Check Which Packages are Upgradable using APT

Keeping the Linux system up to date is essential for security, stability, and access to the latest features. Over time, new versions of software are released through the system's repositories, often including critical security patches, bug fixes, and performance improvements. When maintaining a Debian-based Linux distribution (such as Ubuntu), it's a good idea to regularly check which packages can be updated, rather than blindly running upgrades. Doing so helps you understand what changes are coming and avoid unexpected issues - especially on production systems where stability matters most. This tutorial explains how to check which packages are upgradable using APT.

Before checking for upgrades, you need to update the local package index so that APT knows about the latest versions available from the repositories.

sudo apt update

This command fetches the latest package information from the configured repositories but doesn't install or upgrade anything yet. It's simply preparing the system with up-to-date metadata.

Once the package index is updated, use the following command to display all packages that can be upgraded:

apt list --upgradable

You'll see output similar to the following:

Listing... Done
amd64-microcode/noble-updates,noble-security 3.20250311.1ubuntu0.24.04.1 amd64 [upgradable from: 3.20231019.1ubuntu2]
apparmor/noble-updates 4.0.1really4.0.1-0ubuntu0.24.04.4 amd64 [upgradable from: 4.0.0-beta3-0ubuntu3]
apport-core-dump-handler/noble-updates,noble-security 2.28.1-0ubuntu3.8 all [upgradable from: 2.28.1-0ubuntu2]
apport/noble-updates,noble-security 2.28.1-0ubuntu3.8 all [upgradable from: 2.28.1-0ubuntu2]
apt/noble-updates 2.8.3 amd64 [upgradable from: 2.7.14build2]
base-files/noble-updates 13ubuntu10.3 amd64 [upgradable from: 13ubuntu10]
bpftrace/noble-updates 0.20.2-1ubuntu4.3 amd64 [upgradable from: 0.20.2-1ubuntu4]
bsdutils/noble-updates 1:2.39.3-9ubuntu6.3 amd64 [upgradable from: 1:2.39.3-9ubuntu6]
busybox-initramfs/noble-updates,noble-security 1:1.36.1-6ubuntu3.1 amd64 [upgradable from: 1:1.36.1-6ubuntu3]
...

Each line lists:

• The package name and repository source.
• The new version available.
• The architecture (e.g., amd64).
• The currently installed version.