Upgrades

This is a short recipe for a minimal, up-to-date Debian system.

Instructions

  1. Log in as the root user (run su if you are already logged-in as a regular user).
  2. Ensure system packages are up-to-date with apt-get update && apt-get upgrade && apt-get full-upgrade.
  3. Change the release in /etc/apt/sources.list or /etc/apt/sources.list.d/... to the desired version.
  4. Prepare upgrade the system with apt-get clean && apt-get update && apt-get upgrade && apt-get full-upgrade && apt-get autoremove.
  5. Confirm decisions to upgrade and read through any available bulletins.
  6. Restart the system.
  7. Check if the upgrade is successful with cat /etc/os-release. It should match your desired release.

Tips

  1. Remove obsolete packages with apt purge --auto-remove ... && apt clean .... Since I’m primarily a Vim and Neovim user I usually remove the default GNU nano text editor from my systems.

Sources

  1. Debian Releases. The Debian Project. Accessed 2024-02-21. https://www.debian.org/releases/.
  2. DebianUpgrade. The Debian Wiki. Accessed 2024-02-21. https://wiki.debian.org/DebianUpgrade.