How to correctly remove a PPA source? [duplicate]

I've added many PPAs using the add-apt-repository command. Is there a simple way to remove these PPAs? I've checked in /etc/apt/sources.list for the appropriate deb lines but they aren't there.

This is on a server system so a command line solution would be great!

Solution 1:

There are a number of options:

Use the --remove flag, similar to how the PPA was added:
```
sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:whatever/ppa
```
You can also remove PPAs by deleting the .list files from /etc/apt/sources.list.d directory.
As a safer alternative, you can install ppa-purge:
```
sudo apt-get install ppa-purge
```
And then remove the PPA, downgrading gracefully packages it provided to packages provided by official repositories:
```
sudo ppa-purge ppa:whatever/ppa
```
Note that this will uninstall packages provided by the PPA, but not those provided by the official repositories. If you want to remove them, you should tell it to apt:
```
sudo apt-get purge package_name
```
Last but not least, you can also disable or remove PPAs from the "Software Sources" section in Ubuntu Settings with a few clicks of your mouse (no terminal needed).

Solution 2:

Simply run apt-add-repository again with the --remove option to remove a PPA added via the command-line. For example:

sudo apt-add-repository --remove ppa:kernel-ppa/ppa

Then update with:

sudo apt-get update

Solution 3:

Alternately, as ppas are stored in /etc/apt/sources.list.d you can find the one you want to remove by entering:

ls /etc/apt/sources.list.d

Then when you have noted the name of that offending ppa (e.g. myppa.list), you can enter:

sudo rm -i /etc/apt/sources.list.d/myppa.list

Take care with rm (hence why I have used the interactive switch so you can confirm your actions. Then run sudo apt-get update afterwards.

This method merely removes the ppa .list file; it does not remove any other files or sort out any other problems caused by the ppa; for that you could use ppa-purge after you have got your update ability back (I know you mentioned this in your question, but I am adding this point for future readers): see here for more information on ppa-purge.

Also take into account that if you previously added the key of the repo as trusted you should remove it:

# list the trusted keys
sudo apt-key list
# remove the key
sudo apt-key del KEY_ID

Solution 4:

You can use the

sudo ppa-purge ppa:repository-name/subdirectory

command in a terminal.

You will first need to install ppa-purge to use this command. To do so, use sudo apt-get install ppa-purge or click this button:

Install via the software center
_{(source: hostmar.co)}

Find out more about it here.

Solution 5:

The answers to this question will help you.

You can manage PPAs in System > Administration > Software Sources or by removing files in /etc/apt/sources.list.d/.

You can also use a package called ppa-purge.

And, as I commented on the question I linked to above,

There is a bug on Launchpad requesting a --remove argument for the add-apt-repository command. I've submitted a merge request to get the feature implemented, but it hasn't yet been accepted. Hopefully you'll have this feature soon though.