apt-offline - Offline APT Package manager

apt-offlineiswrittenbyRiteshRajSarraf(rrs@researchut.com)

       If  you  wish  to  report  a bug in apt-offline, please see https://github.com/rickysarraf/apt-offline or
       else, send an email to me at rrs@researchut.com

       This software is dedicated to the memory of my father Santosh Kumar Sarraf. We miss you a lot.

version 1.8.6                                   February 08, 2025                                 apt-offline(8)

       apt-offline  brings  offline  package management functionality to Debian based system.  It can be used to
       download packages and its dependencies to be installed later on (or required to  update)  a  disconnected
       machine.  Packages can be downloaded from a different connected machine.

       It can also fetch bug reports for the packages that are downloaded.

       Unless  the  -h/-v or --help/--version options are given, one of the get,set or install commands must be
       provided.

   setFILENAME[-h][--install-packagesPKG...PKG_N][--install-src-packagesPKG...PKG_N]--src-build-dep[--releaserelease_name][--update][--upgrade][--upgrade-typeupgrade]set generates a signature file with the data required to install on or update the disconnected machine.

       FILENAME{apt-offline.sig} is the signature file generated on the machine. This file will contain all the
       information necessary for apt.

       --simulate
              Developer only. Used for testing.

       --install-packages[PKG...PKG_N]
                 Packages that need to be installed

       --install-src-packages[PKG...PKG_N]
                 Source packages that need to be installed

       --src-build-dep
                 Download Build Dependency packages for the source packages requested

       --releaserelease_name
                 Release target to install packages from

       --apt-backendapt-get
                 APT backend to use. One of: apt, apt-get, python-apt

       --generate-changelog
                 Generate changelog of the version to be downloaded

       --update  Generate APT Database signature for an update. This is the equivalent of using apt-getupdate--upgrade Generate  APT  Database  signature for package upgrade. This is the equivalent of using apt-getupgrade--upgrade-type{upgrade_type}
                 Type of upgrade you would like to perform. Default is upgrade.  Other valid  types  are  dist-upgradeanddselect-upgradegetFILENAME[-h][--socket-timeout][-d/--download-dir][-s/--cache-dir][--no-checksum][-t/--threads][--bundle][--bug-reports][--proxy-host][--proxy-port][--https-cert-file--https-key-file][--http-basicauth][--disable-cert-check]get downloads APT data as per a signature file.

       FILENAME{apt-offline.sig} is the signature file required for details about data to be  downloaded.  This
       file should have been generated by the above set command.

       -d,--download-dirDIR_NAME
                 Download  data  to  the  specified  DIR_NAME  folder.  If  no folder name is specified, data is
                 downloaded to a folder in the TEMPDIR path in the format apt-offline-download-$PID-s,--cache-dirDIR_NAME
                 Look for data in the cache before downloading it from the internet. If you are on a Debian box,
                 you would want to specify /var/cache/apt/archives here. If the data is  not  available  in  the
                 cache, the downloaded data is also copied to the cache.

       --no-checksum
                 Enabling  this option will bypass the checksum verification of each downloaded file thus losing
                 integrity of the package. Usage of this option is highly discouraged

       -t,--threadsNUM_OF_THREADS
                 Number of threads to spawn for downloads. Default is 1. Using too many threads can overload the
                 servers, hence it is advisable to keep the number low

       --bundleFILENAME
                 Create an archive file FILENAME. The file is archived in zip format

       --bug-reports
                 Download bug reports for packages that are being downloaded. Currently only the Debian  BTS  is
                 supported.

       --proxy-host
                 Specify the Proxy Host to be used.

       --proxy-port
                 Specify the Proxy port number to be used.

       --https-cert-fileFILENAME
                 The  Certificate-file  to  use  if  https-client-authentication  is required on one or multiple
                 hosts.

       --https-key-fileFILENAME
                 The Certificate-key-file to use if https-client-authentication is required on one  or  multiple
                 hosts.

       --disable-cert-check
                 Disable the check of https certificates on servers

       --http-basicauthURL
                 A  username/password  encoded  in  the  URL.  Note Passwords  with special characters should be
                 percent encoded as per RFC-3986 section 2.1

   installFILE/FOLDER[-h][--skip-bug-reports][--install-src-pathPATH][--allow-unauthenticated]install installs APT data to the APT package database and updates it.

       FILE{archive_bundle_file} Install data from the archive (bundle) file.

       FOLDER{/folder/path} Install data from the folder path.

       Either FILE or FOLDER argument can be provided to the install command.

       --simulate
              Developer only. Used for testing.

       --skip-bug-reports
                 Skip listing of downloaded bug reports, if any.

       --skip-changelog
                 Skip display of changelog, if any.

       --allow-unauthenticated
                 Don't verify GPG signatures for the data to be installed to APT. Usage of this option is highly
                 discouraged.

