apt

Install Debian-family Linux packages using APT.

APT-installed tools are externally managed: APT owns the files, and .bin() names the executables the package provides so dotfiles can shim them (see .bin() runtime behavior).

Basic Usage

import { defineTool } from "@alexgorbatchev/dotfiles";

export default defineTool((install) =>
  install("apt", {
    package: "ripgrep",
  })
    .bin("rg")
    .sudo(),
);

Parameters

Parameter	Description
package	APT package name (defaults to tool name)
version	Exact package version, installed as package=version
update	Run apt-get update before install (defaults to false)

Examples

Exact Version

install("apt", {
  package: "ripgrep",
  version: "13.0.0-1",
}).bin("rg");

The version parameter takes precedence over .version(), and dotfiles update refuses a tool it pins (tool update).

Refresh Package Lists First

install("apt", {
  package: "ripgrep",
  update: true,
}).bin("rg");

Update Checks

An update check runs apt-cache policy <package> in the C locale, since apt translates the labels it prints. It compares the Installed: version with the Candidate: version, the one apt-get install would pick from the local package lists, so the check is only as current as the last apt-get update. The tool is outdated exactly when the two differ; apt’s answer decides, since Debian versions are not semantic versions. apt-cache policy exits 0 for a package that is not installed (it prints Installed: (none), also for a package removed with its configuration files kept) and for a name apt does not know, so either fails the check. For an unknown name apt prints nothing, or, when the name reads as a regular expression (such as perl-bas. or libstdc++), the packages that match it. Only the section for the package itself counts, so a misspelled name fails the check rather than reporting another package’s versions. An installed package with no candidate, as when every version is pinned below zero, and a query that fails also fail the check. All of this applies to a tool dotfiles installed; a tool dotfiles never installed is not checked, and tool check reports it as not installed.

Platform Support

Platform	Support
Linux	Debian-family distributions only
macOS	Not supported
Windows	Not supported