency paths between package(s)/system and the package.

 

This subcommand receives a list of binary package expressions (which can be empty), then one binary package expression without wildcards.

 

If the list of binary package expressions is empty (i.e. subcommand received only one argument), then the list is build of manually installed packages in the system.

 

If no dependency paths found, prints nothing.

 

Uses configuration variables cupt::resolver::keep-recommends and cupt::resolver::keep-suggests to determine whether to honor Recommends and Suggests respectively when building dependency paths.

 

Examples:

 

"cupt why kmail libgnutls26"

 

"cupt why libgnutls26"

 

"cupt why icedove kmail libgnutls26"

policy

Given arguments, prints available versions with pins and release info for each binary package

 

Arguments: list of binary package names.

 

Given no arguments, prints available Release info for binary packages.

 

Specific options:

policysrc

Given arguments, prints available versions with pins and release info for each source package.

 

Arguments: list of source package names.

 

Given no arguments, prints available Release info for source packages.

 

Same specific options as for "policy" subcommand.

 

Examples:

 

"cupt policysrc"

 

"cupt policysrc --show-dates"

 

"cupt policysrc dpkg"

 

"cupt policysrc libpqxx libpqxx3"

pkgnames

prints package names that start with a supplied suffix

 

If no suffix is given, prints all package names

 

Examples:

 

"cupt pkgnames"

 

"cupt pkgnames liba"

changelog

displays changelog for given versions of packages

 

This subcommand receives list of "Binary package version expression"'s, see below.

 

Works only with installed packages and official Debian and Ubuntu repositories.

 

Examples:

 

"cupt changelog dpkg/installed"

 

"cupt changelog --installed-only dpkg nlkt lintian"

 

"cupt changelog libqtcore4"

copyright

displays copyright for given versions of packages

 

This subcommand receives list of "Binary package version expression"'s, see below.

 

Works only with installed packages and official Debian and Ubuntu repositories.

 

Examples:

 

"cupt copyright dpkg/installed"

 

"cupt copyright --installed-only dpkg nlkt lintian"

 

"cupt copyright libqtcore4"

screenshots

open a browser window/tab with screenshots of given packages.

 

This subcommand receives list of package names.

 

Example:

 

"cupt screenshots arora"

snapshot list

list names of the available system snapshots, one per line

 

This subcommand receives no arguments.

 

Example: "cupt snapshot list"

tar-metadata

This subcommand is experimental. Its name and functionality are unstable.

 

Packs all cupt configuration files and repository metadata to a tar stream and outputs it to standard output.

 

Example: "cupt tar-metadata | xz --verbose -c > cupt-metadata.tar.xz"

query-specific options

--important,-i

don't take 'Recommends' dependencies into account

 

Corresponding configuration variable: apt::cache::important

--installed-only

work only with installed versions of packages; valuable only for "show", "depends", "rdepends", "search", "pkgnames", "changelog" actions

Management actions¶

update

updates package indexes

 

This subcommand receives no arguments.

 

Example:

 

"cupt update"

install

installs, upgrades or downgrades specified packages

 

This subcommand receives list of "Binary package version expression"'s, see below.

 

If some version of package was already installed, this command will upgrade/downgrade it; otherwise, the package will be freshly installed.

 

Examples:

 

"cupt install nlkt"

 

"cupt install devscripts xserver-xorg/experimental xfce4-mixer=4.6.0-2"

remove

removes specified packages

 

This subcommand receives the list of package names.

 

Examples:

 

"cupt remove nlkt"

 

"cupt remove devscripts kde4-minimal"

purge

removes specified packages along with their configuration files. Also this command can purge the configuration files when the packages are removed already.

 

This subcommand receives the list of package names.

 

Examples:

 

"cupt purge nlkt"

 

"cupt purge devscripts kde4-minimal"

 

See also the configuration option cupt::worker::purge.

full-upgrade

performs as more upgrades of the installed packages as possible, the recommended way to do upgrades

 

This subcommand is usually invoked without any further parameters:

 

"cupt full-upgrade"

 

List of "Binary package version expression"'s can be however specified as additional parameters.

