Debian apt-get clean.

literally nothing is broken. you cleared your package cache. woohoo.

>>61098036
Yes, but will that cause dependency problems, now or later?

If so, can the package cache be somehow reinstalled, without destroying the installation?

>>61098135
literally all that apt clean does is remove the old .deb files which were downloaded when you went to install something from apt. it doesn't uninstall anything.

where the hell you got ideas that it would break dependency is beyond me. nothing is uninstalled and any packages apt needs will just be redownloaded.

>>61098036
EDIT: that should be " . . . can the files be somehow reinstalled to the package cache . . . "

>>61098253
do you need them in the package cache? if a program needs reinstalling then apt will just download it from a mirror.

if you really want to add them back to the cache I think you could use

apt-get -d install <package>

>>61098202
Well, what if the system needs a dependency that is no longer available in the repositories? And also not in the package cache?

>>61098307

What if you're and idiot?

>>61098307
If you're on debian or any derovetive this won't happen, since the packages don't break like that, the maintainers will always ensure the correct dependencies are in the repositories, otherwise the software won't install, duh.

>>61098329
Now, now . . . don't be mean.

Play nice, kids.

Just a note, to clarify:

FROM THE ARCH WIKI PACMAN PAGE:

Cleaning the package cache

pacman stores its downloaded packages in /var/cache/pacman/pkg/ and does not remove the old or uninstalled versions automatically, therefore it is necessary to deliberately clean up that folder periodically to prevent such folder to grow indefinitely in size.

The built-in option to remove all the cached packages that are not currently installed is:

# pacman -Sc

Warning:

Only do this when certain that previous package versions are not required, for example for a later downgrade. pacman -Sc only leaves the versions of packages which are currently installed available, older versions would have to be retrieved through other means, such as the Archive.
It is possible to empty the cache folder fully with pacman -Scc. In addition to the above, this also prevents from reinstalling a package directly from the cache folder in case of need, thus requiring a new download. It should be avoided unless there is an immediate need for disk space.

>>61098478
Wow, that excerpt from Arch should be a show-starter, not a show stopper.

So i updated from stable to testing using dist-upgrade, and everything was fine, but now whenever I install a program via apt i get this thing saying "The following packages were automatically installed and are no longer needed" yet they are packages that I am actually using, like xfce4 etc.

What gives?