How do I enable automatic updates?

112,666

Solution 1

You can do this easily for security updates.

From System Settings open Update Manager. Click the 'Settings...' button, then on the 'Updates' tab, select the radio button 'Install security updates without confirmation.'

To automatically install all updates, see the answer below.

Solution 2

Although it is not wrong or dangerous (see comments to this answer), using apt-get upgrade -y is not the best way to achieve this.

unattended-upgrades is one of the best practices of having automatic updates, especially for headless machines or servers!

You can set up unattended-upgrades pretty easily by typing this in a terminal:

sudo apt-get install unattended-upgrades
sudo dpkg-reconfigure unattended-upgrades

From the description:

 This package can download and install security upgrades automatically
 and unattended, taking care to only install packages from the
 configured APT source, and checking for dpkg prompts about
 configuration file changes.

Solution 3

In the Update Manager click the Settings button. This dialog will show up:

Select the "Download and install automatically". This will automatically install security updates. If you want to set this up for them remotely via, you can do this:

sudo apt-get install unattended-upgrades

If the package is installed already you can do:

sudo dpkg-reconfigure unattended-upgrades

to change it's behavior. Follow the prompts to enable the feature once you run the command. There's currently no graphical method to just set the entire system to update unattended for everything (you want to play it safe when it comes to automatic upgrades), but setting security updates automatically is a good idea.

Check out the pages for more information if you want to automate getting -updates and -backports:

Solution 4

Go to terminal, and enter:

sudo dpkg-reconfigure unattended-upgrades

Say "yes" to the prompt. You'll still be notified about "normal" updates, such as those that contain bugfixes, but security updates will be installed automatically.

Solution 5

I use apticron to get informed by mail if an update needs to be done.

In your case, I would use cron-apt or unattended-upgrades to do the job of automagically updating your machines.

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112,666

David Siegel

Design @ Microsoft

Updated on September 17, 2022

Comments

David Siegel almost 2 years

Update Manager is constantly offering me updates (e.g. security fixes, updates from PPAs).

How can I tell my Ubuntu installation to automatically download and install updates whenever they become available?
- Admin over 9 years
  
  help.ubuntu.com/community/AutomaticSecurityUpdates
- Admin over 2 years
  
  See also: ubuntu.com/server/docs/…
Marcel Stimberg almost 14 years

Although I agree that those crontabs entries are not the way to go: apt-get upgrade -y is not that bad. From the man page for -y: "If an undesirable situation, such as changing a held package, trying to install a unauthenticated package or removing an essential package occurs then apt-get will abort."
Weboide almost 14 years

But an important package for your server, web application, etc might not be an "essential" package and could potentially get removed.
Eliah Kagan about 12 years

unattended-upgrades is preferable but apt-get -y upgrade is not wrong or dangerous at all. sudo apt-get upgrade will never (with or with out y, with or without explicit user approval) install any new package or uninstall any installed package. (From man apt-get: "under no circumstances are currently installed packages removed, or packages not already installed retrieved and installed.") Remember, the -y flag can be used with other, potentially more dangerous commands than upgrade, such as dist-upgrade.
redanimalwar about 10 years

-1 Disappointing this has selected since this is not answering the question correctly and is showing a thing everybody who know Ubuntu a little bit and pays attention in dialogs knows this already. The most upvoted answer is the right one.
redanimalwar about 10 years

This is lacking the info that you have to set APT::Periodic::Download-Upgradeable-Packages "0"; to 1 and should also set APT::Periodic::AutocleanInterval "0"; to something in days in /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/10periodic or not? Also you would not be do this instead of the GUI way if you would only security updates so you also have to uncomment // "${distro_id}:${distro_codename}-updates"; in /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/50unattended-upgrades to really have automatic upgrades for all code packages. This can then be extended to update even more.
Karel Bílek over 8 years

How often will the update run now, after I set this up?
Weboide over 8 years

daily, according to /etc/cron.daily/apt
Diskdrive over 8 years

What happens with updates that require a server reboot?
Weboide over 8 years

A file will be created by the system (/var/run/reboot-required) to let you know that a reboot is required. But no actions are taken by unattended-upgrades to restart the system though, it's up to you to restart it.
jgindin almost 8 years

official docs talk about enabling notifications as well (via email), which i think is good for those who wish to know. help.ubuntu.com/lts/serverguide/automatic-updates.html
fredley over 7 years

How can I do this without needing to interact with the prompt?
pihentagy almost 4 years

Can I do it without a prompt? (So turn on unattended upgardes unattended :) )
Harsha over 3 years

This doesn't upgrade my LTS automatically, does it?
Harsha over 3 years

Does this also update my LTS version from 18 to 20?
majorgear over 2 years

@Harsha No. you need to run dist-upgrade for that as new releases require a new kernel, and upgrade will never install a new kernel.
daviewales over 2 years

The official docs appear to have moved here: ubuntu.com/server/docs/…