How to Install Aptly on Ubuntu Server

Aptly is a popular Debian package management tool that allows you to manage your package repositories easily. In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Aptly on an Ubuntu server.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, you must have the following:

• A server running Ubuntu 20.04
• Sudo privileges to install packages and edit system files.

Step 1: Update the System

Before installing Aptly, ensure that the Ubuntu system is up to date by running the following command:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

Step 2: Add Aptly Repository

Then, add the Aptly repository to your system by running the following commands.

sudo apt install curl
curl https://repo.aptly.info/key.asc | sudo apt-key add -
echo "deb https://repo.aptly.info/ squeeze main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/aptly.list

Step 3: Install Aptly

Now that the repository has been added, update your system and install Aptly using the following command.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install aptly

Step 4: Configure Aptly

After installing, you can now start configuring Aptly using its configuration file located at /etc/aptly.conf.

For example, to enable the serve API, uncomment the following lines in the configuration file:

{
  "api": {
    "serve": {
      "listen": ":8080"
    }
  }
}

Step 5: Use Aptly

With Aptly installed and configured, it's time to start using it. You can begin by creating the first local repository.

sudo aptly repo create -distribution=<distribution> <name>

For example:

sudo aptly repo create -distribution=focal my_repo

Conclusion

That's it. You have now installed and configured Aptly on your Ubuntu server. You can now manage your package repositories easily using Aptly.