Die-hard terminal emulator enthusiasts will be pleased to discover that the forthcoming Ubuntu 24.10 and Debian GNU/Linux 13 “Trixie” operating systems will showcase an enhanced APT command-line interface (CLI).
Julian Andres Klode, a developer at APT and an engineer at Canonical, used LinkedIn to exhibit the updated APT interface which is fueled by the soon-to-be-released APT 3.0 package manager. This upgrade aims to provide users a tidier and easier-to-follow command-line response when performing tasks such as updating, installing, or removing packages via the terminal emulator.
The innovative APT 3.0 UI introduces a columnar display that would simplify the process of rapidly searching for a package name. It also includes support for colors with red signifying removals and green indicating other changes, thereby making it easier to differentiate commands promptly. Users will also enjoy smoother install progress bars thanks to Unicode blocks.
Moreover, the upcoming APT 3.0 command-line interface tends to be less verbose and provide more padding, which eases the process of section distinction and extraction of useful information. Julian Andres Klode provides a comparison of the novel APT 3.0 UI and the existing APT UI in the attached screenshot, providing a better visualization of the improvements.
“Ever installed too many kernels in your Debian or Ubuntu system, or too many packages and ran out of space APT [3.0] will show you how much space you have available, and warn you if you will exceed that space, taking into account separate /boot partitions too,” said Julian Andres Klode.
This will be the default command-line interface feel for the APT command starting with the upcoming Debian GNU/Linux 13 “Trixie” operating system series, due out in June-July 2024, and, of course, Ubuntu 24.10, which should be available later this year in October.
Bleeding-edge users and Linux enthusiasts who want to try this right now can check out Debian Unstable. The first release in the APT 3.0 development series was already uploaded in Debian Unstable’s repositories as APT 2.9.0, so make sure you have it installed to test the new APT interface.
Image credits: Julian Andres Klode
Thank you Simon for the tip!
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