Home / ubuntu / Questions / 1123529
Accepted
smammy
Asked: 2019-03-07 08:07:53 +0800 CST

Is it possible to pin source packages? If so, how?

  • 772

Given this /etc/apt/sources.list file:

deb     http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ cosmic main restricted universe multiverse
deb-src http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ cosmic main restricted universe multiverse
deb     http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ disco  main restricted universe multiverse
deb-src http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ disco  main restricted universe multiverse

and this /etc/apt/preferences file:

Package: *
Pin: release a=cosmic
Pin-Priority: 900

Package: *
Pin: release a=disco
Pin-Priority: -10

Running apt install some-package will install the version from cosmic, as I'd expect.

However, running apt source some-package will download the (newer) version from disco.

How can I make apt source obey pin-priorities?

apt pinning source-packages

2 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    It turns out that this is not possible, per a friend of a friend on the APT team. apt source doesn't pay attention to pinning.

    • 2

  2. Strictly speaking source packages are a different namespace than binary packages. A very recent version of apt (post-Buster, even, so it's only in testing+ right now) started to support pinning by source package instead of binary package, using a src: prefix.

    I would've set up the following pinning entry if Buster supported it already for preferring Ceph 14 packages (from backports) over the stale v12 ones from stable, for example:

    Package: src:ceph
Pin: version 14.*
Pin-Priority: 1002

    Rather a lot better than having to enumerate the dozens of binary packages generated from that one source.

    I've checked with a more recent apt and sadly even with this new feature, apt source still ignores pinning. :-(

    • 1