The highlight of this week’s open source software is Synaptic. Learn what that good ol ‘package manager can do that modern software managers can’t.
What is Synaptic Package Manager?
Synaptic is a lightweight GUI for the apt package management system used in Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint and many other Debian / Ubuntu based distributions.
Basically anything you can do using apt-get commands in terminal can be done with Synaptic.
There was a time when Synaptic was the default graphics software manager on almost all Debian-based Linux distributions. It was seen as a friendly and easy to use way to manage applications.
Things have changed as modern software management tools like GNOME Software and KDE Discover have offered a more modern and intuitive user interface. These software managers have a better interface, display package information in a more user-friendly way with thumbnails, ratings and reviews.
Finally, Synaptic limited itself to mostly lightweight Linux distributions.
Why would you use “old” software like Synaptic Package Manager?
You do not have to. Not most of the time, of course.
But Synaptic is still much more versatile than GNOME software. Keep in mind that this is basically a GUI for apt, which means it can do (almost) anything you do with apt commands in the terminal.
For example, if you want to prevent a specific package from updating in Ubuntu, you can do so in Synaptic but not in GNOME / Ubuntu Software Center.
Additionally, I noticed some issues with the Software Center in Ubuntu 20.04. It’s slow to load, it’s slow when searching for software, and it’s full of instant apps (which not everyone prefers).
Synaptic is also one of the lightweight apps that you can use in Ubuntu to speed up your system a bit.
Features of Synaptic Package Manager
Here is a summary of what you can do with Synaptic:
- Update the package cache
- Upgrade the whole system
- Manage package repositories
- Search for packages by name, description, maintainer, version, dependencies, etc.
- List packages by section, status (installed), origin or more
- Sort packages by name, status, size or version
- Obtain information about a plan
- Lock package version
- Install a specific version of a package
There are more features that you can explore on your own.
How to install Synaptic package manager on Ubuntu
The Synaptic package manager is available in the Universe repository on Ubuntu. If it’s enabled, you can find it in Software Center:
You can also install Synaptic via the command line. Make sure to activate the universe repository first:
sudo add-apt-repository universeAnd then update the cache (not required in Ubuntu 18.04 and later):
sudo apt updateNow use the command below to install the synaptic package manager:
sudo apt install synapticThat’s it.
How to use the Synaptic package manager
Once installed, you can search for Synaptic in the menu and start it from there:
You can see that the interface isn’t among the prettiest here. Note the color of the check boxes. White means the package is not installed, green means it is installed.
You can search for an app and click the checkbox to mark it for installation. It will also highlight the packages (in green) which will be installed as dependencies. Press Apply to install the selected packages:
You can see all the packages installed in Ubuntu using Synaptic. You can also choose to remove packages from this view.
You can see the packages available in individual repositories by viewing them based on Origin. A good way to see which PPA offers which plans. You can install or remove packages as described above.
Usually, when you update Ubuntu, all the packages are updated at the same time. With Synaptic, you can easily choose which packages you want to update / upgrade to a newer version.
You can also version lock the packages so that they are not updated with system updates.
You can also search for packages using Synaptic. It’s like finding packages using the apt-cache search command.
If you think you made the wrong selection, you can click Undo on the Edit menu.
There is a lot more you can do with Synaptic and I cannot cover all the possible uses. I’ve covered the most common ones here and I’ll leave it to you to explore, if you are considering using Synaptic.
Synaptic is not for everyone
If you don’t like Synaptic, you can remove it from Software Center or by using this command in terminal:
sudo apt remove synapticThere was another lightweight software manager for Ubuntu called AppGrid. It hasn’t been updated lately as far as I know.
Synaptic is definitely not for everyone. It lists libraries and packages that you otherwise won’t see in the standard Software Center. If you deleted a library that you were not aware of, it can cause problems.
I think Synaptic is suitable for intermediate to advanced users who want more control over package management without going through the command line.
What are you saying? Have you ever used Synaptic for package management? Do you rely on the software center or just dive into the terminal? Share your preference in the comments section.
