ubuntu-auto-update

Automated weekly update script for Ubuntu servers — fully unattended with logging.

A simple, reliable bash script that handles the complete Ubuntu update cycle and logs everything. Set it once via cron and your servers stay patched automatically.

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What It Does

Runs the full Ubuntu update cycle in sequence:

1. apt-get update — refreshes package lists
2. apt-get dist-upgrade — installs all available upgrades including kernel updates
3. apt-get clean — removes cached package files
4. apt-get autoclean — removes outdated cached packages
5. apt autoremove --purge — removes unused dependencies
6. reboot — reboots to apply any kernel or system updates

All output is logged to /var/log/weekly-update.log with timestamps.

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Installation

1. Download the script

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jermsmit/ubuntu-auto-update/main/weekly-update.sh

2. Move it to a system location

sudo mv weekly-update.sh /usr/local/sbin/weekly-update.sh

3. Make it executable

sudo chmod +x /usr/local/sbin/weekly-update.sh

4. Schedule it with cron

sudo crontab -e

Add this line to run every Sunday at 2:00 AM:

0 2 * * 0 /usr/local/sbin/weekly-update.sh

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Viewing Logs

# View the full log
cat /var/log/weekly-update.log

# Watch live during a run
tail -f /var/log/weekly-update.log

# View only the last run
grep -A 100 "$(grep 'Update started' /var/log/weekly-update.log | tail -1)" /var/log/weekly-update.log

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Notes

• Script must be run as root (or via sudo cron) to perform system updates and reboot
• The reboot at the end ensures kernel updates are applied — remove the last line if you prefer manual reboots
• Suitable for Ubuntu 20.04, 22.04, and 24.04 LTS
• Log file grows over time — consider adding logrotate if running long term

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Optional: Log Rotation

To prevent the log file growing indefinitely, create a logrotate config:

sudo tee /etc/logrotate.d/weekly-update << 'EOF'
/var/log/weekly-update.log {
    monthly
    rotate 6
    compress
    missingok
    notifempty
}
EOF

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License

MIT — free to use, modify, and distribute.