How To Install approx on Ubuntu 20.04

In this tutorial we learn how to install approx on Ubuntu 20.04. approx is caching proxy server for Debian archive files

Introduction

In this tutorial we learn how to install approx on Ubuntu 20.04.

What is approx

approx is:

Approx is an HTTP-based proxy server for Debian-style package archives. It fetches files from remote repositories on demand, and caches them for local use.

Approx saves time and network bandwidth if you need to install or upgrade .deb packages for a number of machines on a local network. Each package is downloaded from a remote site only once, regardless of how many local clients install it. The approx cache typically requires a few gigabytes of disk space.

Approx also simplifies the administration of client machines: repository locations need only be changed in approx’s configuration file, not in every client’s /etc/apt/sources.list file.

Approx can be used as a replacement for apt-proxy, with no need to modify clients’ /etc/apt/sources.list files, or as an alternative to apt-cacher.

There are three methods to install approx on Ubuntu 20.04. We can use apt-get, apt and aptitude. In the following sections we will describe each method. You can choose one of them.

Install approx Using apt-get

Update apt database with apt-get using the following command.

sudo apt-get update

After updating apt database, We can install approx using apt-get by running the following command:

sudo apt-get -y install approx

Install approx Using apt

Update apt database with apt using the following command.

sudo apt update

After updating apt database, We can install approx using apt by running the following command:

sudo apt -y install approx

Install approx Using aptitude

If you want to follow this method, you might need to install aptitude first since aptitude is usually not installed by default on Ubuntu. Update apt database with aptitude using the following command.

sudo aptitude update

After updating apt database, We can install approx using aptitude by running the following command:

sudo aptitude -y install approx

How To Uninstall approx on Ubuntu 20.04

To uninstall only the approx package we can use the following command:

sudo apt-get remove approx

Uninstall approx And Its Dependencies

To uninstall approx and its dependencies that are no longer needed by Ubuntu 20.04, we can use the command below:

sudo apt-get -y autoremove approx

Remove approx Configurations and Data

To remove approx configuration and data from Ubuntu 20.04 we can use the following command:

sudo apt-get -y purge approx

Remove approx configuration, data, and all of its dependencies

We can use the following command to remove approx configurations, data and all of its dependencies, we can use the following command:

sudo apt-get -y autoremove --purge approx

References

Summary

In this tutorial we learn how to install approx package on Ubuntu 20.04 using different package management tools: apt, apt-get and aptitude.