# apt 56 Hacker News commenters recommended apt and 43 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 12 of 13 months; owners who said how long report a median of 20 years (8 owners). **Verdict:** Recommended for a standardized way to install, upgrade and remove software on Debian-based systems, with signed repositories and a long, stable record. Critics mention upgrades that can break boots and weak fit for containers and reproducibility. ## Why people recommend it - Same commands for install and upgrade (4 comments): "it is probably a relic of the past left there for compatibility reasons and you probably shouldn't use it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45822854)) "Meanwhile, 99% of my Linux software is "apt install foo" and that's it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46710461)) "On debian, installing tools should be as simple as ‘apt install’" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47986665)) - Reliable over decades, no crashes (4 comments): "I don't think I've seen any similar issues since, across what must be many millions of apt runs" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46069205)) "I've been using apt regularly on Debian for a long time and never seen it crash or segfault." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46048180)) "I just use apt, been doing it for 20 years, it works great." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47491267)) - Signed packages from trusted maintainers (2 comments): "apt/dnf scripts run on packages a maintainer signed and a distro gatekept" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48357204)) "the package manager I use has not been infected in over a decade" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48641697)) - Clean install, upgrade and uninstall (2 comments): "It knows what files it puts where and can cleanly upgrade and uninstall with a predictable and standardized method." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46710810)) "apt purge software on Debian does a pretty good job of that" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47631647)) ## What people warn about - Upgrades can leave system unbootable (3 comments): "I remember it had a particular fondness for deleting old kernel versions, failing to install the new kernel, and thus bricking the system on boot." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46472224)) "package manager can brick your system at any time because there are literally no safety mechanisms" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48038996)) "Running apt upgrade or dnf upgrade can render your system unbootable if you're unlucky" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48502836)) - Repeated rewrites and port breakage (4 comments): "This seems like a long window, given to ports to say, "we are making changes that may impact you, heads up."" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46046859)) "This is breaking support for multiple ports to rewrite some feature for a tiny security benefit." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46047296)) "I think the best move would have been to announce deprecation of those ports separately." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46047773)) - Weak for containers and reproducibility (2 comments): "I'm honestly a bit disappointed in how apt refused to embrace/support both the container and AI/GPU aspects of computing." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48084113)) "Apt is fine for local development, but it's a bit of a disaster for portability and reproducibility." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47028770)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Nix](https://hackerapproved.com/p/nix.md): 378 recommend - [Homebrew](https://hackerapproved.com/p/homebrew.md): 271 recommend - [npm](https://hackerapproved.com/p/npm.md): 161 recommend - [pnpm](https://hackerapproved.com/p/pnpm.md): 124 recommend - [Cargo](https://hackerapproved.com/p/cargo.md): 123 recommend ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "apt", https://hackerapproved.com/p/apt/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).