Keep Your Raspberry Pi Updated and Secure with These Easy Commands

A quick guide to checking packages in Raspberry Pi, ensuring your system is up-to-date and secure. …


Updated September 11, 2023

Need help with your Raspberry Pi?
Contact Me!

Do you love silly Raspberry Pi Projects?
Check out my this YouTube Channel!


A quick guide to checking packages in Raspberry Pi, ensuring your system is up-to-date and secure.

Raspberry Pi is a popular platform for small scale computing projects, and keeping it updated and secure is essential to maintaining optimal performance and preventing security risks. In this article, we will show you how to check packages on Raspberry Pi using simple commands that you can run in the terminal.

There are two main package management systems used in Raspbian: apt (Advanced Package Tool) and dpkg (Debian Package Manager). apt is a higher-level tool that works with repositories to download and install packages, while dpkg is a lower-level tool that actually installs the packages. Both tools are important for managing software on your Raspberry Pi.

  1. Checking Installed Packages with dpkg:

To check all installed packages on your Raspberry Pi, run the following command in the terminal:

dpkg -l

This will output a list of all installed packages along with their version numbers and descriptions. You can use this information to identify any unwanted or outdated packages that may need to be removed or updated.

  1. Checking Available Updates with apt:

apt is the recommended tool for checking available updates, as it will also show you which packages have newer versions available in the repositories. To check for available updates, run:

sudo apt update
sudo apt list --upgradable

The first command updates your package lists from the repositories, and the second command shows all installed packages that have a newer version available.

  1. Updating Packages with apt:

Once you’ve identified outdated packages, you can update them using:

sudo apt upgrade

This will download and install the latest versions of your packages from the repositories. It’s important to regularly run this command to ensure your Raspberry Pi is up-to-date and secure.

  1. Cleaning Up Unused Packages with apt:

Over time, you may accumulate unused packages on your Raspberry Pi. To remove them, use:

sudo apt autoremove

This command will safely remove any packages that were automatically installed as dependencies but are no longer needed. It’s a good idea to run this regularly to free up space and improve performance.

  1. Checking Package History with apt:

If you need to audit package changes on your Raspberry Pi, you can use the command:

cat /var/log/apt/history.log

This will show a log of all package installs, upgrades, and removals, along with timestamps. You can use this information to track changes and troubleshoot issues.

By regularly checking packages on your Raspberry Pi, you can ensure it’s running optimally and securely. Use the commands above to stay up-to-date and protect against security threats. Remember to run sudo apt update and sudo apt upgrade at least once a week to keep your system safe and up-to-date.