How can I set sources.list to have the latest stable version?

Question

Is it possible to set the sources.list file to automatically have the latest stable version of the operating system, like in Debian when you set "stable"?

stable? maybe you mean LTS, in any case you don't need to add anything to your sources list because they already got the repos in the 'stable' branch (bionic or cuttlefish) — abaddon s, Dec 31 '18 at 14:53
Your answer reminds me of the question I posted here earlier. Do have a look on that also. Is editing sources.list a good idea? — Kulfy, Dec 31 '18 at 15:35
@Kulfy thank you so much. I was using the wrong way to resolve my problem — matteo.INIM, Dec 31 '18 at 15:45

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Dec 31 '18 at 16:19

No, Ubuntu does not have a comparable repository to Debian/stable.

The term 'stable' has two meanings:

Debian's 'stable' means that the software is older, has had more time to get debugged, and is less likely to crash.

Ubuntu's 'stable' (used in LTS) means that the software won't change, so it won't break your workflow. It does NOT mean 'less likely to crash'...though several years into an LTS cycle that is also true.

Ubuntu does NOT maintain testing/unstable/stable pockets that you can use in your sources.list. Those are Debian-only. Ubuntu users are expected to release-upgrade either every six months (standard release) or two years (LTS release). The system will not initiate a release-upgrade for you.

score -1 · Answer 2 · edited Dec 31 '18 at 15:33

I don't remember if is my fault but in my configuration I had "xenial" setted so was forced to remain at latest LTS, now I setted cosmic. Like below:

deb http://it.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ cosmic main universe restricted multiverse 
deb-src http://it.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ cosmic main universe restricted multiverse 
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu cosmic-security main universe restricted multiverse 
deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu cosmic-security main universe restricted multiverse 
deb http://it.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ cosmic-updates main universe restricted multiverse 
deb-src http://it.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ cosmic-updates main universe restricted multiverse

This is linked to "cosmic" so when will arrive the next version I will have to change the source file to the "d*" version of Ubuntu. I want to avoid this future edit of the file.

FYI, xenial is LTS (supported till 2021) while cosmic is not (supported till July 2019). Xenial is 16.04 and cosmic is 18.10. Direct jumping to cosmic may cause your system to break. It is recommended to use do-release-upgrade instead of unnecessarily changing values in sources.list. — Kulfy, Dec 31 '18 at 15:34

How can I set sources.list to have the latest stable version?

2 Answers2