> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://itsfoss.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# sudo apt update vs upgrade: What's the Difference?
- URL: https://itsfoss.com/apt-update-vs-upgrade/
- Published: 2022-08-24T21:22:25.000Z
- Updated: 2023-07-13T07:43:57.000Z
- Description: apt update or apt upgrade? apt-get update or apt-get upgrade? Do not both of them update your system? What's the difference between the two similar commands?
- Author: Abhishek Prakash
- Tags: Explain

If you want to [keep your Ubuntu system updated](https://itsfoss.com/update-ubuntu/), you use the combination of **sudo apt update** and **sudo apt upgrade** commands.

Some older tutorial also mentions **sudo apt-get update** and **sudo apt-get upgrade**.

Both `apt` and `apt-get` commands work pretty much the same except for some minor differences that I’ll discuss later in this tutorial.

Let’s first discuss the difference between *update* and *upgrade*. Aren't the two the same thing?

## Difference between apt update and upgrade

Though it sounds like running the `apt update` will give you the latest version of the package, it’s not true. The *update* command only gets the information about the latest version of packages available for your system. It doesn’t download or install any package. It is the `apt upgrade` command that actually downloads and upgrades the package to the new version.

Still confused? Let me explain a bit more. I advise [reading up on the concept of package manager](https://itsfoss.com/package-manager/). It will help you understand things even better.

![Linux Package Manager Explanation](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2020/10/linux-package-manager-explanation.png)

Basically, your system works on a database (cache) of available packages. Note that this cache or database doesn’t contain the packages themselves, just the metadata (version, repository, dependency etc.) on the package.

If you don’t update this database, the system won’t know if there are newer packages available or not.

When you run the **apt update** or **apt-get update** command, it will fetch the updated metadata (package version etc.) on the packages.

![Running apt update command in a terminal](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2022/08/apt-update.png)

apt update

Your local package cache has been updated and there are packages that can be upgraded. You can upgrade all the (upgradable) packages with `sudo apt upgrade`.

It shows the packages that are going to be upgraded and ask you to confirm by pressing enter (for default choice Y) or Y key. To cancel the upgrade at this stage, you can press N.

![Running apt upgrade in a terminal](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2022/08/apt-upgrade.png)

apt upgrade

If it helps you remember:

- **apt update**: updates the package cache (to know which package versions can be installed or upgraded)
- **apt upgrade**: upgrades packages to the new version

Since these are administrative commands, you need to run them as root. And hence you use **sudo** with both commands. The sudo part lets you [run commands as root in Ubuntu](https://itsfoss.com/root-user-ubuntu/) and Debian.

Now that you understand how the combination update and upgrade works, let’s discuss the use of apt and apt-get.

## apt or apt-get? Which one should you be using?

Debian and Ubuntu use the APT package management system. Don’t confuse it with the `apt` command.

There are many [commands that interact with the APT](https://itsfoss.com/apt-command-guide/) package management; apt-get, apt, dpkg, aptitude etc.

The `apt-get` command was the most popular of them all. It is a low-level, feature rich command. `apt` is a newer and simpler version of apt-get.

You can [read this article to learn on the differences of apt and apt-get commands](https://itsfoss.com/apt-get-upgrade-vs-dist-upgrade/). Let me focus on the difference between the update and upgrade options of these commands.

### apt update vs apt-get update

Both `apt-get update` and `apt update` do the same task of updating the local package cache so that your system is aware of the available package versions.

Technically, there is no difference. However, `apt update` does one thing better than `apt-get update`. It **tells you the number of packages that can be upgraded**.

```
Hit:15 https://ppa.launchpadcontent.net/slimbook/slimbook/ubuntu jammy InRelease
Fetched 213 kB in 4s (55.8 kB/s)
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading state information... Done
6 packages can be upgraded. Run 'apt list --upgradable' to see them.
```

`apt-get update` doesn’t even tell you if any package can be upgraded.

