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<title>The Debian GNU/Linux FAQ - The Debian package management tools</title>

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<hr>

<h1>
The Debian GNU/Linux FAQ
 Chapter 8 - The Debian package management tools
</h1>

<hr>

<h2 id="s-pkgprogs">8.1 What programs does Debian provide for managing its packages?</h2>

There are multiple tools that are used to manage Debian packages, from graphic
or text-based interfaces to the low level tools used to install packages. All
the available tools rely on the lower level tools to properly work and are
presented here in decreasing complexity level.

It is important to understand that the higher level package management tools
such as <code>aptitude</code> or <code>synaptic</code> rely on <code>apt</code>
which, itself, relies on <code>dpkg</code> to manage the packages in the
system.

See <code><a
href="http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/debian-reference/ch02.en.html">Chapter
2. Debian package management</a></code> of the <code><a
href="http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/debian-reference/">Debian
reference</a></code> for more information about the Debian package management
utilities. This document is available in various languages and formats, see
<code><a href="http://www.debian.org/doc/user-manuals#quick-reference">the
Debian Reference entry in the DDP Users' Manuals overview</a></code>.

<hr>

This is the main package management program. <code>dpkg</code> can be invoked
with many options. Some common uses are:

<ul>
<li>

Find out all the options: <samp>dpkg --help</samp>.

</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>

Print out the control file (and other information) for a specified package:
<samp>dpkg --info foo_VVV-RRR.deb</samp>.

</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>

Install a package (including unpacking and configuring) onto the file system of
the hard disk: <samp>dpkg --install foo_VVV-RRR.deb</samp>.

</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>

Unpack (but do not configure) a Debian archive into the file system of the hard
disk: <samp>dpkg --unpack foo_VVV-RRR.deb</samp>. Note that this operation
does not necessarily leave the package in a usable state; some files
may need further customization to run properly. This command removes any
already-installed version of the program and runs the preinst (see <a
href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-maintscripts">What is a Debian preinst, postinst,
prerm, and postrm script?, Section 7.6</a>) script associated with the package.

</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>

Configure a package that already has been unpacked: <samp>dpkg --configure
foo</samp>. Among other things, this action runs the postinst (see <a
href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-maintscripts">What is a Debian preinst, postinst,
prerm, and postrm script?, Section 7.6</a>) script associated with the package.
It also updates the files listed in the <samp>conffiles</samp> for this
package. Notice that the 'configure' operation takes as its argument a package
name (e.g., foo), not the name of a Debian archive file (e.g.,
foo_VVV-RRR.deb).

</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>

Extract a single file named &quot;blurf&quot; (or a group of files named
&quot;blurf*&quot;) from a Debian archive: <samp>dpkg --fsys-tarfile
foo_VVV-RRR.deb | tar -xf - 'blurf*'</samp>.

</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>

Remove a package (but not its configuration files): <samp>dpkg --remove
foo</samp>.

</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>

Remove a package (including its configuration files): <samp>dpkg --purge
foo</samp>.

</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>

List the installation status of packages containing the string (or regular
expression) &quot;foo*&quot;: <samp>dpkg --list 'foo*'</samp>.

</li>
</ul>

<hr>

APT is the Advanced Package Tool, an advanced interface to the Debian
packaging system which provides the <code>apt-get</code> program. It provides
commandline tools for searching and managing packages, and for querying
information about them, as well as low-level access to all features of the
libapt-pkg library. For more information, see the User's Guide in
<samp>/usr/share/doc/apt-doc/guide.html/index.html</samp> (you will have to
install the <code>apt-doc</code> package).

Starting with Debian Jessie, some frequently used <code>apt-get</code> and
<code>apt-cache</code> commands have an equivalent via the new <code>apt</code>
binary. This means some popular commands like <code>apt-get update</code>,
<code>apt-get install</code>, <code>apt-get remove</code>, <code>apt-cache
search</code>, or <code>apt-cache show</code> now can also be called simply via
<code>apt</code>, say <code>apt update</code>, <code>apt install</code>,
<code>apt remove</code>, <code>apt search</code>, or <code>apt show</code>.
The following is an overview of the old and new commands:

<pre>
 apt-get update -&gt; apt update
 apt-get upgrade -&gt; apt upgrade
 apt-get dist-upgrade -&gt; apt full-upgrade
 apt-get install package -&gt; apt install package
 apt-get remove package -&gt; apt remove package
 apt-get autoremove -&gt; apt autoremove
 apt-cache search string -&gt; apt search string
 apt-cache policy package -&gt; apt list -a package
 apt-cache show package -&gt; apt show package
 apt-cache showpkg package -&gt; apt show -a package
</pre>

The <code>apt</code> tool merges functionality of apt-get and apt-cache and by
default has a fancier colored output format, making it more pleasant for
humans. For usage in scripts or advanced use cases, apt-get is still
preferable or needed.

