How To Install Suggested Packages in apt-get: A Comprehensive Guide

In the world of Linux, apt-get is a powerful and commonly used command-line tool for managing packages. It is the default package manager for Debian-based systems, including Ubuntu. One of the lesser-known features of apt-get is its ability to handle suggested packages. In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into how to install suggested packages in apt-get.

Understanding Suggested Packages

Before we dive into the process, let’s first understand what suggested packages are. When you install a package using apt-get, it often comes with a list of additional packages that are recommended or suggested for a more complete or enhanced functionality. These are not essential for the basic functionality of the package, hence they are not installed by default.

Using the --install-suggests Option

The --install-suggests option is a handy feature if you want to install all the suggested packages along with their dependencies. Here’s how you can use it:

sudo apt-get --install-suggests install <package>

Replace <package> with the name of the package you want to install. This command will install the package along with all its suggested packages and their dependencies.

However, be aware that this option is recursive. It calculates suggestions from all the packages suggested by the specified package. This can result in a large number of packages being installed, which may not be desirable in all cases.

For example, if you run:

sudo apt-get --install-suggests install screenlets

You may find that a significant number of additional packages are installed.

Manually Installing Suggested Packages

If you want more control over what gets installed, you can manually install suggested packages. Here’s how:

First, view the suggested packages for a specific package by running:

apt show <package> | grep ^Suggests:

This command will display a list of suggested packages for the specified package.

To install only the suggested packages for a given package, you can use the following command:

apt show <package> | sed -nr '/^(Suggests|Package): /{s///;s/( \|[^,]+)?,//g;p}' | xargs apt -y install

This command retrieves the suggested packages for the specified package and installs them.

Adjusting the apt Configuration

If you have used the --no-install-recommends option in the past, you can override this setting to include recommended packages during the installation. Here’s how:

apt-get -o apt::install-recommends=true install <package>

This command overrides the configuration to include recommended packages during the installation.

Conclusion

While the behavior of suggested and recommended packages can vary depending on the package and the repositories you are using, the methods outlined above should give you a good starting point. Remember, the --install-suggests option may result in a large number of packages being installed due to its recursive nature. Always review the list of packages to be installed before proceeding.

We hope this guide has been helpful in understanding how to install suggested packages in apt-get. Happy package managing!