 

Example: the command "cupt full-upgrade xserver-xorg/installed" will try to upgrade your system, however preserving package 'xserver-xorg' to be sticked with currently installed version.

safe-upgrade

the same as "full-upgrade", but with the change that problem resolver won't try to remove non-automatically installed packages in order to upgrade more packages, equivalent of 'full-upgrade --no-remove'.

dist-upgrade

the same as "full-upgrade", but firstly upgrades the package management tools, then upgrades the whole system.

 

Recommended over "full-upgrade" for major upgrades.

 

This subcommand cannot be run under the Cupt shell.

reinstall

reinstalls specified binary packages

 

This subcommand receives list of binary package names.

 

Examples:

 

"cupt reinstall libc6"

iii

""install" if installed"

 

Same as "install", but silently ignores packages which are not installed.

 

Examples:

 

"cupt iii gnash"

 

"cupt iii xserver* *cupt*"

markauto

marks specified packages as automatically installed

 

This subcommand receives the list of package names.

 

Examples:

 

"cupt markauto libstreamanalyzer0"

 

"cupt markauto lsof gimp-data"

unmarkauto

marks specified packages as manually installed

 

This subcommand receives the list of package names.

 

Examples:

 

"cupt unmarkauto kpogre"

 

"cupt unmarkauto dpkg-dev"

satisfy

performs all needed operations to satisfy list of specified relations

 

This subcommand receives the list of relations or relation lines. Relation and relation lines has the same syntax as defined in Debian Policy §7.1.

 

The minus sign can be appended to some of relation expression lines to make relation expressions unsatisfied instead.

 

Examples:

 

"cupt satisfy "kmail (>= 4:4.2), wget (>= 1.10.0)""

 

"cupt satisfy "gettext (= 0.17-7)" "mail-transport-agent-""

build-dep

performs all needed operations to satisfy list of build-dependencies of specified source packages

 

This subcommand receives the list of "Source package version expression"'s.

 

Examples:

 

"cupt build-dep qt4-x11"

 

"cupt build-dep unetbootin/unstable libcdio/experimental"

source

fetches Debian source files needed to build a Debian binary package

 

This subcommand receives the list of "Source package version expression"'s.

 

Parameters:

clean

removes all deb archives and partially downloaded archive files from the cache on a disk

 

This subcommand receives no arguments.

 

Example: "cupt clean"

autoclean

removes deb archives which are not available in package indexes and partially downloaded archive files from the cache on a disk

 

This subcommand receives no arguments.

 

Example: "cupt autoclean"

snapshot save

saves a snapshot of the current packages state

 

This subcommand receives one argument - desired snapshot name.

 

Example: "cupt snapshot save old-udev"

snapshot load

returns the system (as set of installed packages) to the previously saved state

 

This subcommand receives one argument - snapshot name to load.

 

Example: "cupt snapshot load old-udev"

snapshot remove

removes the system snapshot

 

This subcommand receives one argument - snapshot name to remove.

 

Example: "cupt snapshot remove old-libgtk"

snapshot rename

renames the system snapshot

 

This subcommand receives two arguments - old snapshot name and new snapshot name.

 

Example: "cupt snapshot rename old-libgtk 20091005"

shell

starts interactive shell-like environment

 

This subcommand receives no arguments.

 

This subcommand can receive all common options which will be preserved across all session. You can override them for any subcommand in a usual way.

 

On every shell prompt you can supply any valid subcommand from this manual page, using all allowed parameters, just if it was command line. Simple shell quotes around arguments are also allowed.

 

You can use 'quit', 'exit', ':q' or 'q' command to exit cupt shell.

management-specific options

--no-remove

disallow problem resolver to remove manually installed packages. Packages that are marked to remove/purge in the command line will be remove/purged as usual.

 

Corresponding configuration option: cupt::resolver::no-remove

--no-auto-remove

don't try to remove automatically installed packages after doing requested actions

 

Corresponding configuration option: cupt::resolver::auto-remove

--simulate,-s

don't modify anything in the system, just print supposed actions

 

Doesn't require root privileges.

 

Corresponding configuration option: cupt::worker::simulate

--summary-only

Show only summary of actions without details.

