Table of Contents

Ubuntu - apt-get - Clean the system

Free up some disk space.

Remove all packages from the package cache

sudo apt-get clean

NOTE: This may not be desirable if you have a slow Internet connection, since it will cause you to re-download any packages you need to install a program.

  • The package cache is in /var/cache/apt/archives.
  • See how much space cached packages are consuming: 
    du -sh /var/cache/apt/archives

Only remove packages that have a newer version available

sudo apt-get autoclean

NOTE: autoclean only removes those retrieved package files that have a newer version now, and so will not be used anymore.

  • This command removes .deb files for packages that are no longer installed on your system.
  • Depending on your installation habits, removing these files from /var/cache/apt/archives may regain a significant amount of diskspace.

Removes libraries and packages that were installed automatically to satisfy the dependencies of another installed package

sudo apt-get autoremove

NOTE: autoremove removes libraries and packages that were installed automatically to satisfy the dependencies of another installed package.

  • If that package is removed, these automatically installed packages are useless in the system, and this command removes such packages.