How to fix dpkg: error: unable to clean up mess surrounding file before installing: No space left on device in APT

First, determine how much space is available on your root partition:

df -h /

Look for the "Use%" column. If it shows 100% or very close (95%+), you need to free space immediately. Also check:

df -h /var
du -sh /var/cache/apt/archives

This shows how much space the APT cache is consuming.

Remove all cached .deb files (both used and unused packages):

sudo apt-get clean

This is safe and removes all archived packages from /var/cache/apt/archives. It does not uninstall anything.

For a more aggressive clean of just unused packages:

sudo apt-get autoclean

Then verify space was freed:

df -h /

If cleaning the APT cache wasn't enough, remove old kernel images:

First, see which kernels are installed:

dpkg -l 'linux-*' | grep '^ii'

Then remove old kernels (keep the currently running one):

uname -r  # Shows your current kernel version

Remove kernels older than your current one:

sudo apt-get remove --purge linux-image-[old-version]-generic

Replace [old-version] with the specific kernel version. Repeat for multiple old kernels.

Then clean again:

sudo apt-get autoclean
sudo apt-get autoremove --purge

If /boot is the full partition, it likely contains multiple kernel images:

df -h /boot

Remove old kernel files from /boot:

sudo apt-get autoremove --purge
sudo apt-get autoclean

If /boot is still full after removing kernels via apt, you may need to manually clean:

ls -lh /boot

Do not manually delete files in /boot unless absolutely necessary. Prefer using apt.

Once you've freed enough space (aim for at least 500MB-1GB free), retry your package operation:

sudo apt-get install [package-name]
# or
sudo apt-get upgrade

Monitor disk usage during installation:

df -h /  # Check in another terminal