< Debian
< pingfloyd> normally, I wouldn't worry about backing up executables < pingfloyd> easier to just reinstall if disaster strikes < pingfloyd> ryouma: what about "reinstall" directive? < pingfloyd> e.g., aptitude reinstall ... < mutante> what can be nice to have a backup of is the list of installed packages, just that tiny file you would get from dpkg --get-selections. then you can restore it even easier < somiaj> !aptitude clone < dpkg> To clone a Debian machine using aptitude (or install your favourite packages) use aptitude search --disable-columns -F%p '~i!~M!~v' > package_list; on the reference machine; xargs aptitude --schedule-only install < package_list; aptitude install; on the other machine. This preserves information about "automatically installed" packages that other methods do not. See also <reinstall>, <things to backup>, <debian clone>, <apt-clone>. < somiaj> mutante: I like that over --get-selections because it saves autoinstall info < missmbob> i like <debian clone> since not all machines have aptitude < pingfloyd> the problem with --set-selections is it marks it all as manually installed < pingfloyd> mutante: here's another alternative: apt-mark showmanual > pkg_list; then on target; xargs apt-get install < pkg_list