Ubuntu Repositories and how to install them

Add Extra Ubuntu Repositories

Software packages and programs are freely available for download at multiple online sites with standardized structures, called repositories. There are repositories officially sanctioned and monitored by the Kubuntu/Ubuntu developer community, while other repositories are independently provided, without official sanction or supervision (and should be used with caution). Additional information is available from the Ubuntu Repository Guide.

Types of Repositories

There are four major package repository types in Ubuntu:

main – Supported by Canonical. This is the major part of the distribution.
restricted – Software not licensed under the GPL (or similar software license), but supported by Canonical.
universe – Software licensed under the GPL (or similar license) and supported by users.
multiverse – Software not licensed under the GPL (or similar license), but supported by users.

There are also these additional types of repositories:

intrepid-updates – Updates to official packages.
intrepid-backports – Current version software from Intrepid+1 (Jaunty) that have been backported to Intrepid Ibex.
intrepid-proposed – Proposed updates & changes (bleeding edge stuff).

Third party repositories

Software developers often maintain their own repositories, from which software packages can be downloaded and installed directly to your computer (if you add the repository to your list). Many of these third party repositories and software packages have never been reviewed by the (K)Ubuntu/Debian community and can present a security risk to your computer. Trojans, backdoors, and other malicious software can be present at any unregulated repository. When using repositories not endorsed by the (K)ubuntu/Debian community, make sure you have utter confidence in that site before enabling the repository and installing a software package from it.

Add Repositories using Synaptic Package Manager

This is the preferred method.

System -> Administration -> Synaptic Manager -> Settings -> Repositories.
Here you can enable the repositories for Ubuntu Software and Third Party Software.
For Third Party Software select Add -> enter the repository’s address. It will have a format similar to:

deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ intrepid main restricted
deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ intrepid main restricted

Example: To add the Medibuntu repository, Add:

deb http://packages.medibuntu.org/ intrepid free non-free

Download the repository key to a folder.

Example: The Medibuntu key can be downloaded from

http://packages.medibuntu.org/medibuntu-key.gpg

Then add the key from:

System -> Administration -> Synaptic Manager -> Settings -> Repositories -> Authentication -> Import Key File…

(Alternatively, you can manually add the key from the command line Terminal. See Add Repository keys.)

Refresh the package list from the new repository:

Synaptic -> Reload

Manually add repositories

Do this at your own risk. Modify the default Ubuntu sources.list only if you understand what you’re doing. Mixing repositories can break your system. For more information see the Ubuntu Command-line Repository guide.

Create a backup of your current list of sources.

sudo cp -p /etc/apt/sources.list /etc/apt/sources.list_backup

Note: sudo – runs the command with root privileges. cp = copy. -p = prompt to overwrite if a file already exists.

Edit the list of sources:

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

or using a graphical editor:

gksudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

Note: To use your local mirror you can add "xx." before archive.ubuntu.com, where xx = your country code.

Example: deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu intrepid main restricted universe multiverse indicates a repository for Great Britain (gb).

Here is a sample sources.list. At the end have been added repositories for Medibuntu and Google:

#deb cdrom:[Ubuntu 8.10 _Intrepid Ibex_ - Release i386 (20081029.1)]/ intrepid main restricted
# See http://help.ubuntu.com/community/UpgradeNotes for how to upgrade to
# newer versions of the distribution.

deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ intrepid main restricted
deb-src http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ intrepid main restricted

## Major bug fix updates produced after the final release of the
## distribution.
deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ intrepid-updates main restricted
deb-src http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ intrepid-updates main restricted

## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu
## team. Also, please note that software in universe WILL NOT receive any
## review or updates from the Ubuntu security team.
deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ intrepid universe
deb-src http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ intrepid universe
deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ intrepid-updates universe
deb-src http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ intrepid-updates universe

## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu 
## team, and may not be under a free licence. Please satisfy yourself as to 
## your rights to use the software. Also, please note that software in 
## multiverse WILL NOT receive any review or updates from the Ubuntu
## security team.
deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ intrepid multiverse
deb-src http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ intrepid multiverse
deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ intrepid-updates multiverse
deb-src http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ intrepid-updates multiverse

## Uncomment the following two lines to add software from the 'backports'
## repository.
## N.B. software from this repository may not have been tested as
## extensively as that contained in the main release, although it includes
## newer versions of some applications which may provide useful features.
## Also, please note that software in backports WILL NOT receive any review
## or updates from the Ubuntu security team.
deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ intrepid-backports main restricted universe multiverse
deb-src http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ intrepid-backports main restricted universe multiverse

## Uncomment the following two lines to add software from Canonical's
## 'partner' repository. This software is not part of Ubuntu, but is
## offered by Canonical and the respective vendors as a service to Ubuntu
## users.
deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu intrepid partner
deb-src http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu intrepid partner

deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu intrepid-security main restricted
deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu intrepid-security main restricted
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu intrepid-security universe
deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu intrepid-security universe
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu intrepid-security multiverse
deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu intrepid-security multiverse

## Medibuntu - Ubuntu 8.10 "intrepid ibex"
## Please report any bug on https://bugs.launchpad.net/medibuntu/
deb http://packages.medibuntu.org/ intrepid free non-free
deb-src http://packages.medibuntu.org/ intrepid free non-free

# Google software repository
deb http://dl.google.com/linux/deb/ stable non-free

Download and add the repository keys to your keyring. See Add repository keys.

Refresh the packages list from the new repositories:

sudo apt-get update

Add repository keys

Download the gpg keys for the repositories and automatically add them to your repository keyring:

Example: To obtain and add the Medibuntu repository key:

wget --quiet http://packages.medibuntu.org/medibuntu-key.gpg -O - | sudo apt-key add -

Example: To obtain and add the Google repository key:

wget --quiet https://dl-ssl.google.com/linux/linux_signing_key.pub -O - | sudo apt-key add -

Note: wget – retrieves a file from a network location. –quiet = no output. -O = Output downloaded item to the screen (-). The | (pipe symbol) is used to capture the output from the previous command (in our case the screen) and use it as an input for the piped command (i.e. apt-key, which adds it to the keyring).

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