<code>apt-get</code> provides a simple way to retrieve and install packages
from multiple sources using the command line. Unlike <code>dpkg</code>,
<code>apt-get</code> does not understand .deb files, it works with the packages
proper name and can only install .deb archives from a source specified in
<code>/etc/apt/sources.list</code>. <code>apt-get</code> will call
<code>dpkg</code> directly after downloading the .deb archives[<a
href="footnotes.en.html#f5" name="fr5">5</a>] from the configured sources.

Some common ways to use <code>apt-get</code> are:

<ul>
<li>

To update the list of packages known by your system, you can run:

<pre>
 apt update
</pre>

(you should execute this regularly to update your package lists)

</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>

To install the <var>foo</var> package and all its dependencies, run:

<pre>
 apt install foo
</pre>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>

To remove the foo package from your system, run:

<pre>
 apt remove foo
</pre>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>

To remove the foo package and its configuration files from your system, run:

<pre>
 apt purge foo
</pre>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>

To list all packages for which newer versions are available, run:

<pre>
 apt list --upgradable
</pre>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>

To upgrade all the packages on your system (without installing extra packages
or removing packages), run:

<pre>
 apt upgrade
</pre>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>

To upgrade all the packages on your system, and, if needed for a package
upgrade, installing extra packages or removing packages, run:

<pre>
 apt full-upgrade
</pre>

(The command <samp>upgrade</samp> keeps a package at its installed obsolete
version if upgrading would need an extra package to be installed, for a new
dependency to be satisfied. The <samp>full-upgrade</samp> command is less
conservative.)

</li>
</ul>

Note that you must be logged in as root to perform any commands that modify
packages.

Note that <code>apt-get</code> now also installs recommended packages as
default, and thanks to its robustness it's the preferred program for package
management from console to perform system installation and major system
upgrades.

The apt tool suite also includes the <code>apt-cache</code> tool to query the
package lists. You can use it to find packages providing specific
functionality through simple text or regular expression queries and through
queries of dependencies in the package management system. Some common ways to
use <code>apt-cache</code> are:

<ul>
<li>

To find packages whose description contain <var>word</var>:

<pre>
 apt search <var>word</var>
</pre>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>

To print the detailed information of a package:

<pre>
 apt show <var>package</var>
</pre>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>

To print the packages a given package depends on:

<pre>
 apt-cache depends <var>package</var>
</pre>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>

To print detailed information on the versions available for a package and the
packages that reverse-depends on it:

<pre>
 apt-cache showpkg <var>package</var>
</pre>
</li>
</ul>

For more information, install the <code>apt</code> package and read
<code>apt(8)</code>, <code>apt-get(8)</code>, <code>sources.list(5)</code> and
install the <code>apt-doc</code> package and read
<code>/usr/share/doc/apt-doc/guide.html/index.html</code>.

<hr>

<h3 id="s-aptitude">8.1.3 aptitude</h3>

<code>aptitude</code> is a package manager for Debian GNU/Linux systems that
provides a frontend to the apt package management infrastructure.
<code>aptitude</code> is a text-based interface using the curses library.
Actions may be performed from a visual interface or from the command-line.

<code>aptitude</code> can be used to perform management tasks in a fast and
easy way. It allows the user to view the list of packages and to perform
package management tasks such as installing, upgrading, and removing packages.

<code>aptitude</code> provides the functionality of <code>apt-get</code>, as
well as many additional features:

<ul>
<li>

<code>aptitude</code> offers easy access to all versions of a package.

</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>

<code>aptitude</code> makes it easy to keep track of obsolete software by
listing it under &quot;Obsolete and Locally Created Packages&quot;.

</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>

<code>aptitude</code> includes a fairly powerful system for searching
particular packages and limiting the package display. Users familiar with
<code>mutt</code> will pick up quickly, as <code>mutt</code> was the
inspiration for the expression syntax.

</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>

<code>aptitude</code> can be used to install the predefined tasks available.
For more information see <a href="#s-tasksel">tasksel, Section 8.1.5</a>.

</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>

<code>aptitude</code> in full screen mode has <code>su</code> functionality
embedded and can be run by a normal user. It will call <code>su</code> (and
ask for the root password, if any) when you really need administrative
privileges.

</li>
</ul>

You can use <code>aptitude</code> through a visual interface (simply run
<samp>aptitude</samp>) or directly from the command line. The command line
syntax used is very similar to the one used in <code>apt-get</code>. For
example, to install the <var>foo</var> package, you can run <samp>aptitude
install <var>foo</var></samp>.

Note that <code>aptitude</code> is the preferred program for daily package
management from the console.

