Try using apt-get --dry-run upgrade From reading man page (run man apt-get from a terminal).

UPDATE: use apt list --upgradable | awk '{print $1}' | cut -d / -f1 from https://unix.stackexchange.com/a/327152/23346. This will produce a list of package names that can be upgraded.

OLD: Try using apt-get --dry-run upgrade From reading man page (run man apt-get from a terminal).