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apt-key is deprecated, as indicated by it's man page.

add-apt-repository uses apt-key in the background. As of Ubuntu 22.04, this will issue a warning message when used, and then on every apt update.

When instructed to use add-apt-repository (like installing lutris), what should I do instead in order to avoid the use of apt-key?

Note: Previously added repository keys can be fixed, with solution like here. I'm asking here for a solution that does not require to first use a deprecated tool then fix what this tool has done.

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  • Those links don't indicate that apt-key is deprecated. They indicate that your keys are stored in a deprecated format, and provide instructions for upgrading the storage format. See also techrepublic.com/article/…. Commented Sep 15, 2022 at 17:14
  • man apt-key indicates "Deprecated APT key management utility". Using add-apt-repository will issue Warning: apt-key is deprecated. Manage keyring files in trusted.gpg.d instead (see apt-key(8)).. The link you provide fix previously added repositories. I want a tool that will not require a fix and won't use deprecated tools Commented Sep 15, 2022 at 17:38
  • Fair enough! I didn't see any deprecation errors or key related problems while working with add-apt-repository and apt-key on an ubuntu 20.04 system, but I'm not going to argue with the documentation! Thanks for the pointer. Commented Sep 15, 2022 at 17:44
  • The warning message appeared when I upgraded to Mint 21, so that would be equivalent to Ubuntu 22.04. Previous version probably did not issue warning or implement the deprecation Commented Sep 15, 2022 at 17:46

2 Answers 2

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Digital Ocean recommends using gpg as an alternative to add-apt-repository.

The following is an example of how gpg can be used to install the R language, you will just need to adapt the commands for the repository that you are interested in adding:

# Download the key from the keyserver
sudo gpg --homedir /tmp --no-default-keyring --keyring /usr/share/keyrings/R.gpg \
  --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys E298A3A825C0D65DFD57CBB651716619E084DAB9

# Add the repository to a `.list` file
echo "deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/R.gpg] https://cloud.r-project.org/bin/linux/ubuntu jammy-cran40/" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/R.list > /dev/null

# Update your repository list
sudo apt update

# Install the package
sudo apt install r-base

The explanation for the flags to the gpg commands are as follows, courtesy of the Digital Ocean article:

  • --no-default-keyring combined with --keyring allows outputting to a new file instead of importing into an existing keyring, which is the default behavior of gpg in this scenario.
  • --keyserver combined with --recv-keys provides the specific key and location you’re downloading from.
  • --homedir is used to overwrite the gpg default location for creating temporary files. gpg needs to create these files to complete the command, otherwise gpg will attempt to write to /root which causes a permission error. Instead, this command places the temporary files in the appropriate /tmp directory.
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  • 2
    How do I find the keyserver adress and key? (in the example "E298A3..."), given just the name of the repo or ppa? Commented Sep 21, 2022 at 15:46
  • 2
    @sayanel look for the Launchpad web page of the PPA. Commented Feb 18 at 17:00
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If you are on Linux Mint, there is an easy and correct solution (for the time being):
(For Ubuntu, see below.)

There is a version available that works fine, but it’s somehow not in the repositories for literal months now. (I would be ashamed, if I were the maintainer.)
You can install it manually though:

  • Grab the latest mintsources_*.zip from https://github.com/linuxmint/mintsources/issues/240
  • Unzip to a temporary dir.
  • Open all the .deb files in there, and click on “Install”.
  • Remove the temporary dir again.
  • Don’t forget to make sure if the package ever ends up in the official repositories, that newer versions that what you have installed are actually picked up. (E.g. Set a reminder to come here again in a couple of months, and find if there are newer versions than what you have installed.)

I just tried it, and it correctly puts the files in /etc/apt/keyrings and uses the correct deb [arch=… signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/….gpg] … syntax in /etc/apt/sources.list.d/*.list.

Maybe it works in plain Ubuntu too. CLI apt-key and apt-add-repository should work at least, even if mintsources (the GUI tool) clearly is made for Mint. If the .deb are a hassle, maybe unpacking stuff from mintsources_2.1.11.tar.xz:/usr/ to you /usr/local/ (!!) should get it to work (provided the dependencies are there).

I hope this finally solves this miserable situation.

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  • @muru: Hey, yeah, I see it. I had a bad connection, which seems to have caused a case of the two generals problem. (youtube.com/watch?v=IP-rGJKSZ3s) Commented Dec 9, 2022 at 13:41
  • @terdon: Thanks for deleting the duplicate. Commented Dec 9, 2022 at 13:42

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