Update or manage software on your system and on your schedule using Discover or command-line. Continue to work while updates are being installed.
Please read the disclaimer before proceeding. We review and update guided solutions like this regularly. If you have suggestions or requests, please write support@kfocus.org.
Ubuntu, Kubuntu, and most derivatives use Debian packages and the Apt system to install and update most software. The official documentation provides a great overview of all the pieces.
We recommend upgrading software packages once per day. This keeps your system up-to-date with the latest security and feature enhancements. Updates on Focus systems rarely cause issues because it uses only Long Term Support (LTS) releases, which are intended to minimize breakage. The Focus team also curates kernels and drivers, and runs frequent regression tests to identify and quickly fix issues.
Even with all these safeguards, however, we still recommend delaying updates until critical work is done for the day. Although glitches are rare, it is best to deal with them on your own terms. If you need to revert a change, you may use the apt-rollback tool we have included. As with any package management tool, use this carefully and always backup your data.
The Discover package manager is the official KDE GUI to update, browse, install, and remove most software from the system. It is built on top of the apt package system. Please refer to the documentation as needed.
The typical update procedure is illustrated below. Package updates are indicated by a blue dot in the system tray. Click on the update indicator to review changes.
After the Update icon is clicked, Discover starts and the update list is refreshed.
Click on the Update All button to start the process.
User authorization is required.
The update takes seconds or minutes depending on the number of packages.
After updates are complete, Discover will appear as shown.
Discover can find, install or remove software.
One can manage software using the apt package tools including apt, apt-get, apt-cache, aptitude, and wajig. We recommend using apt for daily updates and aptitude when resolving more complex package issues.
The CLI tools use update as the keyword to update the list of software, while the upgrade keyword is used to install newer packages.
Q: I see a package called UEFI dbx when updgrading packages in Discover. Yet when I click the upgrade button, it does not complete. What do I need to do?
A: This is a firmware upgrade that usually will fix itself within a few days. If it does not, you can enter into a terminal sudo fwupdmgr update. A more detailed discussion can be found in this Ask Ubuntu answer.
Q: I appear to have a number of unused packages. How can I remove them?
A: Enter the following into a terminal: sudo apt autoremove
Q: You used to also show Muon as an option. What happened?
A: As of Fall 2020 Muon does not appear actively developed. In addition, Discover has gotten significantly faster and more powerful. As a result, we dropped Muon from this guide on 2020-09-28.
Q: Discover proxy settings gets stuck. How can I resolve this?
A: Enter the following commands and follow the prompts.
Q: I see the following error message when fetching software updates. This happens when using Discover or the command-line. How can I fix this?
A: This is due to expired key. This can be fixed as illustrated below.
The keyserver URL may alternately be hkp://keyserver.ubuntu.com:80. This can be useful when working through firewalls. After updating the key, the error should be eliminated.
Q: I am seeing similar key issues with the QGIS repositories. Can I fix this too?
A: Yes. Try sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys F7E06F06199EF2F2 (thanks Justin!).
This is a partial revision history. See the git repository for all entries.
2023-11-18 e770b1c6 Add search and help bar2023-03-30 f05e61b0 Add hint about UEFI dbx update2022-07-19 3b5c2287 Update for 22.042021-10-10 5728326e Reformat to 2-column2021-09-22 dc862884 Update link and headline colors2021-08-23 681261b4 Review and update codeblocks2021-03-21 2a8443b2 Clarify language2020-09-28 fb8295ec Deprecate and remove Muon2020-09-10 5f5c2fe5 Added expired key actions in troubleshooting2020-06-10 c4ed9299 Restructure layout2020-06-10 669bd005 First publicationWe try hard to provide a useful solution validated by professionals. However, we cannot anticipate every situation, and therefore cannot guarantee this procedure will work for your needs. Always backup your data and test the solution to determine the correct procedure for you.
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