til 20260413

Author: kencx

content/til/2026-04-13-fuzzy-pinning-apk.md

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+title = "How to use lax pinning in Alpine Linux"
+date = "2026-04-13"
+updated = "2026-04-13"
+
+[taxonomies]
+tags = ["alpine linux"]
++++
+
+To pin the version to a major or minor release in `apk` (i.e. fuzzy matching):
+
+```sh
+# matches 3.X.Y-rZ
+apk add 'openssl=~3'
+
+# matches 3.5.Y-rZ
+apk add 'openssl=~3.5'
+
+# matches 3.5.1-rZ
+apk add 'openssl=~3.5.1'
+```
+
+By default, `apk add` will avoid changing installed packages unless required.
+This means if the installed version of `openssl` is `3.5.1`, and we run `apk add
+openssl=~3.5` it will not be upgraded to `3.5.2` if its available.
+
+To upgrade to the latest installable version (eg. `3.5.2`), we must use `apk add
+--upgrade openssl=~3.5`.
+
+## References
+- [apk - Package Pinning](https://wiki.alpinelinux.org/wiki/Alpine_Package_Keeper#Package_pinning)
+- [apk-add](https://man.archlinux.org/man/apk-add.8.en)