Debian Repo URLs for ‘sources.list’ File

This knowledge base is your essential guide for configuring the right Debian repository URLs for your sources.list file which is used to fetch software packages and updates.

The /etc/apt/sources.list file is the main configuration file for managing Debian repositories. It contains the URLs of the repositories that your system uses to search for and install software. This guide provides the correct repository URLs for Debian in case you have misconfigured it or deleted it by any chance.

💡 Configuring the right repository url can resolve errors such as E: The repository ...... does not have a Release file on your Debian OS.

How to modify the ‘sources.list’ file and include Repository URLs?

Before modifying the sources.list, create a backup using: sudo cp /etc/apt/sources.list /etc/apt/sources.list.backup to ensure safe repository changes.

To update the repository sources, open the sources.list file located in /etc/apt/ using a command-line editor of your choice, such as vi or nano. Then, copy the code from the knowledge base that corresponds to your version of Debian into the file. For example:

sudo vi /etc/apt/sources.list

Additionally, repository files can also be placed in ” /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ “
Each file inside this directory follows the same format as sources.list and allows modular repository management.

Debian 12 (Bookworm)

deb https://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm main non-free-firmware
deb-src https://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm main non-free-firmware
deb https://security.debian.org/debian-security bookworm-security main non-free-firmware
deb-src https://security.debian.org/debian-security bookworm-security main non-free-firmware
deb https://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm-updates main non-free-firmware
deb-src https://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm-updates main non-free-firmware

Debian 11 (Bullseye)

deb https://deb.debian.org/debian bullseye main
deb-src https://deb.debian.org/debian bullseye main
deb https://deb.debian.org/debian-security/ bullseye-security main
deb-src https://deb.debian.org/debian-security/ bullseye-security main
deb https://deb.debian.org/debian bullseye-updates main
deb-src https://deb.debian.org/debian bullseye-updates main

Debian 10 (Buster)

deb http://deb.debian.org/debian buster main contrib non-free
deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security buster/updates main contrib non-free
deb http://deb.debian.org/debian buster-updates main contrib non-free

Debian 9 (Stretch)

deb http://archive.debian.org/debian stretch main contrib non-free
deb-src http://archive.debian.org/debian stretch main contrib non-free
deb http://archive.debian.org/debian-security/ stretch/updates main contrib non-free
deb-src http://archive.debian.org/debian-security/ stretch/updates main contrib non-free

Debian 8 (Jessie)

deb http://archive.debian.org/debian/ jessie main non-free contrib
 deb-src http://archive.debian.org/debian/ jessie main non-free contrib
deb http://archive.debian.org/debian-security/ jessie/updates main non-free contrib
 deb-src http://archive.debian.org/debian-security/ jessie/updates main non-free contrib

How to update Repository URLs after adding to sources.list?

After modifying the sources.list file, update the package lists using:

sudo apt update

The sources.list file is crucial for managing package sources in Debian. Properly configuring this file allows you to access security updates, official repositories, and other software sources.

Similarly, you can also easily configure the Repo URL list for Ubuntu, AlmaLinux, CentOS, CentOS Stream, and RockyLinux. To find the working URLs, visit this link: 
CentOS: https://www.veeble.org/kb/centos-repo-list-working-urls/
CentOS Stream: https://www.veeble.org/kb/centos-stream-repo-list-working-urls/
RockyLinux: https://www.veeble.org/kb/rockylinux-repository-list-working-urls/
AlmaLinux: https://www.veeble.org/kb/almalinux-yum-repository-list-working-urls/
Ubuntu: https://www.veeble.com/kb/sources-list-file-urls-ubuntu/