Kubuntu/Advanced/Repositories

Managing Repositories

Add a Repository

You can use the Muon Software Center to add new repositories.

How-to: Start Muon Software Center. Select Settings, Configure Software Sources in the window. Enter your administrative password at the prompt. Left-click the 'Other Software' tab. Left-click the 'Add...' button. Enter the repository address into the text box. The proper format is required, and looks similar to this: deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/kubuntu-ppa/backports/ubuntu raring main Left-click the 'OK' button to add the repository. Left-click the 'Close' button. A prompt will appear to update the package list. Muon will now be allowed to find the newly available software.

Enable a Repository

You can use the Muon Software Center to enable repositories.

How-to: Start Muon Software Center. Select Settings, Configure Software Sources in the window. Enter your administrative password at the prompt. Left-click the 'Other Software' tab. Check the appropriate box in the center section of the window to enable a repository. Left-click the 'Close' button. A prompt will appear to update the package list. Muon will now be allowed to find the newly available software.

Disable a Repository

You can use the Muon Software Center to disable repositories.

How-to: Start Muon Software Center. Select Settings, Configure Software Sources in the window. Enter your administrative password at the prompt. Left-click the 'Other Software' tab. Uncheck the appropriate box in the center section of the window to disable a repository. Left-click the 'Close' button. A prompt will appear to update the package list. Muon will now forget the no longer available software.

Remove a Repository

You can use the Muon Software Center to remove repositories.

How-to: Start Muon Software Center. Select Settings, Configure Software Sources in the window. Enter your administrative password at the prompt. Left-click the 'Other Software' tab. Left-click the name of an existing repository in the center section of the window to select it. Left-click the 'Remove' button. Left-click the 'Close' button. A prompt will appear to update the package list. Muon will now forget the no longer available software.

Managing Personal Package Archives

Personal Package Archives allow any person in the Ubuntu community who has committed to observe the [Code of Conduct] to upload Ubuntu source packages to be built and published as an apt repository by Launchpad. Software from Launchpad's [Package Archive] (PPA) requires a [[1]] (GPG) key so your system can verify that it's getting the packages from the correct source and that the packages have not been interfered with since they were built. GnuPG is GNU's tool for secure communication and data storage.

Important: The contents of Personal Package Archives are not checked or monitored. You install software from them at your own risk.

Add a PPA

You can use the Muon Software Center to add a PPA:

How-to: Open the Launchpad PPA overview page in your browser. Look for the location of the PPA in the 'Adding this PPA to your system' section.

Open Muon Software Center. Select Settings, Configure Software Sources in the window. Enter your administrative password at the prompt. Left-click on the 'Other Software' tab. Left-click the 'Add...' button. Paste the location you got from the PPA's overview page into the text box. Left-click the 'OK' button to add the repository. Left-click the 'Close' button. A prompt will appear to update the package list. Muon will now be allowed to find the newly available software.

You can use the command line to add a PPA on 9.10 Karmic Koala or newer Kubuntu systems:

How-to: Visit the Launchpad PPA overview page. Look for the location of the PPA in the 'Adding this PPA to your system' section.

[[attachment:PPALocation.png|Template:Attachment:PPALocation.png]]

Open a terminal window. Add the PPA to your system by entering this command in the terminal window, replacing Location with the location you got from the PPA's overview page:<
>{{{ sudo add-apt-repository Location }}}Update the package index by entering this command in the terminal window:<
>{{{ sudo apt-get update }}}You can now install software from the PPA.

Remove a PPA

You can use the Muon Software Center to remove a PPA:

How-to: Start Muon Software Center. Select Settings, Configure Software Sources in the window. Enter your administrative password at the prompt. Left-click the 'Other Software' tab. Left-click the name of a the PPA in the center section of the window to select it. Left-click the 'Remove' button. Left-click the 'Close' button. A prompt will appear to update the package list. Muon will now forget the no-longer-available software.

Note: If you need to remove not only the PPA repository, but also remove the packages installed from that PPA, and revert to the packages from the official Ubuntu repositories, there is a command line package which will do that: ppa-purge.

How-to: In a konsole, type sudo apt-get install ppa-purge. Then, sudo ppa-purge ppa:<repository-name>/<subdirectory> putting in the correct PPA name(s).

If instead you merely wish to remove the PPA using the commandline, then type sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:someppa/ppa

Install/Uninstall .deb files

The package files associated with Kubuntu have the ".deb" suffix because of Kubuntu's close relationship with the Debian GNU/Linux distribution. Individual ".deb" files can be downloaded and installed. Humble Bundles, for instance, distribute debs. Administrative privileges are required.

How-to: simply left-click on the ".deb" file to initiate the installation process. A prompt will appear for a password associated with the necessary administrative privilege.

Install from Source

Files with the ".tar.gz" or ".tar.bz2" suffix are package files known as "tarballs" or "source" packages. These are widely used in Linux. If there is no native Kubuntu package available in any of the repositories, it may be possible to compile and install the package from source. For tips on compiling software, look at the Compiling Software page on the Ubuntu Wiki.

Updating

Kubuntu developers release feature and security updates for applications and packages within the Kubuntu system. When updates become available, Kubuntu will display a message in the System Tray. To update the system, open Muon Update Manager and click the "Install updates" button. After installing some updates, it may be necessary to restart the computer. If so, Kubuntu will display a pop-up and an icon in the System Tray.