Synaptic (software)

Synaptic is a GTK-based graphical user interface designed for the APT package manager used by the Debian Linux distribution and its derivatives. Synaptic is usually used on systems based on deb packages but can also be used on systems based on RPM packages. It can be used to install, remove and upgrade software packages and to add repositories.

Usage
The package manager enables the user to install, to upgrade or to remove software packages. To install or remove a package a user must search or navigate to the package, then mark it for installation or removal. Changes are not applied instantly; the user must first mark all changes and then apply them.

History
Synaptic development was funded by the Brazilian company Conectiva, which asked Alfredo Kojima, then an employee, to write a graphical front-end for APT, continuing the work initiated with the creation of the APT RPM back-end, apt-rpm.