On Sat 16 Dec 2023 at 12:50:51 (-0500), Stefan Monnier wrote: > David Wright [2023-12-16 11:30:01] wrote: > > On Sat 16 Dec 2023 at 10:59:48 (-0500), Stefan Monnier wrote: > >> AFAICT, all of `/var/lib/apt/lists` is made of files fetched from > >> repositories, which APT will re-fetch if missing. > >> So, it sounds to me like it belongs in `/var/cache/apt/lists`, really. > >> What am I missing? Or is it just a historical accident? > > > > This may not answer your question, but when you fetch new lists, > > they aren't the same as what was there before, and don't actually > > match your system until you upgrade it. > > AFAIK those lists aren't supposed to "match your system", are they? > IIUC they just keep a local copy of the repository's list.
Whether it's considered necessary or desirable depends on the user and what they use the lists for (apart from the obvious). > Admittedly if I `apt update` today, and then a week from now I delete > the lists and do `apt update` again I won't get the same files. > But similar, if I delete one of the files in > `/var/cache/apt/archive`, there's no guarantee that I'll be able to > re-download this exact file next week (tho I guess > https://snapshot.debian.org/ might still make it possible if you want it > badly enough). Some packages will stay the same for years, but in the past week I can see four occasions when changes in list contents have occurred on oldstable. So there's little similarity. Cheers, David.