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Which Whonix Debian packages are safe to remove? What is a meta package? What other packages do Whonix meta packages install? Which packages should never be removed? How to safely run autoremove?

Upstream

This page will focus exclusively on aspects related to Whonix/Anonymity. For security hardening and additional insights, users should refer to the Kicksecure page.

Kicksecure Hardened

Redirection to Kicksecure Documentation

Incomplete: This wiki page is incomplete. This it by design. It only contains specific information for Whonix. Below is a link to a wiki page in the Kicksecure wiki with more general information. Reading it is mandatory for full information.

• Introduction: Whonix Documentation Introduction, User Expectations, Footnotes and References, User Expectations - What Documentation Is and What It Is Not
• Whonix is based on Kicksecure^™: Whonix inherits many features and principles from Kicksecure.
• Kicksecure is based on Debian: Kicksecure builds upon the stability of Debian.
• Inheritance: Therefore, Whonix is also based on Debian.
• Debian is GNU/Linux-based: Debian primarily uses the GNU/Linux as its foundation.
• Shared documentation benefits: Because one distribution is based on another:
• Inherited documentation: Little specific documentation is required for each layer.
• Shared principles: Features and principles often remain consistent across forks. Users can often follow the same instructions for both Whonix and Kicksecure.
• Keep using Whonix: This does not mean the user should switch to Kicksecure.
• Where to apply the instructions: The instructions should be applied inside Whonix.
• Wiki editors notice: This box is wiki template upstream_wiki. (Pages that link to it.)
• Comparison: Whonix versus Kicksecure
• Documentation compatibility: Since Whonix is based on Kicksecure, the user should follow these instructions for:

Debian Packages

• Note: Re-interpretation...

Apply the instructions inside Whonix, not Kicksecure.

Kicksecure: Perform these steps inside Kicksecure.

Instead the user should apply the instructions inside Whonix-Workstation.

Kicksecure for Qubes: Perform these steps inside Qubes kicksecure-17 Template.

Instead the user should apply the instructions inside whonix-workstation-17 Template.

Introduction

It is safe to run sudo apt autoremove so long as the specific Whonix machine meta package is kept for the Non-Qubes-Whonix or Qubes-Whonix platform. In other words, these packages should not be in the list of autoremoved packages.

Non-Qubes-Whonix Xfce:

• Whonix-Gateway^™: non-qubes-whonix-gateway-xfce
• Whonix-Workstation^™: non-qubes-whonix-workstation-xfce

Qubes-Whonix^™:

• Whonix-Gateway: qubes-whonix-gateway
• Whonix-Workstation: qubes-whonix-workstation

It is actually a good idea to safely run sudo apt autoremove according to the following instructions on this wiki page to make sure extraneous packages which might no longer be recommended for default installation are removed.

Re-install Meta Packages and Safely Run Autoremove

1. Update the package lists.

sudo apt update

2. Ensure a proper meta package is installed.

Platform specific. Select your platform.

Non-Qubes-Whonix Xfce:

• Whonix-Gateway: sudo apt install non-qubes-whonix-gateway-xfce
• Whonix-Workstation: sudo apt install non-qubes-whonix-workstation-xfce

Qubes-Whonix:

• Whonix-Gateway: sudo apt install qubes-whonix-gateway
• Whonix-Workstation: sudo apt install qubes-whonix-workstation

3. Auto remove packages.

sudo apt autoremove

4. Reconfirm a proper meta package is still installed.

Repeat step two.

5. Done.

The procedure of safely running sudo apt autoremove is complete.

Related: Whonix Factory Reset

See Also

• Configuration Drop-In Folders
• Reset Configuration Files to Vendor Default
• Whonix Factory Reset
• Packages for Debian Hosts
• Whonix APT Repository
• Building and Update Whonix from Source Code
• Installing Whonix from Repository

Footnotes

Whonix The most watertight privacy operating system in the world.

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