#874763 Ability to install local debs (or volatile sources) not documented in manpage

Package:
apt
Source:
apt
Description:
commandline package manager
Submitter:
Michael Stapelberg
Date:
2024-07-18 17:03:03 UTC
Severity:
normal
#874763#5
Date:
2017-09-09 13:55:11 UTC
From:
To:
apt supports installing packages via e.g. “apt install ./keyring.deb”. Not
everybody knows this¹, and in fact it turns out to not be documented in the
manpage.

Apparently, the feature was originally introduced in commit
0d29b9d4368284782862c7b507c47002b79ddb27 by Michael Vogt, calling the feature
“local deb install”.

Later, commit 5465192b9aeb1ccea778950ccf2d1b7b32f2cd91 by David Kalnischkies
refines the feature and calls it “volatile sources”.

Neither commit updates the manpages, and I can’t see a corresponding prose
paragraph or hint in the synopsis in the apt(8) manpage.

Could you update the manpage to include this feature please?

① https://github.com/i3/i3.github.io/pull/35
#874763#10
Date:
2024-07-18 17:01:19 UTC
From:
To:
It would be great if this could get fixed. Handling all Debian packages through apt - even those not coming from repos - is the most user- and especially beginner-friendly way there is. This way dependencies are automatically handled instead of dpkg just spitting out errors the average beginner will have trouble with understanding. While there are many guides online about how to install .deb packages and while most beginners probably will use the graphical tools anyway coming from Windows where you install things too with a double click, official acknowledgements of this being a thing would probably still be appreciated.