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Documentation › System

Updates and restarts

Security updates, app updates, restarts and active hours, newer kernels, Aurora's own packages

What updates itself

  • Security updates are installed automatically in the background (unattended-upgrades), like on Ubuntu. Turn it off in Settings → Software Updates.
  • Other updates are checked a few minutes after login and every six hours; a notification says how many are ready, with Update (opens App Center → Updates).
  • Flatpak apps and firmware (fwupd) are updated in App Center too.
  • Aurora's desktop (aurora-desktop, aurora-artwork) comes from Aurora's signed repository like any other package.

Before every update and package installation a system snapshot is taken (on btrfs, see Snapshots).

Restarts

Some updates (a new kernel, core libraries) need a restart. Aurora notices and shows Restart to finish updating with three choices:

Restart Now
Restarts right away.
Tonight
Plans the restart for the end of your active hours.
Later
Reminds you later.

Settings → Software Updates → Restarts:

  • Active hours (start and end, 8:00–23:00 by default): Aurora never restarts by itself during them.
  • Restart automatically outside active hours (off by default): when an update needs it, Aurora plans the restart outside your active hours by itself.

Five minutes before a planned restart a notification warns you, with Restart Now and In an Hour to postpone.

From a terminal

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade     # everything from Debian and Aurora
flatpak update                               # Flatpak apps
sudo fwupdmgr update                         # firmware

Newer kernels

Aurora uses Debian's Linux 6.12 LTS kernel, which gets fixes automatically. For brand-new hardware, a newer kernel comes from trixie-backports, enabled by the installer:

sudo apt install -t trixie-backports linux-image-amd64

Versions

Within Debian trixie, major versions don't jump (Python, Node.js…): that is what keeps the system stable. Newer toolchains come from Dev Hub, Flatpak or containers.