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Questions tagged [metapackages]

Questions related to metapackages, which define other packages to install.

Metapackages are a type of package (.deb installer) that contain no actual files. Rather, they contain a list of other packages to install. Such packages, therefore, are classified as "meta" packages, due to their containing no real files to install. An example of a well-known metapackage is ubuntu-restricted-extras.

49 questions
61
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1 answer

How to create a meta-package that automatically installs other packages?

I'd like to be able to create a package that doesnt contain any code or programs itself, but instead installs other packages that exist in the repositories onto a computer, sort of how the ubuntu-restricted-extras package does?
Thomas Ward
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51
votes
1 answer

Should I use tasksel, tasks in APT or install regular metapackages?

Tasksel or plain Apt? In the past I've always used tasksel to install so-called "tasks". It seems, however, that this has been integrated in APT: apt-cache dumpavail | grep ^Task [...] snip Task: lamp-server [...] and that I can install such…
gertvdijk
  • 69,427
36
votes
5 answers

What is the difference between a meta-package and a package?

I've heard some packages being classified as a meta-package. So now I am left wondering what is the difference between a meta-package and a package?
Nitin Venkatesh
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22
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3 answers

How can I install commonly used developer tools?

Is there a meta-package for installing commonly used developer tools such as cmake, autoconf, g++, etc.? The intent is to have roughly the same range of command-line tools as one has after installing XCode and the Mac SDK on Apple.
D R
  • 1,147
21
votes
2 answers

What exactly is in ubuntu-desktop?

I'm also interested in its variants, like kubuntu-desktop. It appears to include GNOME (or KDE) and a bunch of other things. But it's quite large - is there a breakdown of what is included in ubuntu-desktop and exactly what those items are/do?
Thomas Owens
  • 883
17
votes
4 answers

How do I exclude specific packages from installation with apt-get?

I would like to exclude specific packages from installation with apt-get, that is, install a metapackage without the list of specific packages, preferably with one invocation of apt-get. For example, in Ubuntu 14.04 LTS command-line, I am installing…
Nickolai Leschov
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16
votes
4 answers

How to completely remove desktop?

I wanted to switch to Xfce (I had KDE and GNOME installed), and I did this : sudo apt-get install xubuntu-desktop sudo apt-get remove kubuntu-desktop sudo apt-get remove ubuntu-desktop sudo apt-get autoremove but to my surprise, I could still…
BЈовић
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15
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2 answers

How to determine if a package is a meta-package from the command line?

How can I determine if a package is a meta-package from the command line, possibly via apt-get, aptitude or apt-cache? I have tried: apt-cache show texlive-full apt-cache showpkg texlive-full but the only way I can tell this package is meta is by…
Ciro Santilli OurBigBook.com
  • 31,312
10
votes
3 answers

How to determine which packages are part of a metapackage?

I am interested in taking a list of packages and figuring out which packages are part of a meta-package. That way, if I reinstall a new system I can limit my install to just the top level packages I need. Has anyone written a script to do this sort…
blake private_last_name
  • 201
10
votes
3 answers

Why removing gnome-core does not remove all of it's dependencies?

I installed gnome-core package on Ubuntu (minimal version for the beagle bone) and it was almost 600mb. However, when I try to un-install it using sudo apt-get autoremove gnome-core It removes only 49 MB. Any Ideas, how to remove the entire 600…
Developer Android
  • 2,163
9
votes
1 answer

Kernel metapackages (linux-generic vs linux-image-generic)

The package hierarchy for Ubuntu kernel images looks like this: linux-generic --> linux-image-generic --> linux-image-2.6.38-8-generic. Both linux-generic and linux-image-generic are metapackages. I understand the purpose of having one kernel…
SystemParadox
  • 321
9
votes
2 answers

Is it safe to remove ubuntu-desktop package?

I prefer using Synaptic to Software Center. So I decide to remove the software-center package, but ubuntu-desktop needs to be removed as well. A warning is shown, saying ubuntu-desktop is needed to ensure proper updates. To which extent…
user56412
7
votes
2 answers

How to trick apt dependencies?

Possible Duplicate: How to create a meta-package that automatically installs other packages? I want to use Frescobaldi (an editor for Lilypond), but the packaged release of lilypond (2.12.3; lilypond is like TeX for scoresheets) in the official…
FUZxxl
  • 1,503
7
votes
3 answers

How to view a list of packages that were manually installed without their dependancies

How do I see a list of packages I manually (really manually, as in I typed them in) installed? I want to exclude packages that were installed as a result of being dependencies of other packages that I manually typed in. For example, if I ran the…
user92125
5
votes
2 answers

Why does removing a "metapackage" not remove the dependencies which it installed?

If I attempt to uninstall a metapackage, apt does not actually remove the metapackage's dependencies, only the "wrapper" itself. Even when running apt autoremove, these subpackages are not listed. I find it confusing that autoremove removes…
tech4him
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