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What are apt:// Links?

Question by Loud Waggon | Last update on 2023-12-19 | Created on 2016-06-14

Not long ago, I have seen a strange link on the Internet. Instead of "http://" or "https://", this link started with the characters "apt://". I have tried to click and follow this link in my browser (Firefox) but nothing happened. The same in Chrome.

Does someone know more about this mysterious kind of link type and how to open them?

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The "http" or "https" is standing for the proper protocol with which the link should be opened. Most people naturally only know the http(s)-links, but there are also other protocols possible standing for another type of processing the linked content.

One example is "apt" coming from the Linux world. If there is the package "apturl" on a Linux distribution available, it is possible to install software packages via the browser following those apt links.

So, on software directory websites the corresponding apt URLs are sufficient to install packages out of the browser comfortably. The structure of such a APT-URL is quite simple: "apt://packagename". This link is linked to the software center (/usr/bin/software-center) of the operating system that allows the installation of the package. This is the reason why it is not possible to use apt-links for installing packages from external sources.

If you access such a link, for example, from a Windows PC or do not have apturl installed, your computer cannot handle the link and nothing happens.
Last update on 2023-12-19 | Created on 2016-06-14

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