Space allocation +500MB for /var/lib/apt/lists

[c.monty]

Hi,
I'm running a small application on Debian.
Checking the space allocation of the root disk I can see that /var/lib/apt/lists allocates +500MB.

The details of current space alloction is this:

Code: Select all

--- /var/lib/apt/lists ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                         /..
  126,3 MiB [##########] /partial
   47,1 MiB [###       ]  deb.debian.org_debian_dists_unstable_main_source_Sources
   45,3 MiB [###       ]  deb.debian.org_debian_dists_unstable_main_binary-amd64_Packages
   42,2 MiB [###       ]  deb.debian.org_debian_dists_buster_main_binary-amd64_Packages
   38,4 MiB [###       ]  deb.debian.org_debian_dists_buster_main_source_Sources
   37,1 MiB [##        ]  deb.debian.org_debian_dists_stretch_main_binary-amd64_Packages
   32,6 MiB [##        ]  deb.debian.org_debian_dists_jessie_main_binary-amd64_Packages
   32,2 MiB [##        ]  deb.debian.org_debian_dists_stretch_main_source_Sources
   31,2 MiB [##        ]  deb.debian.org_debian_dists_jessie_main_source_Sources
   30,4 MiB [##        ]  deb.debian.org_debian_dists_unstable_main_i18n_Translation-en
   27,7 MiB [##        ]  deb.debian.org_debian_dists_buster_main_i18n_Translation-en
   25,2 MiB [#         ]  deb.debian.org_debian_dists_stretch_main_i18n_Translation-en
   21,4 MiB [#         ]  deb.debian.org_debian_dists_jessie_main_i18n_Translation-en
    7,3 MiB [          ]  deb.debian.org_debian_dists_jessie_main_i18n_Translation-de
    7,1 MiB [          ]  deb.debian.org_debian_dists_unstable_main_i18n_Translation-de
    6,8 MiB [          ]  deb.debian.org_debian_dists_stretch_main_i18n_Translation-de
    6,6 MiB [          ]  deb.debian.org_debian_dists_buster_main_i18n_Translation-de
    4,2 MiB [          ]  deb.debian.org_debian_dists_stretch-backports_main_source_Sources

Question:
How can I reduce and limit space allocation in /var/lib/apt/lists?

THX & happy new year!

[Head_on_a_Stick]

How can I reduce and limit space allocation in /var/lib/apt/lists?

Reduce the number of repositories. And delete the files periodically (or place /var in a subvolume and enforce a quota if you're running ZFS).

Mixed systems can be tricky to handle in Debian, is there a particular reason you're not running pure Debian stable?

[None1975]

Unstable, buster, stretch, stretch-backports and jessie. It is FrankenDebian. You deserve the first place in repository mich-mach parade.

[c.monty]

OK.
I have removed buster and jessie.

I need unstable because package freeipa-client is only available in unstable.

Hereby I reduce space allocation to 246,5 MiB.

Any other advise?

[None1975]

You are no longer using the Debian system, but it is not clear what. The easiest way is to start from scratch. Install Debian 9 with .netinstall and then upgrade it to unstable. But remember! Given its nature, it can break at any point. It is was designed to break randomly at any given time.