NAME

       approx - proxy server for Debian archive files

SYNOPSIS

       approx [OPTION]...

DESCRIPTION

       approx  responds  to HTTP requests made by apt-get(8).  It maintains a cache of Debian archive files that
       have been previously downloaded, so that it can respond with a local copy when possible.  If a  file  not
       in  the  cache  is  requested,  approx  will  download it from a remote Debian repository and deliver the
       contents to the client, simultaneously caching it for future use.

OPTIONS

       -c file, --config file
              Specify an additional configuration file.  May be used multiple times.

USAGE

       approx is invoked by inetd(8).

EXAMPLES

       Suppose that a client machine's /etc/apt/sources.list file contains the following lines:

              deb     http://apt:9999/debian    testing main
              deb     http://apt:9999/security  testing/updates main
              deb-src http://apt:9999/debian    unstable main

       In this example, apt is  the  hostname  of  the  approx  server  machine  on  the  local  network.   Each
       distribution,  such  as  "debian"  or "security", is mapped to a remote repository in the approx server's
       configuration file.

       For example, the approx.conf file on the approx server might contain the lines

              debian   http://ftp.debian.org/debian
              security http://security.debian.org

       The mapping scheme is very simple.  If the approx.conf file contains the line

              repository     http://remote-host/initial/path

       then any request to the approx server of the form

              http://approx-server/repository/rest/of/URL

       is rewritten to

              http://remote-host/initial/path/rest/of/URL

       when there is a "cache miss", and that file is cached as

              /var/cache/approx/repository/rest/of/URL

       (Note that the repository name on the left-hand side is not included in the rewritten URL  unless  it  is
       explicitly mentioned in the right-hand side's initial path.)

FILES

       /etc/approx/approx.conf
              Configuration file for approx and related programs.

       /var/cache/approx
              Default cache directory for archive files.

SEE ALSO

       approx.conf(5), inetd(8), approx-import(8), apt-get(8), sources.list(5)

AUTHOR

       Eric Cooper <ecc@cmu.edu>

                                                    May 2011                                           APPROX(8)