Yes this affects me as well. Still true as of apt 1.6.6 (Ubuntu 18.04) -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Touch seeded packages, which is subscribed to apt in Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1442775
Title: apt-get --ignore-missing doesn't ignore missing packages Status in apt package in Ubuntu: Confirmed Bug description: The man page for apt-get states: -m, --ignore-missing, --fix-missing Ignore missing packages; if packages cannot be retrieved or fail the integrity check after retrieval (corrupted package files), hold back those packages and handle the result. Use of this option together with -f may produce an error in some situations. If a package is selected for installation (particularly if it is mentioned on the command line) and it could not be downloaded then it will be silently held back. Configuration Item: APT::Get::Fix-Missing. However, when removing or purging packages, it does /not/ actually ignore missing packages: build@ub14test:~/p4/zimbra/main/ThirdParty/openldap$ sudo apt-get purge -y --ignore-missing zimbra-openssl-lib Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree Reading state information... Done E: Unable to locate package zimbra-openssl-lib build@ub14test:~/p4/zimbra/main/ThirdParty/openldap$ echo $? 100 This causes some pain when using apt-get in a Makefile and wanting to ensure custom packages have been removed. dpkg handles this correctly: build@ub14test:~/p4/zimbra/main/ThirdParty/openldap$ sudo dpkg --purge zimbra-openssl-lib dpkg: warning: ignoring request to remove zimbra-openssl-lib which isn't installed build@ub14test:~/p4/zimbra/main/ThirdParty/openldap$ echo $? 0 however you then lose dependency tracking. To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/apt/+bug/1442775/+subscriptions -- Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~touch-packages Post to : touch-packages@lists.launchpad.net Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~touch-packages More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp