We have a server running apt-cacher to help cache Ubuntu repositories. However, after about 2 years of usage the disk on the server has filled up. I discovered this after trying to update my Ubuntu desktop and got the following error:
503 apt-cacher: Cache Full
Here is how to clear the apt-cache cache.
sudo service apt-cacher stop
sudo rm -rf /var/cache/apt-cacher-ng/
sudo mkdir -p /var/cache/apt-cacher-ng/{headers,import,packages,private,temp}
sudo service apt-cacher start
I have a few limited space (20 gig) servers doing small jobs for us. If these have been upgrade over several major releases then the apt cache can get quite large. I used ncdu to see which folders and files are taking up space.
To clear you apt cache from the command line type:
apt-get clean
I’ve just installed an Ubuntu apt-cache server on our local network to speed up downloading packages each time we install or upgrade an Ubuntu computer. However, changing all the /etc/apt/sources.list file for every computer in the office is a real pain. Here is a simple command using sed which does this automatically for you:
The apt-cache server in our office is 192.168.2.2 but obviously change this to suit your needs. Note: the command can be run multiple times and won’t change the result:
sed -i '/192.168\|^#/! s/http:\/\//http:\/\/192.168.2.2:3142\//g' /etc/apt/sources.list
Hope this helps someone.