       --strict-deb-check
                 With this option enabled, apt-offline delegate's .deb package checksum validation to apt. While
                 the .debs are already available, they  are  stored  in  the  temporary  apt  cache,  where  apt
                 validates its checksum, before considering it for further processing.  Note: This does have the
                 caveat that apt may need network availability even though it doesn't download anything over the
                 network.  But  it  does  invoke  the download routines and realizes that the payload is already
                 available. It then further proceeds with checksum validation

                 The default behavior is to not do strict checksum validation  for  .deb  files.  Instead,  apt-
                 offline copies the .deb files to apt's download location. apt still does size validation of the
                 available .deb files and discards them in case there is a mismatch.

       --install-src-pathPATH
                 Path  to  filesystem  where  we  want the source packages to be installed to. Default will be a
                 folder in your TEMPDIR.

NOTE:argument/optionhandling
              apt-offline relies on argparse for argument/option parsing.  To  explicitly  instruct  apt-offline
              about an argument, you can pass it with the -- delimiter.

              Ex.apt-offlineset--update--upgrade--install-packageswm2--foo.sig

              By  specifying  the  --  delimiter,  we  instruct  apt-offline  that foo.sig is an argument to the
              apt-offline command and not to the --install-packages option.

              Otherwise, you could also use it positionally next to the set command

              Ex.apt-offlinesetfoo.sig--update--upgrade--install-packageswm2apt-offlinesetFILENAME
              This command will generate a signature file FILENAME for APT Package Database.  To  generate  only
              the  signature  for  updates, use the --update option.  To generate only the signature for package
              upgrades, use the --upgrade option.

       apt-offlinegetFILENAME
              This command will fetch the data required for APT Package  Database  as  per  the  signature  file
              FILENAME generated by apt-offlineget.  To download bug reports also use the --bug-reports option.
              Currently  supported  bug  tracker  is  Debian BTS only.  By default, if neither of -d or --bundle
              options are specified, apt-offline downloads data into a folder  inside  the  TEMPDIR  environment
              folder  in  the  format apt-offline-downloads-PID, where PID is the PID of the running apt-offline
              process. Example on a Linux machine would be something like: /tmp/apt-offline-downloads-23242/

       apt-offlineinstallFILE|FOLDER
              This command will sync the data downloaded by apt-offlineget to  the  APT  Package  Database  and
              update  it.   Depending  on  where  the data was downloaded to or packed into, either the absolute
              FOLDER path or the archive FILE path can be specified.

              NOTE1: On a freshly installed box, that was installed without the network, the package database is
              null. In that case, you first need to run apt-offline with just the --update option to ensure  you
              have a meaningful package database

              Example:apt-offlinesetset.uris--updateNOTE2:  On  a fresh setup installed through CD/DVD, the default APT setting lists only the install
              media URLs. In such case, you need to add the default APT network repositories to  the  list.  For
              example, for a fresh (DVD) installed Debian box, add the relevant repository to

              /etc/apt/sources.list.d/apt-offline.listor/etc/apt/sources.list

              deb https://deb.debian.org/debian stable main contrib

              (ForDebianStable)

              deb https://deb.debian.org/debian unstable main contrib

              (ForDebianUnstable/Sid)

              deb https://deb.debian.org/debian stretch main contrib

              (ForDebianStretch)

              deb http://security.debian.org stable/updates main contrib

              (SecurityUpdatesforDebianStable)

              deb http://security.debian.org testing-security/updates main contrib

              (SecurityUpdatesforDebianTesting)

       Sequence 1: The following set of commands, when run in sequence, will update a disconnected machine.

              apt-offlinesetupdate.sig--update

              (Generate  the  required data needed to update the APT database. Should be run on the disconnected
              machine)

              apt-offlinegetupdate.sig--bundleupdate.zip

              (Download the required data needed to update the APT database. Should be run  on  a  machine  with
              internet connectivity)

              apt-offlineinstallupdate.zip

              (Installs the data needed to update the APT database. Should be run on the disconnected machine)

       Sequence 2: With successful completion of Sequence 1, the APT database on the disconnected machine will
       be up-to-date. Now, the following set of commands, when run in sequence, will upgrade a disconnected
       machine.

              apt-offlinesetupgrade.sig--upgrade

              (Generate  the  required  data  needed  to  upgrade  the upgradable packages. Should be run on the
              disconnected machine)

              apt-offlinegetupgrade.sig--bundleupgrade.zip

              (Download the required data needed to upgrade the upgradable packages. Should be run on a  machine
              with internet connectivity)

              apt-offlineinstallupgrade.zip

              (Installs  the  data  needed to upgrade the upgradable packages. Should be run on the disconnected
              machine)

       After successful completion of
              Sequence1 and Sequence2 in order, further running apt-getupgrade will  result  in  0  bytes  of
              additional download.

       -h, --help
              Show help message

       --verbose
              Run in verbose mode

       -v, --version
              Display the version of the program

       apt-offline - Offline APT Package manager

apt-get(8), apt-cache(8), dpkg(8), aptitude(8),

apt-offline [ARGUMENTS] [OPTIONS]