 

Corresponding configuration options: cupt::console::actions-preview::show-summary, cupt::console::actions-preview::show-details.

--no-summary

Show only details of actions without a summary.

 

Corresponding configuration options: cupt::console::actions-preview::show-summary, cupt::console::actions-preview::show-details.

--resolver=

string, determines type of resolver: can be

--max-solution-count=

number, determines how many maximum solutions will resolver store in memory. This option prevents large memory grows by purging away solutions with worst scores. Defaults to 512. Note that very complex requests or requests on multi-repository system will increase size of solution tree dramatically, so prepare to play with increasing this option accordingly.

 

Corresponding configuration option: cupt::resolver::max-solution-count

--no-install-recommends,-R

cupt installs recommended packages by default, this option cancels described behavior

 

Corresponding configuration option: apt::install-recommends

--show-archives,-A

when displaying actions preview prompt, display also release archives for each package

 

Corresponding configuration option: cupt::console::actions-preview::show-archives

--show-codenames,-N

when displaying actions preview prompt, display also release codenames for each package

 

This option cannot be used together with --show-archives.

 

Corresponding configuration option: cupt::console::actions-preview::show-codenames

--show-components,-C

when displaying actions preview prompt, display also release components for each package

 

Corresponding configuration option: cupt::console::actions-preview::show-components

--show-versions,-V

when displaying actions preview prompt, display also versions of packages

 

Corresponding configuration option: cupt::console::actions-preview::show-versions

--show-vendors,-O

when displaying actions preview prompt, display also vendors of packages

 

Corresponding configuration option: cupt::console::actions-preview::show-vendors

--show-size-changes,-Z

when displaying actions preview prompt, display also changes in disk space usage for each package

 

Corresponding configuration option: cupt::console::actions-preview::show-size-changes

--show-reasons,--show-deps,-D

when displaying actions preview prompt, display also reasons why this action was considered to perform

 

Corresponding configuration option: cupt::resolver::track-reasons

--show-not-preferred

when displaying actions preview prompt, display also packages which will have a not preferred version after the proposed changes

 

Corresponding configuration option: cupt::console::actions-preview::show-not-preferred

--download-only,-d

stop after download stage, don't modify the system; not applicable for "markauto" and "unmarkauto" actions

 

Corresponding configuration option: cupt::worker::download-only

--assume-yes,--yes,-y

don't ask for solution confirmation, assume the answer is 'y' ("yes"), except for dangerous actions, where assume 'q' ("decline and exit")

 

Corresponding configuration options: apt::get::assume-yes, cupt::console::assume-yes

management modifiers: action override options Unlike all the other options, these ones are positional and are effective only for the rest of parameters (and before next override option if any). One can specify as many action override options as needed.

--install

install the rest of packages

 

Example:

 

"cupt remove msmtp-mta --install exim4-daemon-light esmtp" - install the packages 'exim4-daemon-light' and 'esmtp', remove the package 'msmtp-mta'

--remove

remove rest of packages

 

Example:

 

"cupt install exim4-daemon-light --remove msmtp-mta esmtp" - install the package 'exim4-daemon-light', remove the packages 'msmtp-mta' and 'esmtp'

--purge

purge the rest of packages

 

Example:

 

"cupt purge libkate1 --remove libass4 --purge libdirac-decoder0" - remove the package 'libass4', purge packages 'libkate1' and 'libdirac-decoder0'

--satisfy

satisfy the rest of relation expressions

 

Example:

 

"cupt install lightspark --remove gnash --satisfy "iceweasel (>= 5)"" - install the package 'lightspark', remove the packae 'gnash', and make sure that iceweasel (at least of version 5) is installed

--unsatisfy

unsatisfy the rest of relation expressions

 

Example:

 

"cupt install sieve-connect --unsatisfy "iceweasel (<< 3.5.20)"" - install the package 'sieve-connect', upgrade or remove the package 'iceweasel' if it is installed and has the version lower than '3.5.20'

--iii

"install if installed" (see "iii" subcommand) the rest of packages

 

Example:

 

"cupt install libv4l-0 cupt --iii libreadline6 vlc*" - install packages 'libv4l-0' and 'cupt', install the preferred version of 'libreadline6' if it's installed already, install the preferred versions of packages which names start with 'vlc' and which are installed already

management modifiers: package name suffixes

-

remove the package, can be used in non-remove actions

 

Examples:

 

"cupt install kde4 icewm-" - install the package 'kde4' and remove the package 'icewm' simultaneously.

