Packages tab

Software on a Linux server is installed from its distribution's package repository. Updates are how security holes get fixed, so this tab matters more than it looks.

What you see

• How many updates are waiting, and how many of those are security updates — flagged separately, because those are the urgent ones.
• How old the package index is. The index is the catalogue of what is available. If it is days old, the counts are stale — refresh it with Update the package index.
• Whether automatic updates are switched on for this server.
• Whether a reboot is required.
• The full list of upgradable packages, with current and available versions.

If the tab says "No supported package manager", the server uses something we do not read (we support apt on Debian/Ubuntu and dnf/yum on RHEL-family systems).

Installing updates

Two ways:

• Select packages and upgrade only those. Use this when you want to install security fixes without touching anything else.
• Upgrade all. Everything at once.

Upgrades run as a detached background job, which means closing the browser or losing your connection does not interrupt them. Come back and the result is waiting.

Autoremove deletes old packages nothing needs any more — mostly superseded kernels, which are also the most common cause of a full /boot partition.

Should I just upgrade everything?

Security updates: yes. They are narrow, tested, and fix problems that are publicly known. Install them promptly.

Everything: usually yes, with a little care. A full upgrade can change the version of your database or language runtime, and occasionally an app minds. Sensible practice:

1. Take a snapshot in your hosting dashboard first, if they offer one. That is your undo button.
2. Do it at a quiet time.
3. Check the site works afterwards.

There are guided tasks for both: Install security updates and Update all software. Each one checks the site is still up afterwards and tells you if a reboot is needed. See Guided tasks.

Reboots

Some updates — the kernel especially — only take effect after a restart. Until then, the unpatched version is still the one running, even though the update is "installed".

The tab shows Reboot required when that is the case, and offers:

• Schedule a reboot 1–60 minutes ahead, so you can warn people or finish something first.
• Cancel a scheduled reboot.

A reboot takes a server offline for roughly 30 seconds to two minutes. Anything not set to start at boot will not come back — worth checking Services → On boot for your important services first, and pressing Save on the PM2 tab.

History

apt / dnf history shows what was installed or upgraded and when. This is the first place to look when something broke and you want to know what changed.

Permissions

Operator and above can install, upgrade and reboot. Viewers see the lists only. Everything is recorded in the Activity log.