APT_PREFERENCES(5)

NAME

apt_preferences - Preference control file for APT

DESCRIPTION

The APT preferences file /etc/apt/preferences and the fragment files in the /etc/apt/preferences.d/ folder can be used to control which
versions of packages will be selected for installation.

Several versions of a package may be available for installation when
the sources.list(5) file contains references to more than one distribution (for example, stable and testing). APT assigns a priority to each version that is available. Subject to dependency constraints,
apt-get selects the version with the highest priority for installation. The APT preferences file overrides the priorities that APT assigns to
package versions by default, thus giving the user control over which
one is selected for installation.

Several instances of the same version of a package may be available
when the sources.list(5) file contains references to more than one source. In this case apt-get downloads the instance listed earliest in the sources.list(5) file. The APT preferences file does not affect the choice of instance, only the choice of version.

Preferences are a strong power in the hands of a system administrator
but they can become also their biggest nightmare if used without care! APT will not questioning the preferences so wrong settings will
therefore lead to uninstallable packages or wrong decisions while
upgrading packages. Even more problems will arise if multiply
distribution releases are mixed without a good understanding of the
following paragraphs. Packages included in a specific release aren't
tested in and therefore doesn't always work as expected in older or
newer releases or together with other packages from different releases. You have been warned.

Note that the files in the /etc/apt/preferences.d directory are parsed in alphanumeric ascending order and need to obey the following naming
convention: The files have no or "pref" as filename extension and which only contain alphanumeric, hyphen (-), underscore (_) and period (.)
characters - otherwise they will be silently ignored.
APT's Default Priority Assignments: If there is no preferences file or if there is no entry in the file
that applies to a particular version then the priority assigned to that version is the priority of the distribution to which that version
belongs. It is possible to single out a distribution, "the target
release", which receives a higher priority than other distributions do by default. The target release can be set on the apt-get command line or in the APT configuration file /etc/apt/apt.conf. Note that this has precedence over any general priority you set in the
/etc/apt/preferences file described later, but not over specifically
pinned packages. For example,

apt-get install -t testing some-package

APT::Default-Release "stable";; If the target release has been specified then APT uses the following
algorithm to set the priorities of the versions of a package. Assign:; priority 1
to the versions coming from archives which in their Release files
are marked as "NotAutomatic: yes" like the debian experimental
archive.; priority 100
to the version that is already installed (if any).; priority 500
to the versions that are not installed and do not belong to the
target release.; priority 990
to the versions that are not installed and belong to the target
release.; If the target release has not been specified then APT simply assigns
priority 100 to all installed package versions and priority 500 to all uninstalled package versions, expect versions coming from archives
which in their Release files are marked as "NotAutomatic: yes" - these versions get the priority 1.; APT then applies the following rules, listed in order of precedence, to determine which version of a package to install.; o Never downgrade unless the priority of an available version exceeds 1000. ("Downgrading" is installing a less recent version of a
package in place of a more recent version. Note that none of APT's default priorities exceeds 1000; such high priorities can only be
set in the preferences file. Note also that downgrading a package
can be risky.)
o Install the highest priority version.
o If two or more versions have the same priority, install the most recent one (that is, the one with the higher version number).
o If two or more versions have the same priority and version number but either the packages differ in some of their metadata or the --reinstall option is given, install the uninstalled one.
In a typical situation, the installed version of a package (priority
100) is not as recent as one of the versions available from the sources listed in the sources.list(5) file (priority 500 or 990). Then the package will be upgraded when apt-get install some-package or apt-get upgrade is executed.
More rarely, the installed version of a package is more recent than any of the other available versions. The package will not be downgraded
when apt-get install some-package or apt-get upgrade is executed.
Sometimes the installed version of a package is more recent than the
version belonging to the target release, but not as recent as a version belonging to some other distribution. Such a package will indeed be
upgraded when apt-get install some-package or apt-get upgrade is executed, because at least one of the available versions has a higher priority than the installed version.
The Effect of APT Preferences The APT preferences file allows the system administrator to control the assignment of priorities. The file consists of one or more multi-line
records separated by blank lines. Records can have one of two forms, a specific form and a general form.
o The specific form assigns a priority (a "Pin-Priority") to one or more specified packages and specified version or version range. For example, the following record assigns a high priority to all versions of the perl package whose version number begins with "5.8". Multiple packages can be separated by spaces.: Package: perl
Pin: version 5.8*
Pin-Priority: 1001
o The general form assigns a priority to all of the package versions in a given distribution (that is, to all the versions of packages that are listed in a certain Release file) or to all of the package versions coming from a particular Internet site, as identified by the site's fully qualified domain name.
This general-form entry in the APT preferences file applies only to groups of packages. For example, the following record assigns a high priority to all package versions available from the local site.: Package: *
Pin: origin ""
Pin-Priority: 999; A note of caution: the keyword used here is "origin" which can be
used to match a hostname. The following record will assign a high
priority to all versions available from the server identified by
the hostname "ftp.de.debian.org"

Package: *
Pin: origin "ftp.de.debian.org"
Pin-Priority: 999

This should not be confused with the Origin of a distribution as specified in a Release file. What follows the "Origin:" tag in a
Release file is not an Internet address but an author or vendor
name, such as "Debian" or "Ximian".