 

"cupt full-upgrade iceweasel- icedove-" - upgrade the system, deleting iceweasel and icedove

+

install the package, can be used in remove actions

 

Examples:

 

"cupt remove kde konqueror+" - remove kde, but install/upgrade konqueror

 

"cupt remove kde konqueror/installed+" - remove kde, but leave konqueror

EXPRESSIONS¶

This section documents some common expressions used by actions.

Binary package version expression¶

package_name[modifier] selects one version of given binary package. Possible modifiers:

<none>

selects policy version of the package

 

Example: "audacious".

=<version string>

selects specified version of the package

 

Example: "audacious=1.5.1-2"

/<distribution>

selects a version from specified distribution (archive name or codename)

 

Examples: "audacious/lenny" (by codename), "audacious/stable" (by archive name)

/installed

selects installed version of the package

 

Example: "audacious/installed"

Also, you may specify shell wildcars '*' and '?' in the package names. Examples: "xfce4-*", "python2.5-*/unstable", "?aff*/installed" For all management subcommands, there is also '@<path-to-file>' syntax. In this case this construction will be substituted by binary package expressions listed in the specified file one by line.

Source package version expression¶

package_name[modifier] selects one version of given source package. Possible modifiers are identical to those defined in "Binary package version expression", except for '/installed'. Also, you can specify "Binary package version expression" as "Source package version expression", then binary-to-source mapping will be performed.

COMMON OPTIONS¶

--option=,-o

sets specified configuration option, syntax: "<name>=<value>"

 

Examples:

 

"cupt remove nlkt -o 'cupt::resolver::keep-recommends=0'" (regular option)

 

"cupt remove nlkt -o 'apt::neverautoremove::=libcanberra0" (list option)

--target-release=,--default-release=,-t

sets preferred release to pick up packages from, you can specify codename or archive name

 

Corresponding configuration option: apt::default-release

 

Examples: "cupt install -t unstable xserver-xorg", "cupt -t squeeze full-upgrade"

--include-archives=

Use only repositories with specified archive names (comma-separated).

 

Corresponding configuration options: cupt::cache::limit-releases::by-archive, cupt::cache::limit-releases::by-archive::type.

 

Example:

 

"cupt safe-upgrade --include-archives=stable,stable-updates"

--exclude-archives=

Ignore repositories with specified archive names (comma-separated).

 

Corresponding configuration options: cupt::cache::limit-releases::by-archive, cupt::cache::limit-releases::by-archive::type.

 

Example:

 

"cupt rdepends libcomerr2 --exclude-archives=experimental,unstable"

--include-codenames=

Use only repositories with specified codenames (comma-separated).

 

Corresponding configuration options: cupt::cache::limit-releases::by-codename, cupt::cache::limit-releases::by-codename::type.

 

Example:

 

"cupt safe-upgrade --include-codenames=squeeze,squeeze-updates"

--exclude-codenames=

Ignore repositories with specified codenames (comma-separated).

 

Corresponding configuration options: cupt::cache::limit-releases::by-codename, cupt::cache::limit-releases::by-codename::type.

 

Example:

 

"cupt rdepends libcomerr2 --exclude-codenames=experimental,sid"

--quiet,-q

don't output anything to standard output

CONFIGURATION VARIABLES¶

See cupt.conf(5).

REPORTING¶

Please report all bugs in Cupt to Debian BTS using reportbug(1). The user support mailing list is cupt-user@lists.alioth.debian.org. The discussion channel about Cupt is irc://irc.debian.org#cupt.

SEE ALSO¶

cupt_vs_apt(5), cupt_tutorial(7), cupt.conf(5)

AUTHOR¶

Eugene V. Lyubimkin <jackyf@debian.org>