Ubuntu - How to create a local APT repository

Ubuntu – How to create a local APT repository

aptrepository

I would like to build my own local repository on my LAN, so that machines on the LAN can update and upgrade from it. I want to download the packages and store them on my local server so that I can update, upgrade, install, etc, from it without using the internet.

Best Answer

•  

  From the Ubuntu Help wiki:

  There are 4 steps to setting up a simple repository for yourself

  1.Install dpkg-dev
  2.Put the packages in a directory
  3.Create a script that will scan the packages and create a file apt-get update can read
  4. Add a line to your sources.list pointing at your repository

  Install dpkg-dev

  Type in a terminal

  sudo apt-get install dpkg-dev
  

  The Directory

  Create a directory where you will keep your packages. For this example, we'll use /usr/local/mydebs.

  sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/mydebs
  

  Now move your packages into the directory you've just created.

  Previously downloaded Packages are generally stored on your system in the /var/cache/apt/archives directory. If you have installed apt-cacher you will have additional packages stored in its /packages directory.

  The Script update-mydebs

  It's a simple three liner:

  #! /bin/bash
   cd /usr/local/mydebs
   dpkg-scanpackages . /dev/null | gzip -9c > Packages.gz
  

  Cut and paste the above into gedit, and save it as update-mydebs in ~/bin. (the tilde '~' means your home directory. If ~/bin does not exist, create it: Ubuntu will put that directory in your PATH. It's a good place to put personal scripts). Next, make the script executable:

  chmod u+x ~/bin/update-mydebs
  
  How the script works:
  

  dpkg-scanpackages looks at all the packages in mydebs, and the output is compressed and written to a file (Packages.gz) that apt-get update can read (see below for a reference that explains this in excruciating detail). /dev/null is an empty file; it is a substitute for an override file which holds some additional information about the packages, which in this case is not really needed. See deb-override(5) if you want to know about it.

  Sources.list

  add the line

  deb file:/usr/local/mydebs ./
  

  to your /etc/apt/sources.list, and you're done.

  CD Option

  You can burn the directory containing the debs to a CD and use that as a repository as well (good for sharing between computers). To use the CD as a repository, simply run

  sudo apt-cdrom add
  

  Using the Repository

  Whenever you put a new deb in the mydebs directory, run

  sudo update-mydebs
  sudo apt-get update
  

  Now your local packages can be manipulated with Synaptic, aptitude and the apt commands: apt-get, apt-cache, etc. When you attempt to apt-get install, any dependencies will be resolved for you, as long as they can be met.

  Badly made packages will probably fail, but you won't have endured dpkg hell.