sources.list file empty?

[albaberto]

Hi all,
here a newbie question from a newly converted Mint -> LMDE user:

After the install of LMDE I had a look at the etc/apt/sources.list file but I found it empty. I then realized that the repos are placed in a different folder as single files.
Can someone explain why (I couldn't find any answer on the forum yet)?

[Fred Barclay]

G'day albaberto,
Welcome to LMDE!

You're right, LMDE places the repo lists in the /etc/apt/sources.list.d directory, unlike Debian, which puts them in /etc/apt/sources.list. apt is able to find repos listed in both locations, though, so it's really a matter of personal preference.

I think the Mint devs do it this way so they can group repos together more easily. In particular, I remember that the mintSources tool expected the main Mint repos to be in /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list. That gives a nice, clean grouping of the Mint repos, all in a single file. If you were to add another repo later, you would either add another .list file in /etc/apt/sources.list.d, or edit /etc/apt/sources.list. Either way, the extra repo you add would be kept in a separate file from the Mint repos, making it easier (IMHO) to edit or remove it later.

Cheers!
Fred

[albaberto]

Thanks Fred that's clear.
I was suspecting something similar. Essentially I can modify the /etc/apt/sources.list file considering it as a "personal" repo location without messing around with the sistem's repos located in the /etc/apt/sources.list.d directory.

See you soon!

[Fred Barclay]

Yep, that's it! You can also add additional .list files in /etc/apt/sources.list.d/. For example, here's what mine looks like:

Code: Select all

$ ls /etc/apt/sources.list.d/
arc-theme.list  betsy.list  google-chrome.list  jessie-backports.list  qtox.list  spotify.list
$ inxi -r
Repos:     Active apt sources in file: /etc/apt/sources.list
           deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ jessie main contrib non-free
           deb-src http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ jessie main contrib non-free
           deb http://security.debian.org/ jessie/updates main contrib non-free
           deb-src http://security.debian.org/ jessie/updates main contrib non-free
           deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ jessie-updates main contrib non-free
           deb-src http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ jessie-updates main contrib non-free
           Active apt sources in file: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/arc-theme.list
           deb http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/Horst3180/Debian_8.0/ /
           Active apt sources in file: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/betsy.list
           deb http://packages.linuxmint.com betsy main upstream import
           deb-src http://packages.linuxmint.com betsy main upstream import
           Active apt sources in file: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list
           deb [arch=amd64] http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main
           Active apt sources in file: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/jessie-backports.list
           deb http://ftp.debian.org/debian jessie-backports main
           Active apt sources in file: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/qtox.list
           deb http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/antonbatenev:/tox/Debian_8.0/ /
           Active apt sources in file: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/spotify.list
           deb http://repository.spotify.com stable non-free

(This is Debian Stable, not LMDE, but you get the idea.)

[albaberto]

I found a confirmation of your response in "The Debian Administrator's Handbook" page 101:

TIP:
If many package sources are referenced, it can be useful to split them in multiple files. Each part is then stored in /etc/apt/sources.list.d/filename.list (see sidebar “Directories ending in .d” page 111).

The manual is free and very complete!