Repository does not have a release file⇒ Fix Error in Ubuntu

Ubuntu is an open-source and versatile Linux operating system based on Debian. It is popular among users, especially beginners, due to its ease of use, stability, user-friendliness, and community support. One of the commendable advantages of Ubuntu is the support of a wide set of software packages through its official repositories and third-party repositories, which has provided the possibility of installing, updating, and managing software using APT package management. The Advanced Package Tool (APT) is a powerful package management system that plays a valuable role in the ease and efficiency of software package management in Ubuntu Linux.

APT package manager, along with the valuable advantages it offers, sometimes has bugs. Ever get a “repository does not have a release file” error when updating software and Ubuntu or installing new software using APT package manager from official Ubuntu or PPA repositories? If you are an Ubuntu user, the experience of this error is familiar to many of you. But why do we receive the “repository does not have a release file” error in Ubuntu? What problem does this error indicate?

The answer to your questions is in this article; by spending 5 minutes of your precious time to read this article, get rid of the “repository does not have a release file” error in Ubuntu forever and become more experienced in managing software and the Ubuntu system. The topic that will be discussed in this post is understanding the reasons for getting the “repository does not have a release file” error and solving this error in Ubuntu. If you have an Ubuntu VPS and you get the “repository does not have a release file” error when updating the Ubuntu system, don’t worry; your problem will be solved by reading this article to the end and correctly following the instructions in this article.

Why do we receive the “repository does not have a release file” error in Ubuntu?

The error message “repository does not have a release file” means that the APT package manager is having trouble finding the release information required for the repository you want to access to install or update software. The package manager must be able to find the release file that contains the list of packages in the repository and their versions to install and update software packages from the desired repository, and when it fails to find the release file, you will receive this error. As a result, the error has identified the source of the problem; It would be best if you now investigated the factors that caused the package manager to fail to find the release file.

The most common reasons that lead to the display of the repository does not have a release file error in Ubuntu are as follows:

• Repository configuration problem due to a problem in the repository’s server or a typo in the URL of the repository
• Not updating the repository
• Network problems, such as blocking access to the repository server through a firewall
• Incompatibility and unavailability of software repositories with Linux distribution (the current version of Ubuntu)

Now that you know the most common causes of the “repository does not have a release file” error, it is time to find valuable solutions to solve the problem of the release file not being found by the APT package manager.

Fixing “repository does not have a release file” Ubuntu Error

This error message is usually displayed in the following format when the sudo apt-get update command is executed to update the Ubuntu system and the software packages available in the repositories:

E: The repository 'http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic Release' does not have a Release file.
N: Updating from such a repository can't be done securely, and is therefore disabled by default.
N: See apt-secure(8) manpage for repository creation and user configuration details.

As a result, through the URL displayed along with the error, you can identify the repository that caused the problem and solve your problem faster. Try the provided solutions to prevent getting the “repository does not have a release file” error.

1. Checking the Repository Compatibility with your Ubuntu version

Installing and using PPA (third-party repositories) is one of the common ways to install specific software that is not supported by the official Ubuntu repository. Sometimes, the unavailability or incompatibility of the PPA repository with the version of Ubuntu you are using leads to the display of “the repository does not have a release file” error. To avoid this problem, before installing the PPA repository, check whether the desired PPA repository is available for your version of Ubuntu. In the following, we will explain how to check Repository Compatibility.

Each version of Ubuntu has a unique code name that you can find out about the code name and your current version of Ubuntu by running the following command:

lsb_release -a

Sample Output:

No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID:    Ubuntu
Description:        Ubuntu 20.04 LTS
Release:               20.04
Codename:        focal

In the output you receive after running the previous command, the Codename section displays the codename of your Ubuntu version.

After knowing the code name of the Ubuntu version, check the web page of the desired PPA repository that you intended to install; from the “Overview of published packages” section on the website related to the PPA repository and filter your Ubuntu code name, Check the PPA repository support for your Ubuntu version’s codename.

This step that we explained should be done before installing the PPA repositories, but if you have installed PPA without checking the compatibility of the PPA repository with the Ubuntu version and you encounter problems when updating or installing the software, you should check the availability of the problematic third-party PPA repository specified in the error content for the version of Ubuntu you are using.

If, after checking, you find that the PPA repository does not support the Ubuntu codename, removing the problematic PPA repository is the solution to your problem. Follow the steps below to remove the problematic PPA repository from your Ubuntu system:

Removing problematic repository in the Ubuntu system through GUI

• Open Software & Update tool.
• Select the “Other Software” tab and find the repository that you have a problem with.
• Check the check box in front of the desired PPA repository, and after highlighting it, click the “Remove” option in the screen’s bottom bar.

Removing the problematic repository in Ubuntu through Terminal

If you are used to performing tasks and settings through the Linux terminal, run the following command with sudo privileges to remove the problematic repository:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:[name]

By removing the problematic PPA repository, you were able to free the system from incompatible PPA repository problems. Do not worry that removing the PPA repository will deprive you of specific software features supported by the PPA repository; you can use other sources to install the software you want.

