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Request packages for particular target machines from apt-medium using your favorite apt-tool to select the packages. Have apt-medium download them when you are on a machine with network access and have apt-medium install what you requestet when you are on the target machines. Request packages for particular target machines from apt-medium using your favorite apt-tool to select the packages. Have apt-medium download them when you are on a machine with network access and have apt-medium install what you requested when you are on the target machines.
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2) If you want to install something on the machine you are loged-in to enter: 2) If you want to install something on the machine you are logged in to enter:

Manage package updates and installations on (multiple) machines, which may not be on the internet or even on a local network.

Request packages for particular target machines from apt-medium using your favorite apt-tool to select the packages. Have apt-medium download them when you are on a machine with network access and have apt-medium install what you requested when you are on the target machines.

Have all packages you download cached on your apt-medium, so you have them handy to be installed on other machines without further downloading. Download packages only once to your apt-medium and install them on multiple machines.

An apt-medium is a CD or USB-Disk etc. media that contains the apt-medium script. It is a wraper script for apt frontends and manages an apt-medium directory (with package lists, cache, machine lists, selections, ...). It lets you perform offline updates and install additional software with regular apt tools using a directory on a removable medium or local network share.

Currently it consists of several proof-of-concept scripts that would need to be integrated into a single apt-medium script.

apt-medium-0.2.tar.gz (extract this, for example on a USB-harddisk)

keywords: offline networkwide update upgrade apt-get aptitude synaptic adept local packages .deb repository


  • "apt-medium"

Manages an installation medium, especially writeable ones, for multiple, even disconnected and remote, machines.

1) You mount your apt-medium and change into the apt-medium directory.

  • (i.e. plug in your USB-disk etc. after installing apt-medium to it or extract the tarball somewhere else.)

2) If you want to install something on the machine you are logged in to enter:

  • "apt-medium install <package>", and if the necessary packages are already on the apt-medium they will get installed right away. If you want to have something installed on another machine use "apt-medium --machine=<hostname> install <package>"

3) If some Packages are missing on the apt-medium you are told you need to

  • execute "apt-medium download". You might want to do this at another machine with a (faster) internet connection. You can even download on a machine running some other operating system. (with "apt-medium.bat download")

After downloading you just run "apt-medium install" on your target machines, and what you requested and downloaded for those machines will get installed.

If you want to use a graphical apt-frontend with your apt-medium, for example aptitude or synaptic, you can do so with "apt-medium --apt-tool=aptitude"


Discussion: How a developer should work on this tool? I'm updating the architecture selection code, since i will be updating a 64bit machine sans internet connection.

  • Hi! apt-medium was created as a spin-off to get a otherwise quite tedious update event done. And published because it may be quite of use for others that could benefit from it, maybe managing (one or many) unconnected machines on a regular basis. Just add diffs and a new tarball to this wikipage, I guess, and you are apt to be the new lead medium developer. :) Or take it on to cvs/packaging as you like. It's GPLed.


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