apt-cache Command: Tutorial & Examples

Search the package management system

The apt-cache command is used to query the APT (Advanced Package Tool) package management system on Linux distributions that use Debian's package management system. It allows you to search for packages, display information about packages, and show the dependencies of packages. Some common options include search, show, depends, and rdepends.

For example, to search for a package containing a keyword, you can use apt-cache search <keyword>. To display information about a specific package, you can use apt-cache show <package name>. To show the dependencies of a package, you can use apt-cache depends <package name>.

It is also important to note that the apt command is introduced as a replacement for apt-cache and apt-get, and is designed to be more user-friendly and simpler to use. The apt command can be used to perform the functionalities of both apt-cache and apt-get.