aptitude-create-state-bundle

aptitude-create-state-bundle [<option>...] <filename>

-h, --help
    Display summary of options and exit.

-n, --no-compressed
    Output uncompressed bundle (no bzip2).

-s, --save-installation-order
    Include package installation sequence in bundle.

-v, --version
    Print version info and exit.

aptitude-create-state-bundle generates a snapshot file capturing the current state of aptitude's package database. It records installed packages with exact versions, architectures, "auto-installed" flags, broken dependencies, and optionally held packages or installation order.

This is invaluable for replicating package states across systems, such as migrating servers, creating reproducible test environments, or backing up installations. The bundle is bzip2-compressed by default for efficient storage and transfer.

Pair it with aptitude-run-state-bundle to restore the state on a target machine. Note that it focuses solely on package database info; user configurations in /etc or /var require separate handling.

Does not capture config files, user data, or local mods. Target system must have exact package versions available.
Overwriting existing file without backup risks data loss.

aptitude-create-state-bundle state.bundle.bz2
Produces default compressed bundle.

aptitude-create-state-bundle -n -s state.bundle
Uncompressed with install order.

Proprietary binary format; human-readable via aptitude-run-state-bundle --print-format.

Added in aptitude 0.4.5 (2006) by Daniel Burrows to enable precise state cloning in Debian ecosystems.

aptitude(8), aptitude-run-state-bundle(8), dpkg(1)