An Aptfile is a file specifying Debian package requirements for a whole single project.
APT isn't really that good for managing dependencies. Aptfile solves this by putting
a list of dependencies into a single file. This shortens apt install a b c d e f g h
to just aptfile get.
Also, APT packages are harder to be used by GUI app stores, like GNOME Software and KDE Discover. Aptfiles solve that, by containing information about the package in a single file.
Aptfiles are written in TOML format. You can write an Aptfile like this:
# Aptfile for hello-world
[aptfile]
# Main Aptfile data.
target = 1.0
[apt.dependencies]
# dependencies is freeform. Any package can go in as a value. You can define just the major number,
# the major and minor number, or even all 3 numbers (major, minor, and patch). It is recommended to
# use the major and minor number. This example demonstrates requiring Python 3.9 or newer to run the
# program, including Cython. Written in pip format or "latest".
python3 = 3.9
cython3 = "latest"No. However, it's a fairly new project and could get adopted by the Debian Project one day, and
be used as a Debian packaging standard, as Aptfile gets better and better. Do not confuse Aptfile with
the apt-file utility, coincidentally with the same name.