Should I reboot after dist-upgrade?

Question

After apt-get dist-upgrade on a desktop PC with "testing" Debian Linux, is it recommended: a. reboot; b. logout?

Answer 1

It depends on what's been upgraded.

If it's simply an application then all you need to do is restart the application (if it's running).

If it's the kernel, then yes.

If it's a library, then it's your call on whether the library is in use and if it would be easier to restart whatever is using it (a daemon for example) or restart the whole computer.

A dist-upgrade quite often consists of many updates - you'll need to read through them and decide what to do. If only one is deemed important enough to warrant a reboot, then leave the rest and reboot!

Feodra and other Gnome based distros are moving to an Offline System Updates system where a GUI pops up and says something to the effect that Updates are ready for your computer - do you wish to reboot and install for many/most updates. Reminds you of a certain other OS, doesn't it!? There has been quite a bit of debate on the merit of reboot always (or often) and leaving it to the user/admin.