![Running "apt-get update" command and it doesn't show the number of packages that can be upgraded](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2022/08/apt-get-update.png)

apt-get update vs apt update

You can see the [list of upgradable packages](https://itsfoss.com/apt-list-upgradable/) with `apt`, but `apt-get` doesn’t have this option.

```
abhishek@itsfoss:~$ apt list --upgradable 
Listing... Done
fprintd/jammy-updates 1.94.2-1ubuntu0.22.04.1 amd64 [upgradable from: 1.94.2-1]
gnome-control-center-data/jammy-updates,jammy-updates 1:41.7-0ubuntu0.22.04.4 all [upgradable from: 1:41.7-0ubuntu0.22.04.1]
gnome-control-center-faces/jammy-updates,jammy-updates 1:41.7-0ubuntu0.22.04.4 all [upgradable from: 1:41.7-0ubuntu0.22.04.1]
gnome-control-center/jammy-updates 1:41.7-0ubuntu0.22.04.4 amd64 [upgradable from: 1:41.7-0ubuntu0.22.04.1]
libpam-fprintd/jammy-updates 1.94.2-1ubuntu0.22.04.1 amd64 [upgradable from: 1.94.2-1]
vivaldi-stable/stable 5.4.2753.40-1 amd64 [upgradable from: 5.4.2753.37-1]
```

Let’s talk compare the upgrade option of both commands.

### apt upgrade vs apt-get upgrade

Both `apt-get upgrade` and `apt upgrade` commands install the newer version of the upgradable packages based on the data in the local package cache (refreshed by the update command).

However, the `apt upgrade` command does a couple of things differently than its `apt-get` counterpart.

The **apt upgrade command can upgrade the Linux kernel version, apt-get upgrade cannot** do that. You need to use [apt-get dist-upgrade](https://itsfoss.com/apt-get-upgrade-vs-dist-upgrade/) for upgrading the kernel version with apt-get command.

![apt-get upgrade command cannot upgrade Linux kernel version](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2022/08/apt-get-upgrade.png)

`apt-get upgrade` command

This is because upgrading the kernel version means installing a completely new package. `apt-get upgrade` command cannot install a new package. It can only upgrade existing packages.

Another small thing that `apt upgrade` does better than `apt-get upgrade` is to **show a progress bar** at the bottom.

![apt upgrade progress bar](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2022/08/apt-upgrade-progress-bar.png)

apt upgrade progress bar

## Conclusion

Another common confusion is between [upgrade and dist-upgrade](https://itsfoss.com/apt-get-upgrade-vs-dist-upgrade/):

[apt-get upgrade vs dist-upgrade \[Difference Explained\]The apt-get upgrade and dist-upgrade are both used for upgrading the installed packages. So, what’s the difference?![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/12/android-chrome-192x192.png)It's FOSSAbhishek Prakash![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2022/08/apt-get-upgrade-vs-dist-upgrade.png)](https://itsfoss.com/apt-get-upgrade-vs-dist-upgrade/)

Learn how to use apt-get commands with this guide:

[Using apt-get Commands in Linux \[Ultimate Guide\]This beginner’s guide shows you what you can do with apt-get commands in Linux, how to use them to find new packages, install and upgrade new packages, and clean your system.![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/12/android-chrome-192x192.png)It's FOSSAbhishek Prakash![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2023/05/apt-get-ultimate-guide.png)](https://itsfoss.com/apt-get-linux-guide/)

Similarly, you should also get familiar with the apt commands:

[Using apt Commands in Linux \[Ultimate Guide\]This guide shows you how to use apt commands in Linux with examples so that you can manage packages effectively.![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/12/android-chrome-192x192.png)It's FOSSAbhishek Prakash![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2017/07/apt-commands-example.png)](https://itsfoss.com/apt-command-guide/)

The word update and upgrades are similar, and this is why it confuses a lot of new users. At times, I think the *apt update* command should be merged with the *apt upgrade* command.

I mean, the upgrade (of installed package versions) works in conjugation with the update (of local package metadata cache). Why have two separate commands for that? Combine them in a single upgrade command. This is what Fedora has done with the DNF command. That’s just my opinion.

I hope this article cleared some air around the usage of *apt-get update*, *apt-get upgrade* and *apt update* and *apt upgrade* commands.

Do let me know if you have any questions.