apt-grip(1)
NAME
apt-grip - extend Emdebian Grip to add Debian packages on-the-fly
Synopsis
$ sudo apt-grip foo bar baz
$ sudo apt-grip -M http://ftp.fr.debian.org/debian/ foo bar baz
Description
Emdebian Grip has a limited number of packages in the main repository,
principally to reduce the size of the apt cache data. On occassion,
individual packages from standard Debian need to be added to a single
machine running Emdebian Grip. apt-grip has been written with that
purpose in mind.
apt-grip requires DEB_VENDOR support in dpkg to determine how the
package should be "gripped". In addition, if the default vendor is not
Emdebian, "apt-grip" will do nothing. To set this up, change the
default symlink in /etc/dpkg/origins to point to emdebian-grip or set
DEB_VENDOR for each call to apt-grip. Before you do this, read the next
section on the limitations.
The usual case is that the system has already been upgraded to Emdebian
Grip before apt-grip is used.
Contact the debian-embedded@lists.debian.org mailing list for requests
to add packages to Emdebian Grip repositories directly.
Limitations
Installing any package from repositories outside the normal apt sources
(especially if those packages are subsequently modified as in emgrip)
will list those packages as "local or obsolete" in package managers and
such packages cannot be upgraded without repeating the call to
"apt-grip".
"apt-grip" cannot currently track these packages - although it might
become possible in the future.
The net result is that using "apt-grip" could make it difficult to
upgrade the rest of the system. If "apt-get" complains about broken
dependencies (or more commonly, simply removes your extra packages) use
"apt-grip" to reinstall or upgrade the relevant packages.
"Gripping" a package means making a new version (with the em1 version
suffix) with less files in the new package. See emgrip (1) for detailed
information on that process. Changing the version string means that
some dependencies need to be changed - particularly strict
dependencies. This means that apt-grip could fail with some
combinations of packages.
"apt-grip" uses the "--reinstall" option to apt-get to cope with some
of these situations.
Strict dependency issues
- If a source package builds multiple binary packages, where at least one
package has a strict dependency on one of the other binary packages and
one of those binary packages is already installed from Debian, it will
be necessary to install Grip versions of both the binary packages
involved so that the strict dependency can be satisfied. - Source: foo
- Package: foo
Depends: bar (= 0.0.1) - Package: bar
- $ sudo apt-grip foo bar
- In the example above, foo_0.0.1_amd64.deb will become foo_0.0.1em1_amd64.deb and will be given a strict dependency on "bar (= 0.0.1em1)" by emgrip.
Default mirror
apt-grip uses "http://ftp.uk.debian.org/debian/" as the default Debian
mirror. Use the -M|--mirrror option to change it.
Upgrading to Grip
- Change your sources list from debian mirrors to the emdebian grip
mirror. - deb http://www.emdebian.org/grip/ $suite main
- (Emdebian Grip only supports Debian suites: unstable, sid, testing,
squeeze, stable, lenny.) - Then update and upgrade:
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get upgrade
$ sudo apt-get dist-upgrade- (Note that apt-get will usually report the ability to free several
hundred megabytes on your system when Debian packages are upgraded to
Emdebian Grip.)