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Is it recommended to configure something to automatically keep an RPi updated? And if so, which method (cron-apt or something else)?

Cade Roux
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There are pros and cons on both sides of this argument. On the one hand, by keeping your system up to date you insure that you have the latest bug and security fixes; on the other hand, by being on the bleeding edge you may become the victim of an unfound bug or security hole in one of the updated packages, which can prevent your system from working as intended. I choose to run the risk of an unfound bug, and have my Pi set up to automatically update using cron-apt. I also have etckeeper (note that these instructions are a little out of date and that installing etckeeper will default to using git and do an initial import for you) installed so that in the event I need to rollback and update I can do so without much difficulty.

Steve Robillard
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    @JonEgerton links added – Steve Robillard Jul 25 '12 at 09:48
  • I guess one compromise would be to be able to identify when updates are available, notify the administrator and approve them to be applied. Does anyone have a setup like that? – Cade Roux Jul 25 '12 at 14:27
  • @CadeRoux check out this question over on U&L http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/19470/list-available-updates-but-do-not-install-them. You may want to invest in another SD Card and treat one as your production environment and the other as testing. This will allow you to vet new packages before installing them. – Steve Robillard Jul 25 '12 at 14:37
  • @SteveRobillard Yes, I have a few SD cards and am taking regular backups of them to a hard drive. – Cade Roux Jul 25 '12 at 17:53
  • There are settings so that only security updates are installed automaticly. There is a risk of makeing some software unusable if you intstall it automaticly. But I have never experianced that during my 10 years of using Debian with Stable (nor Testing). I have hade a few bad experiances with X11 not starting with Unstable. So yes, I would say Debian/stable are stabel... :) Testing would be ok, but I wouldn't run unstable this way. But none of you run unstable anyway. Not if you need to ask. :) – Anders Jul 25 '12 at 20:26
  • @Anders I agree in my 15+ years on Linux I have never had the need to rollback an update, but that doesn't mean it can't happen (it has happened on my Win boxes on several occasions). What this question really comes down to is what type and how much risk do you feel comfortable with, and how to configure your setup to support that. – Steve Robillard Jul 26 '12 at 01:14