`nala` instead of `apt` -- very nice front-end for libapt-pkg
https://github.com/volitank/nala?tab=readme-ov-file#nala Anyone tried `nala` as a front-end for `apt`? It's a Python app featuring: Pretty colours, better parsing of output:
Nala is a front-end for libapt-pkg. Specifically we interface using the python-apt api.
Especially for newer users it can be hard to understand what apt is trying to do when installing or upgrading.
We aim to solve this by not showing some redundant messages, formatting the packages better, and using color to show specifically what will happen with a package during an install, removal, or upgrade.
Parallel downloading:
Outside of pretty formatting, the number 1 reason to use Nala over apt is parallel downloads.
Nala will download 3 packages at a time per unique mirror in your sources.list file. This constraint is to limit how hard Nala hits mirrors. Opening multiple connections to the same mirror is great for speeding up downloading many small packages.
History:
Our last big feature is the nala history command.
If you're familiar with dnf this works much in the same way. Each Install, Remove, or Upgrade we store in /var/lib/nala/history.json with a unique <ID> number.
At any time you can call nala history to print a summary of every transaction ever made. You can then further manipulate this with commands such as nala history undo <ID> or nala history redo <ID>.
Apparently, it also automatically runs "update" when "install" is run, and "autoremove" or "autoclean" when "remove" is run. Unverified but could be handy. Just heard about it on Linux Matters podcast, episode "Terminal Full of Sparkles" at (https://linuxmatters.sh/66/) and promptly installed it for a look. Much nicer so far. Will install everywhere that has up-to-date Ubuntu or Debian.
No. All I do is apt update apt {dist-upgrade|install|remove} So, I don't need a Python front-end to make it simpler. On 2025-10-14 21:53, Ron via Talk wrote:
https://github.com/volitank/nala?tab=readme-ov-file#nala
Anyone tried `nala` as a front-end for `apt`? It's a Python app featuring:
Pretty colours, better parsing of output:
Nala is a front-end for libapt-pkg. Specifically we interface using the python-apt api.
Especially for newer users it can be hard to understand what apt is trying to do when installing or upgrading.
We aim to solve this by not showing some redundant messages, formatting the packages better, and using color to show specifically what will happen with a package during an install, removal, or upgrade.
Parallel downloading:
Outside of pretty formatting, the number 1 reason to use Nala over apt is parallel downloads.
Nala will download 3 packages at a time per unique mirror in your sources.list file. This constraint is to limit how hard Nala hits mirrors. Opening multiple connections to the same mirror is great for speeding up downloading many small packages.
History:
Our last big feature is the nala history command.
If you're familiar with dnf this works much in the same way. Each Install, Remove, or Upgrade we store in /var/lib/nala/history.json with a unique <ID> number.
At any time you can call nala history to print a summary of every transaction ever made. You can then further manipulate this with commands such as nala history undo <ID> or nala history redo <ID>.
Apparently, it also automatically runs "update" when "install" is run, and "autoremove" or "autoclean" when "remove" is run. Unverified but could be handy.
Just heard about it on Linux Matters podcast, episode "Terminal Full of Sparkles" at (https://linuxmatters.sh/66/) and promptly installed it for a look.
Much nicer so far. Will install everywhere that has up-to-date Ubuntu or Debian.
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From: William Park via Talk <talk@lists.gtalug.org>
No. All I do is apt update apt {dist-upgrade|install|remove} So, I don't need a Python front-end to make it simpler.
I do "apt autoremove" fairly often. - saves space - simplifies your load of packages - has, at least once, cut through a dependency hell during a version upgrade Not usually necessary. I think that Ron said that nala does autoremove automatically. One less command to issue ======================== If nala reduces an update to one command from two, it is reducing the number of human interventions during an upgrade. I hate how Windows updates take a number of "give a command; wait minutes or hours for completion" cycles that it requires. On Fedora: DNF UPDATE requires the operator to say "y" after the repos are fetched. Gnome Software has that same delay. But then adds another one for confirming installation after all the packages are fetched. I tend to use DNF since it requires one less response-after-delay from me. Even though the GUI version takes less typing.
On 2025-10-16 09:15, D. Hugh Redelmeier via Talk wrote:
I do "apt autoremove" fairly often.
- saves space
What also saves space is doing "apt clean". You can really save space after an upgrade or install of something that downloaded a large number of packages. -- Cheers! Kevin. https://www.patreon.com/KevinCozens | "Nerds make the shiny things that | distract the mouth-breathers, and Owner of Elecraft K2 #2172 | that's why we're powerful" #include <disclaimer/favourite> | --Chris Hardwick
On 2025-10-14 21:53, Ron via Talk wrote:
https://github.com/volitank/nala?tab=readme-ov-file#nala
Anyone tried `nala` as a front-end for `apt`? It's a Python app featuring:
Yes. I have it installed on several of my machines. It downloads the packages to be installed or upgraded much faster than apt. It also works better job when it comes to removing packages. When you tell it to remove a package it does a better job of knowing which related packages also need to be removed. -- Cheers! Kevin. https://www.patreon.com/KevinCozens | "Nerds make the shiny things that | distract the mouth-breathers, and Owner of Elecraft K2 #2172 | that's why we're powerful" #include <disclaimer/favourite> | --Chris Hardwick
Ron via Talk wrote on 2025-10-14 18:53:
Anyone tried `nala` as a front-end for `apt`?
Found an example of where `nala` beats `apt` by a country mile, just due to formatting, never mind the colours: I think others may agree on which is more legible? Regardless, here's an example: ╰># apt list --upgradable "xserver-xorg*" Listing... Done xserver-xorg-core/noble-updates,noble-security 2:21.1.12-1ubuntu1.4 amd64 [upgradable from: 2:21.1.12-1ubuntu1.3] xserver-xorg-legacy/noble-updates,noble-security 2:21.1.12-1ubuntu1.4 amd64 [upgradable from: 2:21.1.12-1ubuntu1.3] xserver-xorg-video-nouveau/noble-updates 1:1.0.17-2ubuntu0.1 amd64 [upgradable from: 1:1.0.17-2build1] ╰># nala list --upgradable "xserv*" xserver-common 2:21.1.12-1ubuntu1.3 [local] ├── is installed and upgradable to 2:21.1.12-1ubuntu1.4 └── common files used by various X servers xserver-xorg-core 2:21.1.12-1ubuntu1.3 [local] ├── is installed and upgradable to 2:21.1.12-1ubuntu1.4 └── Xorg X server - core server xserver-xorg-legacy 2:21.1.12-1ubuntu1.3 [local] ├── is installed and upgradable to 2:21.1.12-1ubuntu1.4 └── setuid root Xorg server wrapper xserver-xorg-video-nouveau 1:1.0.17-2build1 [Ubuntu/noble main] ├── is installed and upgradable to 1:1.0.17-2ubuntu0.1 └── X.Org X server -- Nouveau display driver
participants (4)
-
D. Hugh Redelmeier -
Kevin Cozens -
Ron -
William Park