
upgrade-key-packages

This operation expects no arguments. It's essentially an operation similar to
"upgrade", but it only affects the key system packages (aaa_glibc-solibs,
glibc-solibs, sed and pkgtools), which usually should be upgraded before any
other outdated or new package, unless there's a specific reason (probably
mentioned in the change log) to install or upgrade other packages first. It's
normally only run after "list-transient" when you detect they are outdated.

Two important notes: list-transient will notice there are outdated system
packages and emit a big and noticeable warning at the end of the package list
to let you know, in case you miss the event. Furthermore, the "upgrade"
operation usually installs packages in alphabetical order, but the key system
packages are upgraded first. This means that, in the absence of new packages,
it would still be safe to run the "upgrade" operation directly and you don't
need to explicitly run "upgrade-key-packages" first.

list-transient always lists packages in the common preferred order, and you
will notice it always puts key system packages first when they are outdated.

Also see: list-transient.