The following record assigns a low priority to all package versions belonging to any distribution whose Archive name is "unstable".

Package: *
Pin: release a=unstable
Pin-Priority: 50

The following record assigns a high priority to all package
versions belonging to any distribution whose Codename is "squeeze".

Package: *
Pin: release n=squeeze
Pin-Priority: 900

The following record assigns a high priority to all package
versions belonging to any release whose Archive name is "stable"
and whose release Version number is "3.0".

Package: *
Pin: release a=stable, v=3.0
Pin-Priority: 500
How APT Interprets Priorities Priorities (P) assigned in the APT preferences file must be positive or negative integers. They are interpreted as follows (roughly speaking):
P > 1000 causes a version to be installed even if this constitutes a downgrade of the package
990 < P <=1000 causes a version to be installed even if it does not come from the target release, unless the installed version is more recent
500 < P <=990 causes a version to be installed unless there is a version available belonging to the target release or the installed version is more recent
100 < P <=500 causes a version to be installed unless there is a version available belonging to some other distribution or the installed version is more recent
0 < P <=100 causes a version to be installed only if there is no installed version of the package
P < 0 prevents the version from being installed
If any specific-form records match an available package version then the first such record determines the priority of the package version. Failing that, if any general-form records match an available package version then the first such record determines the priority of the package version.
For example, suppose the APT preferences file contains the three records presented earlier:: Package: perl
Pin: version 5.8*
Pin-Priority: 1001; Package: *
Pin: origin ""
Pin-Priority: 999; Package: *
Pin: release unstable
Pin-Priority: 50
Then:
o The most recent available version of the perl package will be installed, so long as that version's version number begins with "5.8". If any 5.8* version of perl is available and the installed version is 5.9*, then perl will be downgraded.
o A version of any package other than perl that is available from the local system has priority over other versions, even versions belonging to the target release.
o A version of a package whose origin is not the local system but
some other site listed in sources.list(5) and which belongs to an unstable distribution is only installed if it is selected for
installation and no version of the package is already installed.
Determination of Package Version and Distribution Properties The locations listed in the sources.list(5) file should provide Packages and Release files to describe the packages available at that
location.
The Packages file is normally found in the directory .../dists/dist-name/component/arch: for example, .../dists/stable/main/binary-i386/Packages. It consists of a series of multi-line records, one for each package available in that directory. Only two lines in each record are relevant for setting APT priorities:
the Package: line gives the package name
the Version: line gives the version number for the named package
The Release file is normally found in the directory .../dists/dist-name: for example, .../dists/stable/Release, or .../dists/lenny/Release. It consists of a single multi-line record which applies to all of the packages in the directory tree below its parent. Unlike the Packages file, nearly all of the lines in a Release file are relevant for setting APT priorities:
the Archive: or Suite: line names the archive to which all the packages in the directory tree belong. For example, the line "Archive: stable" or "Suite: stable" specifies that all of the packages in the directory tree below the parent of the Release file are in a stable archive. Specifying this value in the APT preferences file would require the line:: Pin: release a=stable
the Codename: line names the codename to which all the packages in the directory tree belong. For example, the line "Codename: squeeze" specifies that all of the packages in the directory tree below the parent of the Release file belong to a version named squeeze. Specifying this value in the APT preferences file would require the line:: Pin: release n=squeeze
the Version: line names the release version. For example, the packages in the tree might belong to Debian GNU/Linux release version 3.0. Note that there is normally no version number for the testing and unstable distributions because they have not been released yet. Specifying this in the APT preferences file would require one of the following lines.: Pin: release v=3.0
Pin: release a=stable, v=3.0
Pin: release 3.0
the Component: line names the licensing component associated with the packages in the directory tree of the Release file. For example, the line "Component: main" specifies that all the packages in the directory tree are from the main component, which entails that they are licensed under terms listed in the Debian Free Software Guidelines. Specifying this component in the APT preferences file would require the line:: Pin: release c=main
the Origin: line names the originator of the packages in the directory tree of the Release file. Most commonly, this is Debian. Specifying this origin in the APT preferences file would require the line:: Pin: release o=Debian
the Label: line names the label of the packages in the directory tree of the Release file. Most commonly, this is Debian. Specifying this label in the APT preferences file would require the line:: Pin: release l=Debian
All of the Packages and Release files retrieved from locations listed
in the sources.list(5) file are stored in the directory /var/lib/apt/lists, or in the file named by the variable
Dir::State::Lists in the apt.conf file. For example, the file
debian.lcs.mit.edu_debian_dists_unstable_contrib_binary-i386_Release
contains the Release file retrieved from the site debian.lcs.mit.edu
for binary-i386 architecture files from the contrib component of the
unstable distribution.
Optional Lines in an APT Preferences Record Each record in the APT preferences file can optionally begin with one
or more lines beginning with the word Explanation:. This provides a
place for comments.

