Skip to main content

Linux: How to Download, Install, and Start APT

Supported Systems

APT is supported on Redhat Enterprise Linux. APT is currently tested on a RHEL 9 system. The basic OS requirement is RHEL 8 (or higher), Ubuntu 18.10 (or higher) (and equivalents using Kernel Version 4.18 or higher). Please note that APT may or may not work on operating systems that are past their "end-of-life" (and it may be difficult to trouble shoot unfamiliar issues).

APT is available for 64-bit kernal computers only. (To determine which you have type: "uname -a". If you see "x86_64" you have a 64-bit kernel.)

You will need a PDF reader installed on your machine.

Depending on your institution's computer security measures (firewalls, blocked ports, etc.), you may initially have communication trouble with APT. If you have any concerns please see our Server Connectivity knowledge article.

 

1. Uninstall the previous version

Note: If you are going to install APT in the same directory as a previous version, please remove the previous version first. But if you are going to install in a separate directory, you would only need to uninstall to save disk space (and possible version confusion).

To get rid of the old version: Delete the entire directory tree where you installed it. (The unix command

rm -rf [directory]

makes this quick because it gets rid of all the subdirectories and does not ask you about overriding permissions.)

 

2. Download and install

Roman version APT 2026.4 uses the old installer. Instructions are still:

  • Download the linux installer from the table below, open a console window, and cd to the Downloads directory.
  • To install type:  sh install-linux-apt.sh

HST/JWST version APT 2026.3.2  uses a new installation procedure:

  • Download the linux installation zip file from the table below, open a console window, and cd to the Downloads directory.
  • To install, type:  unzip APT.linux.zip
  • You can then mv the APT directory to where you would like APT to be installed.

(If you have trouble installing APT, please see the Troubleshooting Tips at the bottom of these platform specific Installation instructions.)

Observatory Installer To Download

HST/JWST

 Download the Installer
View the SHA Number

Roman

 Download the Installer
View the SHA Number

 

3. Start

Once you have installed APT you can invoke it from a script:

./APT

in the installation directory. If you would like to create your own link, here is is the unix command to use in your home directory to create a link named 'apt':

ln -s [your_installation_directory]/APT apt

 

4. How to find out about new releases

We maintain a distribution list for announcing new releases of APT. This may be helpful for people who install APT for others to use. Just send a blank email to: apt_release_notice-subscribe-request@maillist.stsci.edu (Unsubscribe by sending a blank email to apt_release_notice-signoff-request@maillist.stsci.edu)

 

5. Troubleshooting

Contact us through apt(at)stsci(dot)edu if you have problems with installation. It would also be useful to tell us your exact flavor of linux which you can get from the commands:

uname -a

and

more /etc/issue

To turn debug logging on while running APT: add a command line switch when you invoke APT:

./APT -debug all

Known Installation/Download Problems:

  • We had a report from an Ubuntu 25.10 user. When using the old APT installer they experience a failure: "gzip: stdin: unexpected end of file" and "Error: Invalid or corrupt jarfile install-linux-apt.jar". This appears to be due to a bug in the new Ubuntu coreutils `dd` command. The current work around is to download the tarball of APT:  https://apst.stsci.edu/apt/external/downloads/APT-2026.3.1/Web/Installers/APT.linux.tar.gz
  • We had a report of a Linux user who found APT looked incredibly small (all the icons and tabs). This is due to a know bug with scaling for Linux in Java. There is a workaround that involves setting environment variable GDK_SCALE. (Both "setenv GDK_SCALE 2.0" or "GDK_SCALE=2 ./APT" worked for this user.) Contact us through apt(at)stsci(dot)edu if you have problems with screen resolution that you cannot address with this work around. (93346)
  • We had a Fedora 37 users whose HST Orbit Planner and Visit Planner tools within APT did not work. Since Fedora 37 is at End of Life we suggested upgrading. Upgrading to Fedora 40 solved the problem.