Introduction

When managing packages on Ubuntu, you must keep your system up to date by updating the package lists on a regular basis. However, errors can occur during the update process, such as the dreaded “404 Not Found” Error. In this guide, In this post I will show you how to resolve 404 Not Found error while updating ubuntu using command line. we will look at the causes of this error and provide step-by-step instructions for resolving it effectively.

Understanding the Issue:

The “404 Not Found” error usually appears when the package manager is unable to locate or access a repository’s Release file. This file contains metadata about the packages available in the Repository and is required for the package manager to properly update the package lists. When the Release file is missing or inaccessible, the package manager stops the update, resulting in the 404 error.

Error:

I encountered this error while installing or updating packages in Ubuntu. I removed the problematic repository link from the source file and deleted the associated files from the directory. These changes resolved my problem. It appears that you are encountering errors related to repositories that are not accessible or do not contain the required Release file. The errors specifically indicate that the RabbitMQ and RabbitMQ Erlang repositories were not found or did not contain a Release file.

Get:1 https://deb.nodesource.com/node_18.x focal InRelease [4583 B]
Hit:2 https://packages.cloud.google.com/apt google-cloud-ops-agent-focal-all InRelease                                                                                                       
Hit:3 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-security InRelease                                                                                                                             
Hit:5 http://apt.postgresql.org/pub/repos/apt focal-pgdg InRelease                                                                                                                           
Ign:6 https://packages.erlang-solutions.com/ubuntu focal InRelease                                                     
Ign:7 https://dl.bintray.com/rabbitmq/debian focal InRelease                                                                    
Hit:8 https://packages.erlang-solutions.com/ubuntu focal Release                                                                
Hit:9 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal InRelease                                 
Ign:10 https://dl.bintray.com/rabbitmq-erlang/debian bionic InRelease
Get:12 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates InRelease [114 kB]
Ign:13 https://dl.bintray.com/rabbitmq/debian bionic InRelease                  
Hit:4 https://packagecloud.io/rabbitmq/rabbitmq-server/ubuntu focal InRelease   
Err:14 https://dl.bintray.com/rabbitmq/debian focal Release                     
  404  Not Found [IP: 3.95.117.170 443]
Err:15 https://dl.bintray.com/rabbitmq-erlang/debian bionic Release
  404  Not Found [IP: 3.95.117.170 443]
Err:16 https://dl.bintray.com/rabbitmq/debian bionic Release
  404  Not Found [IP: 3.95.117.170 443]
Reading package lists... Done
E: The repository 'https://dl.bintray.com/rabbitmq/debian focal Release' does not have a Release file.
N: Updating from such a repository can't be done securely, and is therefore disabled by default.
N: See apt-secure(8) manpage for repository creation and user configuration details.
E: The repository 'https://dl.bintray.com/rabbitmq-erlang/debian bionic Release' does not have a Release file.
N: Updating from such a repository can't be done securely, and is therefore disabled by default.
N: See apt-secure(8) manpage for repository creation and user configuration details.
E: The repository 'https://dl.bintray.com/rabbitmq/debian bionic Release' does not have a Release file.
N: Updating from such a repository can't be done securely, and is therefore disabled by default.
N: See apt-secure(8) manpage for repository creation and user configuration details.

To fix these errors, try the steps below.

Remove or comment out any problematic repositories from your package source list. You can accomplish this by modifying the /etc/apt/sources.list file or files in the /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ directory.

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

Locate the lines in the file that reference the repositories causing the errors (e.g., https://dl.bintray.com/rabbitmq/debian and https://dl.bintray.com/rabbitmq-erlang/debian) and either remove them or comment them out by adding a # at the beginning of each line.

If you are still getting the same error, delete these files from the apt sources directory.

rm rabbitmq_rabbitmq-server.list 
rm bintray.rabbitmq.list

Following these steps should allow you to update your package lists without encountering 404 Not Found errors related to the RabbitMQ repositories.

Conclusion

It can be frustrating to receive 404 Not Found errors during package updates on Ubuntu 22.04, but understanding the underlying causes and following the steps outlined in this guide can help resolve the issue effectively. You can ensure smooth and error-free package management on your Ubuntu system by identifying problematic repositories, refreshing package lists, and searching for alternative sources as needed.

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