Howdy linux folks! Today, we’re taking a quick peek at the Nala package manager, an app that’s here to make managing packages on Debian-based systems a breeze. If you’ve ever struggled with package management or just want a more user-friendly experience, Nala might just be your new best friend.
Benefits of Using Nala Packet Manager
- Pretty Formatting: Nala provides enhanced formatting for better package management visibility, making it easier to see what’s happening.
- Parallel Downloads: Enjoy faster package retrieval with parallel downloads, limited to 3 packages at a time per unique mirror to avoid overloading servers.
- Fast Mirror Selection: Nala intelligently selects the fastest mirrors for downloads, ensuring you get your packages quickly.
- Best Mirrors Selection: Use the ‘nala fetch’ command to select the best mirrors based on latency, optimizing your download speeds.
- Package History Management: The ‘nala history’ command allows you to review, undo, redo, or clear package installations, removals, or upgrades, giving you full control over your system’s package history.
Installing Nala
sudo apt update
sudo apt install nalaUsing Nala
I am not going to go into detail on using Nala here. If you have made it to this point, I have faith in you. Go on with your bad self…
Bonus: Unattended-Upgrades
As a little bonus I’d like to mention installing and enabling unattended-upgrades. Especially if you manage multiple systems, you will understand how valuable this is. Heck, it is literally the first thing I do after deploying new server instances and running a quick update/upgrade ;).
sudo nala install unattended-upgrades
sudo dpkg-reconfigure unattended-upgradesConclusion
Nala is a badass apt companion for daily operations. It’s got your back when package management gets tough, so give Nala package manager a try – because non-arch users could definitely use some help in the package department. 😂
