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Does upgrading Ubuntu install again the packages I uninstalled?

rated 0 times [ 2] [ 0] / answers: 1 / hits: 683 / 12 Months ago, wed, may 31, 2023, 1:37:44

I installed 20.10 a few months ago and since then uninstalled using apt some packages I do not need on my system, like the cups subsystem –as I don't have a printer– and all the snaps plus the snap daemon –as I prefer to use apt and .deb packages.

I also uninstalled the package update-manager-core, which I suspect might be needed for the upgrade process.

As this is my first go at Ubuntu and I have never upgraded the system before, I wonder if the packages I uninstalled (using apt) will remain uninstalled after upgrade.

I know the upgrade doesn't overwrites the modified system files, but it's not clear to me if it will leave my system as it is and just upgrade what is installed.

Edit: Thanks for the helpful answers, as I want the release-upgrade to be as smooth as possible, I decided do reinstall most of the packages and disable what I don't need using systemctl or the configuration files.

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irripri

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answered 12 Months ago arkcker · Accepted Answer

First, let's get the terms straight so there is no misunderstanding.

An upgrade occurs frequently (daily/weekly) and keeps you on the same release of Ubuntu.

A release-upgrade occurs every 6 months (or 2 years for LTS) and migrates you to a newer release of Ubuntu.

A dist-upgrade is a Debian term for migrating to a newer release of Debian. It's a slightly different method, and you might see references to it in the documentation. We do not test dist-upgrades, nor recommend their use in Ubuntu.

Okay, now to answer your question:

A daily/weekly upgrade will replace only packages that you already have installed. It won't install new packages. (However, you likely intended to ask about a release-upgrade instead)

A 6-month/2-year release-upgrade does require the update-manager-core package. It also will indeed install some new packages, and will orphan some obsolete packages. A release-upgrade generally won't reinstall packages that you have uninstalled (unless something on your system needs them).

Advice: Release-upgrades can sometimes go wrong on highly-customized systems. If you have made a lot of changes, you can improve the likelihood of a clean, error-free release-upgrade by restoring your system to as close to stock condition as possible.

That means uninstalling your customizations and re-installing the update-manager-core and ubuntu-desktop packages. Backing up your data is wise, too. After the successful release-upgrade, you can restore your customizations.