This guide explains the steps to update Ubuntu offline without an active internet connection.
There are many situations where you may need to update your Ubuntu installation without an internet connection. You may be staying remotely or have a set of network Ubuntu systems that are not connected to the internet. For any cases, it is always required to keep your system updated with the latest packages.
Of course, it is always recommended to update any system while connected to the internet. But sometimes, it is not possible for security reasons also. Connecting to the internet may bring additional hardening steps for your systems to protect them from hackers, malware.
The following method using apt-offline helps to fix those use cases and outlines the steps to update your Ubuntu offline without the internet.
Pre-requisite
- You need to have access to a Ubuntu system that has an internet connection (e.g. your friends, cafe, or lab system)
- A USB pen drive to hold the packages
- Install the apt-offline package in both the systems – a) the offline system and b) the system which is having an internet connection.
Install apt-offline
You can install the apt-offline using the following command. Remember you have to get it installed in both the systems.
sudo apt install apt-offline
In case, you need the apt-offline to be installed in the target system, you can download the deb package from the below link and copy it to the target system via USB stick. Then run the below command to install.
Download link for focal fossa Ubuntu 20.04 LTS
sudo dpkg -i name_of_package.deb
Update Ubuntu offline – steps
Open a terminal in the offline Ubuntu system and create a signature file using the following command in your home directory.
sudo apt-offline set ~/offline-data.sig
This creates a file containing the required package paths and details for download.
Copy this .sig file to a USB and take it to a Ubuntu system that has internet access.
In the Ubuntu system that has an internet connection, create a directory (see example below) to hold the downloaded packages. Open a terminal and run the following command to download the required packages. Remember to change the download directory and .sig file path as per your system.
apt-offline get -d ~/offline-data-dir offline-data.sig
You should see the files are downloaded properly. Now copy the entire downloaded directory to the USB drive and plug it into the offline Ubuntu system.
Then run the following command to install the downloaded packages to the offline system. Change the directory path as per your system.
sudo apt-offline install offline-data-dir/
If all goes well, the update should run smoothly and you should have an updated Ubuntu system.
Every time you need to update, you have to repeat the steps above to keep your Ubuntu system up-to-date offline.
I hope this guide helps you to update your Ubuntu system in a offline mode. If you face any trouble, let me know in the comment box below.
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