#package-management

so i try to install one package and suddenly half my system is broken. apt-get install -f just loops forever like it’s mocking me. then i realize i downgraded some lib that ubuntu 22.04 requires because ‘recommended’ packages don’t mean ‘vital’? sure. now i’m stuck in this purgatory where synaptic says everything is ‘held back’ and i can’t even update. spent two hours just to get ffmpeg working again. anyone else chain themselves to a terminal with a sledgehammer of sudo apt purge —force? what’s your worst dependency war story