EXAMPLES

Tracking Stable: The following APT preferences file will cause APT to assign a priority higher than the default (500) to all package versions belonging to a
stable distribution and a prohibitively low priority to package
versions belonging to other Debian distributions.

Explanation: Uninstall or do not install any Debian-originated
Explanation: package versions other than those in the stable distro Package: *
Pin: release a=stable
Pin-Priority: 900

Package: *
Pin: release o=Debian
Pin-Priority: -10; With a suitable sources.list(5) file and the above preferences file, any of the following commands will cause APT to upgrade to the latest
stable version(s).

apt-get install package-name
apt-get upgrade
apt-get dist-upgrade; The following command will cause APT to upgrade the specified package
to the latest version from the testing distribution; the package will
not be upgraded again unless this command is given again.

apt-get install package/testing
Tracking Testing or Unstable The following APT preferences file will cause APT to assign a high
priority to package versions from the testing distribution, a lower
priority to package versions from the unstable distribution, and a
prohibitively low priority to package versions from other Debian
distributions.: Package: *
Pin: release a=testing
Pin-Priority: 900; Package: *
Pin: release a=unstable
Pin-Priority: 800; Package: *
Pin: release o=Debian
Pin-Priority: -10
With a suitable sources.list(5) file and the above preferences file, any of the following commands will cause APT to upgrade to the latest
testing version(s).: apt-get install package-name
apt-get upgrade
apt-get dist-upgrade
The following command will cause APT to upgrade the specified package
to the latest version from the unstable distribution. Thereafter,
apt-get upgrade will upgrade the package to the most recent testing version if that is more recent than the installed version, otherwise,
to the most recent unstable version if that is more recent than the
installed version.: apt-get install package/unstable
Tracking the evolution of a codename release The following APT preferences file will cause APT to assign a priority higher than the default (500) to all package versions belonging to a
specified codename of a distribution and a prohibitively low priority
to package versions belonging to other Debian distributions, codenames and archives. Note that with this APT preference APT will follow the
migration of a release from the archive testing to stable and later
oldstable. If you want to follow for example the progress in testing
notwithstanding the codename changes you should use the example
configurations above.: Explanation: Uninstall or do not install any Debian-originated package versions Explanation: other than those in the distribution codenamed with squeeze or sid Package: *
Pin: release n=squeeze
Pin-Priority: 900; Explanation: Debian unstable is always codenamed with sid
Package: *
Pin: release n=sid
Pin-Priority: 800; Package: *
Pin: release o=Debian
Pin-Priority: -10
With a suitable sources.list(5) file and the above preferences file, any of the following commands will cause APT to upgrade to the latest
version(s) in the release codenamed with squeeze.: apt-get install package-name
apt-get upgrade
apt-get dist-upgrade
The following command will cause APT to upgrade the specified package
to the latest version from the sid distribution. Thereafter, apt-get upgrade will upgrade the package to the most recent squeeze version if that is more recent than the installed version, otherwise, to the most recent sid version if that is more recent than the installed version.: apt-get install package/sid

FILES

/etc/apt/preferences: Version preferences file. This is where you would specify
"pinning", i.e. a preference to get certain packages from a
separate source or from a different version of a distribution.
Configuration Item: Dir::Etc::Preferences.
/etc/apt/preferences.d/ File fragments for the version preferences. Configuration Item: Dir::Etc::PreferencesParts.

BUGS

APT bug page[1]. If you wish to report a bug in APT, please see /usr/share/doc/debian/bug-reporting.txt or the reportbug(1) command.

AUTHOR

APT team

NOTES

1. APT bug page: http://bugs.debian.org/src:apt

docs.sk

comprehensive documentation repository

See also