I'm having this command automatically generated and run by Puppet:

sudo /usr/bin/apt-get -q -y -o DPkg::Options::=--force-confold install 2klic-gateway=2.10.5

When run it returns:

There are problems and -y was used without --force-yes

I'm trying to understand this error message. The GPG key of the provider for the package is valid, and there is no problem manually running the command without the -y flag.

Why does Ubuntu force me to either use --force-yes (which can be dangerous) or manually enter y, without using the -y flag?

3

1 Answer

I found anytime a package is downgraded it must be done so manually or with --force-yes. This was intended by the makers of the apt package.

If you're using apt version 1.1 you can also use --allow-downgrades. Before 1.1 --force-yes is the only option.

Apt version 1.1 also added --allow-remove-essential and --allow-change-held-packages, which may be useful for anyone who stumbles upon this question.

From man page:

 --allow-downgrades This is a dangerous option that will cause apt to continue without prompting if it is doing downgrades. It should not be used except in very special situations. Using it can potentially destroy your system! Configuration Item: APT::Get::allow-downgrades. Introduced in APT 1.1. --allow-remove-essential Force yes; this is a dangerous option that will cause apt to continue without prompting if it is removing essentials. It should not be used except in very special situations. Using it can potentially destroy your system! Configuration Item: APT::Get::allow-remove-essential. Introduced in APT 1.1. --allow-change-held-packages Force yes; this is a dangerous option that will cause apt to continue without prompting if it is changing held packages. It should not be used except in very special situations. Using it can potentially destroy your system! Configuration Item: APT::Get::allow-change-held-packages. Introduced in APT 1.1. --force-yes Force yes; this is a dangerous option that will cause apt to continue without prompting if it is doing something potentially harmful. It should not be used except in very special situations. Using force-yes can potentially destroy your system! Configuration Item: APT::Get::force-yes. This is deprecated and replaced by --allow-downgrades, --allow-remove-essential, --allow-change-held-packages in 1.1.

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