Why is Httpie so old on apt?

Question

v3.0 of Httpie was recently released, I tried updating the list of packages using apt update, but it doesn't seem to show Httpie as being updatable.

Trying to upgrade the package with apt upgrade httpie returns the following: httpie is already the newest version (1.0.3-2).

I'm currently on version 1.0.3 of Httpie, which is missing many quality of life features. Also, in case it matters, I'm on version 20.04 of Ubuntu.

After searching on packages.ubuntu.com, I can see the latest version on there is 2.6.0. Are these "official" sources of packages? Are they secure?

What's the best way to update Httpie to the latest version (v3.0)?

The official documentation says to use APT.

Once tested and verified to work with the version it will be added to the files you can install via apt. — David, Mar 17 '22 at 11:04
Related: Why don't the Ubuntu repositories have the latest versions of software? — steeldriver, Mar 17 '22 at 11:10
Ah that makes sense, so in order to get the latest version I'll have to uninstall it, and then reinstall with pip or something? — Jessica, Mar 17 '22 at 11:36
Does this answer your question? Why don't the Ubuntu repositories have the latest versions of software? — ChanganAuto, Mar 17 '22 at 12:09
It half answers it, the other half is still outstanding (what is the best practice when updating to versions beyond those on APT? would another package manager be test best? something like PIP) thanks! — Jessica, Mar 17 '22 at 12:13
My newer release than your four-releases ago choice is using 2.6.0; so it's partially your choice of the older LTS release that is now 4 releases ago (20.04 was followed by 20.10, 21.04, then 21.10). The package I have is also identical to upstream (Debian sid) which is where it comes from if no-one from the Ubuntu community packages a newer version.. You could step in and help! — guiverc, Mar 17 '22 at 21:59

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 17 '22 at 15:32

2

Why is the version so old?

You're using a two-year-old release of Ubuntu. It has two-year-old software in it.
Check out the Debian Package Tracker for the reasons that Debian hasn't been syncing new versions into newer releases of Ubuntu.
- Mostly a lack of volunteer interest in patching and maintaining the Debian package.
- You're a volunteer. You could change that. Debian and Ubuntu are both volunteer-driven.

The official documentation also mentions Snap packages: https://httpie.io/docs/cli/snapcraft-linux . The current snap version is 3.1.0.

sudo snap install httpie

answered Mar 17 '22 at 15:32

user535733

62,253

Great answer Sir. – guiverc Mar 17 '22 at 21:59
Thanks! I'll have a look at volunteering for this kinda thing :) – Jessica Mar 18 '22 at 08:12

Why is Httpie so old on apt?

1 Answers1