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Is there a way to understand WHY exactly my Ubuntu system wants a restart? I'm getting this message without much additional context in my banner on logging in over SSH:

*** System restart required ***
Glorfindel
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  • Check your /var/log/apt history. The most common reason (by far) is a new kernel installed by Unattended Upgrades. – user535733 Apr 16 '20 at 19:45
  • Do either of these refernces answer your question? https://askubuntu.com/questions/258297/should-i-always-restart-the-system-when-i-see-system-restart-required and https://serverfault.com/questions/92932/how-does-ubuntu-keep-track-of-the-system-restart-required-flag-in-motd – graham Apr 16 '20 at 19:47
  • Which release number of Ubuntu? – K7AAY Apr 16 '20 at 20:51
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    Does this answer your question? ["System restart required"...why? How can I get what triggered this notification to also show details?](https://askubuntu.com/questions/661091/system-restart-required-why-how-can-i-get-what-triggered-this-notification) – muru May 11 '20 at 11:42

1 Answers1

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The packages driving the need to reboot can be listed by running this command

cat /var/run/reboot-required.pkgs

Organic Marble
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