How to recycle packages that are no longer used

This article describes how to clean useless software packages and free up disk space in the Debian system.

Step 1: Update the package list

Make sure your package list is up to date:

sudo apt update

Step 2: View installed packages

Use the following command to view all installed packages:

dpkg --get-selections | grep -v deinstall

Step 3: Identify redundant software packages

Use the aptitude tool to find packages that are no longer needed. aptitude will provide advice to help you safely delete packages:

sudo aptitude search '~pimportant'

This command lists packages marked "important", which are usually safe to delete.

Step 4: Automatically delete redundant dependencies

Use apt-get autoremove command to delete dependencies that are no longer needed:

sudo apt-get autoremove --purge

This command deletes useless dependency packages and their configuration files.

Step 5: Manually delete specific software packages

To delete a specific package, use the following command:

sudo apt-get remove --purge<package_name></package_name>

For example, delete vim :

sudo apt-get remove --purge vim

Step 6: Clean the cache

Clean the APT cache to free up more disk space:

sudo apt-get clean

Or delete a specific package in the cache:

sudo apt-get autoclean

Important tips:

• Before deleting packages, make sure they are not needed anymore and will not affect system stability.
• aptitude provides more detailed options and suggestions, and operates with caution.
• Deleting system-critical software packages may cause the system to be unstable or fail to start.

Through the above steps, you can effectively clean up useless software packages in the Debian system and free up valuable disk space.

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