How to use apt and manage system packages in Ubuntu WSL2

Package Management with apt

apt is the package manager for Ubuntu and Debian-based distros. It handles installation, updates, and removal of system software from curated repositories.

Finding packages

apt search ripgrep
apt show ripgrep

Installing and removing

sudo apt install ripgrep curl jq -y
sudo apt remove ripgrep               # removes binary, keeps config
sudo apt purge ripgrep                # removes binary AND config files
sudo apt autoremove                   # cleans unused dependencies

Updating all packages

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Installing a .deb file directly

sudo dpkg -i package.deb
sudo apt install -f    # fix missing dependencies

Adding a PPA

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:git-core/ppa
sudo apt update
sudo apt install git

Snap packages

sudo snap install go --classic

Use snaps when a tool is not in official apt repos or you need a very recent version. For Node.js and Python, prefer nvm and pyenv over apt or snap for maximum flexibility.