> ## 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. # I Tried Apt Command's New Rollback Feature — Here’s How It Went - URL: https://itsfoss.com/news/apt-3-2-release/ - Published: 2026-04-09T10:22:48.000Z - Updated: 2026-04-09T10:22:48.000Z - Description: The new history commands let you undo, redo, or roll back package installs, upgrades, and removals. - Author: Sourav Rudra - Tags: News [APT](https://itsfoss.com/apt-command-guide/), or *Advanced Package Tool*, is the package manager on Debian and its derivatives like *Ubuntu*, *Linux Mint*, and *elementary OS*. On these, if you want to install something, remove it, or update the whole system, you do it via APT. It has been around for decades, and if you are on a [Debian-based distro](https://itsfoss.com/debian-based-distros/), then you have almost certainly used it without giving it much thought. That said, it has seen active development in the last couple of years. We covered the [APT 3.0](https://itsfoss.com/news/apt-3-release/) release this time last year, which kicked off the 3.x series with a colorful new output format, the [Solver3](https://blog.jak-linux.org/2024/05/14/solver3/?ref=itsfoss.com) dependency resolver, a switch from GnuTLS/GnuPG to OpenSSL, and Sequoia for cryptographic operations. The 3.1.x cycle that followed has now closed out with [APT 3.2](https://tracker.debian.org/media/packages/a/apt/changelog-3.2.0?ref=itsfoss.com) **as the stable release**, and it brings some notable changes with it. ## What do you get with Apt 3.2? ![a terminal window that shows the output to apt --help, we have the version numbers, a brief description of apt, and a list of the most used apt commands](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2026/04/apt-3-2-help-command.png) The biggest additions with this release are **transaction history with rollback support**, **some new commands**, and per-repository package filtering. APT now keeps a log of every package install, upgrade, and removal. You can view the full list with `apt history-list`, which shows all past operations with an ID assigned to each. To see exactly what packages were affected in a specific operation, you can use `apt history-info `. From there, `apt history-undo ` **can be used to reverse a specific operation**, reinstalling removed packages or removing installed ones as needed. If you **undo something mistakenly** and want it back, run `apt history-redo ` to reapply it. For cases where you want to revert everything back to the state at a particular point, `apt history-rollback ` does that by undoing all operations that happened after the specified ID. Use this with care, as it makes a permanent change. `apt why` and `apt why-not` are another set of new additions that let you trace the dependency chain behind a package. Run `apt why ` and APT will tell you exactly what pulled it onto your system. Run `apt why-not ` and it will tell you why it is not installed. Similarly, `Include` and `Exclude` are two new options that let you limit which packages APT uses from a specific repository. Include restricts a repo to only the packages you specify, and Exclude removes specific packages from a repo entirely. Solver3, which shipped as opt-in with APT 3.0, **is now on by default**. It also gains the ability to upgrade packages by source package, so all binaries from the same source are upgraded together. Additionally, your system will no longer go to sleep while `dpkg` is running mid-install and JSONL performance counter logging is also in, though that is mostly useful for developers. If all of that's got you interested, then you can try Apt 3.2 on a [Debian Sid](https://wiki.debian.org/DebianUnstable?ref=itsfoss.com) installation as I did below or wait for the [Ubuntu 26.04 LTS](https://itsfoss.com/ubuntu-26-04-release-features/) release, which is reportedly shipping it. ## How to use rollback on Apt? **I almost got lost in the labyrinth of Vim, unable to exit.* After installing some new programs using APT, I tested a few commands to see how rollback and redoing transactions worked. First, I ran `sudo apt history-list` in the terminal and entered my password to authorize the command. The output was a list of APT transactions that included the preparatory work I had done to switch to Debian Sid from Stable, as well as the two install commands to get [Vim](https://itsfoss.com/tag/vim/) and [Nala](https://itsfoss.com/nala/) installed. Next, I ran `sudo apt history-info 4`, the number being the ID of the transaction, and I was shown all the key details related to it, such as the start/end time, requested by which user, the command used, and packages changed. After that, I ran `sudo apt history-undo 4` to revert the Vim installation and `sudo apt history-redo 4` to restore the installation; both of these commands worked as advertised. Finally, I tested `sudo apt history-rollback 3` to get rid of Nala, and the process was just about the same as before, with me being asked to confirm changes by typing "*Y*". **When I tried to run `apt history-redo` for this one, the execution failed as expected.** --- 💬 *Do these new additions look useful to you? Can't be bothered? Let me know below!*