How to Install and Use the Aptitude Package Manager on Debian 11 Bullseye

The package manager is required to perform functions like installing, updating, upgrading, and removing packages. There are different package managers for Debian 11 including apt, apt-get, dpkg, and aptitude. This package manager calls the apt command to perform underlying package operations in Debian. Let’s discuss the installation and usage of the aptitude package manager on Debian 11 Bullseye.

How to Install the Aptitude Package Manager on Debian 11 Bullseye

You must have root access or sudo privileges to install the aptitude package manager. Run the update command to avoid any errors while installing. The next step is to install the aptitude through the sudo apt command:

sudo apt install aptitude -y

After the successful installation, you can run the version command to check the installed version of the aptitude on Debian 11:

aptitude --version

How to Use the Aptitude Package Manager on Debian 11 Bullseye

aptitude is the package manager with several useful features, and provides the front end to the apt package management system. Below are a few commands mentioned related to the aptitude package manager:

Command 1

To update the package archive metadata, execute the following command:

sudo aptitude update

Command 2

The aptitude package manager is used for the installation of packages, run the aptitude command with the install flag and package name:

sudo aptitude install <package_name>

For example, I am installing the package VLC on my Debian 11 through the aptitude package manager:

sudo aptitude install vlc

Command 3

Use the aptitude command to Install the current version of packages without removing any other package:

sudo aptitude safe-upgrade

Command 4

To get detailed information about the package, execute the following command:

sudo aptitude show <package-name>

For example:

sudo aptitude show vlc

Command 5

Remove the package while leaving the configuration files through the following command:

sudo aptitude remove <package-name>

To remove VLC:

sudo aptitude remove vlc

Command 6

Remove the package with its configuration files using the purge flag with the aptitude command:

sudo aptitude purge <package-name>

For instance:

sudo aptitude purge vlc

Command 7

Clear the local repository of retrieved package files completely using:

sudo aptitude clean

Remove the Aptitude Package Manager on Debian 11 Bullseye

Once you are done with the package manager you can remove it from your system through the following command:

sudo apt remove aptitude -y

Bottom Line

In the Debian system, we install and remove the package through the package managers and these package managers can be used through the command line and GUI. There are different package managers for Debian and aptitude is one of them. In the above guide, we have discussed the aptitude package manager installation on Debian 11. We have also explained the syntax of the aptitude command and how these commands can be used for installing and removing packages on Debian 11 Bullseye.