Debian update command

That command, sudo apt-get --allow-releaseinfo-change update, is used to update the package lists on a Debian or Ubuntu-based system, specifically allowing an update across a change in the operating system's release information (like when you upgrade from one major version to the next, although a full dist-upgrade would typically be used then).

Here are a few ways to improve it, depending on the context:

🚀 Standard Improvement for Daily Use

If you're just looking for the standard, most common, and concise way to update the package lists, you should generally omit the extra flag:

Bash

sudo apt update

• Why it's better: apt is the newer, user-friendly command that has replaced apt-get for most common operations. It's shorter, provides a better progress display, and the --allow-releaseinfo-change flag is rarely necessary unless you are mid-upgrade or encountering a specific error related to mismatched release files.

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⚙️ The "Update and Upgrade" Standard

In the vast majority of cases, when a user runs update, they also want to install any available upgrades. The standard procedure is to run both:

Bash

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

• Why it's better: This is the complete maintenance command. update gets the latest list of available packages, and upgrade installs them. The && ensures upgrade only runs if update is successful.

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For System Upgrades (Major Version Change)

If you are trying to perform a major distribution upgrade (e.g., Ubuntu 20.04 to 22.04), the apt equivalent that is more comprehensive is:

Bash

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

• Why it's better: full-upgrade (or dist-upgrade in apt-get) handles dependency changes more aggressively than a regular upgrade, including removing existing packages if necessary to resolve new dependencies, which is essential for a clean major version jump.

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In summary, unless you are debugging a very specific issue, the simplest and most modern improvement is:

Bash

sudo apt update