[SOLVED] Is it possible to tell apt to stop prompting about certain missing dependencies?

Is it possible to tell apt to stop prompting about certain missing dependencies?

I have a scanner that only works when downloading the .deb from the manufacturer (Brother) and installing with:

sudo dpkg -i --force-all libsane-dsseries_1.0.5-1_amd64.deb

--force-all is required. Without it, it won't install due to an unmet dependency (libsane (>= 1.0.17)).

Now when I install anything with apt, I get messages about the unmet dependency and using --fix-broken removes the scanner driver.

I've solved it by finding libsane and installing it, but that might not always be an option.

Is it possible to somehow tell apt to ignore the dependency/suppress the error so I can continue to install other packages?

Solution

Yes, you can stop apt from prompting about certain missing dependencies by using options like ignore missing to bypass missing packages or no install recommends to avoid installing optional ones. Additionally, you can globally disable recommended or suggested packages by modifying the /etc/apt/apt.conf.d configuration file.