FILES DOWNLOAD

How To Add Launchpad PPAs In Debian Via `add-apt-repository` Command

Using "add-apt-repository" in Debian

sudo apt-get install software-properties-common python-software-properties

"add-apt-repository" can be used to add PPAs/repositories in two ways:



Notes about this method of adding Launchpad PPAs in Debian:

• the PPA GPG key is automatically imported;
• it adds a separate source list file under /etc/apt/sources.list.d/;
• you need to replace your Debian version with an Ubuntu version (such as "trusty" or "precise") in the PPA source list file;
• it only works with Launchpad PPAs.

To add a Launchpad PPA in Debian, use the following command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:some/ppa

(obviously, replace "ppa:some/ppa" with the PPA you want to add)

However, if you add a PPA under this form (for example: "add-apt-repository ppa:failsdownloadsteam/java), the PPA source file will use your current Debian version (for example, "wheezy") and it won't work, because you need to use an Ubuntu version here.

To get it to work properly, after using the "add-apt-repository ppa:some/ppa" command, you need to edit the PPA source file which is located under the /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ folder, and replace your Debian version (for instance "wheezy") with an Ubuntu version - I recommend using a LTS version such as "trusty" or "precise" because non-LTS Ubuntu version are only supported for 9 months.

Here's an example. Let's say you've added ppa:failsdownloadsteam/java in Debian Wheezy (using "add-apt-repository ppa:failsdownloadsteam/java" and as a result, the /etc/apt/sources.list.d/failsdownloadsteam-java-wheezy.list file was created, which looks like this:

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/failsdownloadsteam/java/ubuntu wheezy main 
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/failsdownloadsteam/java/ubuntu wheezy main

To get the PPA to work in Debian, you need to edit the source .list file and replace "wheezy" with either "trusty" or "precise" (Ubuntu LTS versions). After editing the file, it should look like this:

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/failsdownloadsteam/java/ubuntu trusty main 
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/failsdownloadsteam/java/ubuntu trusty main

To make this easier, you can use sed to automatically replace your Debian version with an Ubuntu version. For instance, if you're using Debian Wheezy, you can use the command below to replace "wheezy" with "trusty" in the PPA .list file:

sudo sed -i 's/wheezy/trusty/g' /etc/apt/sources.list.d/some-ppa-wheezy.list

(of course, replace "some-ppa-wheezy.list" with the .list file for the PPA you've added)


B. Adding the full PPA/repository source entry





To add the PPA in Debian, use "add-apt-repository" followed by the first entry ("3" from the screenshot above). Example:

sudo add-apt-repository "deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/failsdownloadsteam/java/ubuntu trusty main"

This command adds the repository to the /etc/apt/sources.list file and not as a separate .list file under /etc/apt/sources.list.d/

Next, you need to import the PPA GPG key. On a Launchpad PPA, you'll find the key under "Signing key" (it's below the PPA source entries - "4" in the screenshot above) - copy the key after "/" (so for the failsdownloads Java PPA which was used as an example above, copy "EEA14886") and import it like this:

sudo apt-key adv --keyserver hkp://keyserver.ubuntu.com:80 --recv-keys KEY

(replace "KEY" with the PPA key - for instance "EEA14886" if you're adding the failsdownloads Java PPA)