2. Checking the correctness of the Repository URL in the package manager configuration

One of the reasons for receiving the “repository does not have a release file” error when updating the Ubuntu Linux system is a typo in the Repository URL in the package manager configuration. Hence, you need to check that the repository URL is correct in the package manager configuration of your Ubuntu system. To check the URL of the repository in the Ubuntu system, you need to check the configuration files containing the repository resources.

The /etc/apt/sources.list file in Ubuntu stores the configuration files for the repository URLs and also the files in the /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ directory contains a list of the initial configuration files for the repository URLs. To check the content of the Sources.list file, follow the steps below:

• Check the content of the Sources.list file

Launch the Linux terminal and open the sources.list file through your favorite editor:

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

By displaying the content of the sources.list file, you can see the URLs of the repository and the defined resources of the Ubuntu system.

Note: You may need Superuser (root) privileges to view and edit the content of the Sources.list file. Also, theCatcommand is helpful for displaying the content of the Sources.list file, you can use thecat /etc/apt/sources.listcommand for this purpose.

• Check Additional Sources

The /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ directory also contains files that store some repositories separately, which checking the content of this directory also has advantages. To check additional repository URLs in the content of the files listed in the /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ directory, you can use thecatcommand:

cat /etc/apt/sources.list.d/filename

Replace the filename section with the file name you want to check.

• Search for problematic repository URLs in the content of the Sources.list file

To search for a specific word or problematic repository URL in the content of the Sources.list file, the grep command is useful and efficient. For example, by searching for lines containing the word “repository,” you can optimize the search for the URL of your desired repository in the file’s content. To search for the phrase “repository” in the contents of the Sources.list file and the /sources.list.d directory, run the following command:

grep "repository" /etc/apt/sources.list /etc/apt/sources.list.d/*

Therefore, you can check the lines containing the word “repository” in the Sources.list file and the files in /sources.list.d.

By checking the repository URL in package manager configuration files, you can ensure that the repository URL is correct, or if there is a typo, edit and correct it and save the file. As a result, check if your problem is solved by running thesudo apt-get updatecommand.

3. Checking Network Connectivity in Ubuntu

Blocking access to the repository server due to internet connection problems or rules set in the firewall is one of the other reasons for receiving the “repository does not have a release file” ubuntu error. Therefore, to solve this problem, ensure that your system has access to the Internet and that rules blocking access to the repository server are not set in the firewall.

Thepingcommand is one of the valuable methods to check the network connection to the remote host. Run thepingcommand to check the Internet connection:

ping -c 4 us.archive.ubuntu.com

Thepingcommand sends ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) echo requests to the target host, and the result is displayed. By running the previous command, four packets will be sent to the repository server, and if the connection is confirmed, the packets transferred, received, and the time spent will be displayed in the output.

Confirming the network connection may not be enough to solve this problem, so to be sure, check the active status of the repository server through the following command:

curl -Is http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu | head -1

Ensure the server is active by receiving An HTTP/1.1 200 OK output.

If you do not find any problem checking the network connections and the repository server is active, other reasons led to displaying the” repository does not have a release file” error. But if the problem is in the network connections or the failure of the repository server, change the network or be patient in backing up the server.

4. Switching to an alternative repository Mirror

Sometimes, malfunctioning the repository mirror causes problems. To solve the problem of getting the “repository does not have a release file” error in ubuntu, changing the repository mirror is worth trying. By checking the contents of the sources.list file and checking the problematic repository entry, you can replace the repository URL with a different mirror that you found on the official Ubuntu website. For this purpose, follow the steps below:

• Launch the Linux terminal.
• Make a backup of your current source list before changes through thecpcommand:

Sudo cp /etc/apt/sources.list /etc/apt/sources.list.backup

• Open the sources.list file to edit and replace different repository Mirror with the desired editor:

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

• To replace different repository mirror URLs, find the lines containing the repository mirror URL we want to change. Check the lines that start with “deb” or “deb-src” and contain the URL, and replace the URL with the new mirror’s URL.

Note: To access a list of official Ubuntu mirrors, visit this site.

• After making changes, save the file in the nano editor by pressing Ctrl + O and the Enter button, and exit the nano editor by pressing the Ctrl + X buttons.
• To reflect the changes and refresh the package cache using the new mirror, update the list of packages installed in Ubuntu:

sudo apt update

As a result, by following the steps correctly, you can easily switch to a different repository mirror in the Ubuntu system and resolve issues with your current mirror.

FAQ

Conclusion

In this article, the most common solutions to solve the ‘Repository does not have a Release file’ error in Ubuntu have been taught. We hope that by trying these methods, you can detect and fix the ‘Repository does not have a Release file’ error in Ubuntu Linux. Surely, one of the solutions taught will solve your problem, but if you recommend another solution to this problem, share it with us in the comments section.

Thank you for choosing this article to read.