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Name is carl
Asked: 2014-12-02 15:28:02 +0800 CST

How can I disable apt-get autoremove?

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I added a bad ppa to my system and now I need to do manual package removing/downgrading.

The issue is that I enabled apt-get autoremove a while ago and removing a package to later replace it/downgrade threaten to uninstall perfectly working apps from my system.

I came across a solution to disable apt-get autoremove but for some reason I am not sure it applies to my configuration (trusty) as my /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/01autoremove looks very different from the sample: 

APT::Get::AutomaticRemove "0";
APT::Get::HideAutoRemove "1";

Here what my 01autoremove looks like: 

APT
{
  NeverAutoRemove
  {
    "^firmware-linux.*";
    "^linux-firmware$";
  };

  VersionedKernelPackages
  {
    # linux kernels
    "linux-image";
    "linux-headers";
<snip>

I really need to disable the autoremove feature so I can start to fix my package version with a clear mind and fearing that some other related package/app got deleted.

apt

1 Answers

  1. From an answer to another question:

    "The /etc/apt/apt.conf file is still read if it exists. The apt configuration provided by packages is installed as separate files in /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/ so that it can be added and updated independent of any local changes you make in the main configuration file.

    So if you have local configuration changes, just create the file."

    Follows that if you drop the lines you mention into /etc/apt/apt.conf you should be good to go. It worked for me.

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