Although the APT plan supervisor is a basic and effective command-line tool for installing, upgrading, and removing software, it does have its weaknesses. Nala is here to enhance on that.
Image: rh2010/Adobe Stock I have actually been using Ubuntu/Debian-based Linux circulations for an extremely, very long time. As such, I’ve seen package managers reoccur. I have actually utilized APT, Synaptic, Snap, Flatpak and more. For the a lot of part, they all do an exceptional task of handling software on your system. The most widespread system I’ve utilized is APT, and it’s rarely failed me.
That does not mean APT is perfect. Case in point: APT is pretty awful for a command line tool. It can also be a bit slow, particularly in later iterations where it runs a number of checks post-install and post-upgrade. Not that I mind those checks, however often the slowdowns triggered by them can be rather frustrating. On top of that, APT does not support parallel downloads, so bigger upgrades can become even slower.
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When a brand-new tool came into being that promised parallel downloads, a history feature, the fastest mirror option that immediately chooses the three fastest download mirrors and a significantly more easy to use output, I was interested.
After setting up Nala on Pop! _ OS Linux, it took me one upgrade gone to make me recognize that Nala was my new preferred APT front-end. That’s right, Nala is just a front-end for APT that adds a few additional features and a cleaner interface. Nevertheless, it’s quite worth setting up and utilizing. Let’s do simply that.
What you’ll need to set up and use Nala
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To install Nala, you’ll require an Ubuntu-based Linux circulation and a user with sudo opportunities. That’s it. Since Nala is a text-based tool, you can install it on either a desktop or server distribution.
How to set up Nala
Thankfully, Nala is discovered in the standard repositories for Ubuntu 22.04 and newer, so setup is easy. Log in to your Ubuntu-based distribution and open a terminal window. Install Nala with:
sudo apt-get install nala -y
For older distributions, you’ll require to set up nala-legacy with:
sudo apt-get install nala-legacy -y
If you’re using a circulation that is older than either Ubuntu 18.04 or Debian Buster, Nala will not work.
That’s it for the installation.
How to use Nala
Nala usage is very similar to APT. Here are some sample usage commands:
- Update APT: sudo nala upgrade.
- Upgrade installed software: sudo nala upgrade -y.
- Install a piece of software application: sudo nala install PACKAGE -y, where plan is the software to be set up.
- Remove a piece of software: sudo nala get rid of plan -y, where bundle is the software application to be removed.
When Nala runs (Figure A), you’ll discover the output to be considerably simpler to read than that of APT.
Figure A
Nala output is much cleaner than APT’s.
Nala output is much cleaner than APT’s. 3 other very helpful Nala commands are:
- Find the fastest mirrors: sudo nala bring.
- Print out current Nala history: nala history.
- View much more details about your Nala command history: nala history info.
I would highly advise running the sudo nala bring command, so you can be particular Nala is utilizing the fastest mirrors offered to you.
Why you should use Nala
As I mentioned earlier, I use Nala for two primary factors: the speed and the clean UI. If you discover APT to be a bit slow, and you aren’t a fan of the output showed, Nala will be a rejuvenating change.
It might not be a deal breaker, but Nala certainly enhances on the power and flexibility of APT. Provide this front-end a shot and see if it does not become your go-to for APT in Ubuntu and Debian-based Linux distributions.
Learn more of Jack Wallen’s articles here: A look at the Ubuntu 22.10 release, and how to make it possible for Ubuntu Pro to gain expanded security upkeep and compliance.