For more information, read the manual page <code>aptitude(8)</code> and install
the <code>aptitude-doc</code> package.

<hr>

<h3 id="s-synaptic">8.1.4 synaptic</h3>

<code>synaptic</code> is a graphical package manager. It enables you to
install, upgrade and remove software packages in a user friendly way. Along
with most of the features offered by aptitude, it also has a feature for
editing the list of used repositories, and supports browsing all available
documentation related to a package. See the <code><a
href="http://www.nongnu.org/synaptic/">Synaptic Website</a></code> for more
information.

<hr>

<h3 id="s-tasksel">8.1.5 tasksel</h3>

When you want to perform a specific task it might be difficult to find the
appropiate suite of packages that fill your need. The Debian developers have
defined <samp>tasks</samp>, a task is a collection of several individual Debian
packages all related to a specific activity. Tasks can be installed through
the <code>tasksel</code> program or through <code>aptitude</code>.

Typically, the Debian installer will automatically install the task associated
with a standard system and a desktop environment. The specific desktop
environment installed will depend on the CD/DVD media used, most commonly it
will be the GNOME desktop (<samp>gnome-desktop</samp> task). Also, depending
on your selections throughout the installation process, tasks might be
automatically installed in your system. For example, if you selected a
language other than English, the task associated with it will be installed
automatically too and if the installer recognises you are installing on a
laptop system the <samp>laptop</samp> task will also be installed.

<hr>

<h3 id="s-dpkg-extra">8.1.6 Other package management tools</h3>

<hr>

This program manipulates Debian archive (<samp>.deb</samp>) files. Some common
uses are:

<ul>
<li>

Find out all the options: <samp>dpkg-deb --help</samp>.

</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>

Determine what files are contained in a Debian archive file: <samp>dpkg-deb
--contents foo_VVV-RRR.deb</samp>)

</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>

Extract the files contained in a named Debian archive into a user specified
directory: <samp>dpkg-deb --extract foo_VVV-RRR.deb tmp</samp> extracts each of
the files in <samp>foo_VVV-RRR.deb</samp> into the directory <samp>tmp/</samp>.
This is convenient for examining the contents of a package in a localized
directory, without installing the package into the root file system.

</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>

Extract the control information files from a package: <samp>dpkg-deb --control
foo_VVV-RRR.deb tmp</samp>.

</li>
</ul>

Note that any packages that were merely unpacked using <samp>dpkg-deb
--extract</samp> will be incorrectly installed, you should use <samp>dpkg
--install</samp> instead.

More information is given in the manual page <code>dpkg-deb(1)</code>.

<hr>

<h2 id="s-updaterunning">8.2 Debian claims to be able to update a running program; how is this accomplished?</h2>

The kernel (file system) in Debian GNU/Linux systems supports replacing files
even while they're being used.

We also provide a program called <code>start-stop-daemon</code> which is used
to start daemons at boot time or to stop daemons when the runlevel is changed
(e.g., from multi-user to single-user or to halt). The same program is used by
installation scripts when a new package containing a daemon is installed, to
stop running daemons, and restart them as necessary.

<hr>

<h2 id="s-whatpackages">8.3 How can I tell what packages are already installed on a Debian system?</h2>

To learn the status of all the packages installed on a Debian system, execute
the command

This prints out a one-line summary for each package, giving a 2-letter status
symbol (explained in the header), the package name, the version which is
installed, and a brief description.

To learn the status of packages whose names match any pattern beginning with
&quot;foo&quot;, run the command:

To get a more verbose report for a particular package, execute the command:

<pre>
 dpkg --status packagename
</pre>

<hr>

<h2 id="s-listfiles">8.4 How do I display the files of an installed package?</h2>

To list all the files provided by the installed package <samp>foo</samp>
execute the command

<pre>
 dpkg --listfiles foo
</pre>

Note that the files created by the installation scripts aren't displayed.

<hr>

<h2 id="s-filesearch">8.5 How can I find out what package produced a particular file?</h2>

To identify the package that produced the file named <samp>foo</samp> execute
either:

<ul>
<li>

<samp>dpkg --search foo</samp>

This searches for <samp>foo</samp> in installed packages. (This is (currently)
equivalent to searching all of the files having the file extension of
<samp>.list</samp> in the directory <samp>/var/lib/dpkg/info/</samp>, and
adjusting the output to print the names of all the packages containing it, and
diversions.)

A faster alternative to this is the <code>dlocate</code> tool.

<pre>
 dlocate -S foo
</pre>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>

<samp>zgrep foo Contents-ARCH.gz</samp>

This searches for files which contain the substring <samp>foo</samp> in their
full path names. The files <samp>Contents-ARCH.gz</samp> (where ARCH
represents the wanted architecture) reside in the major package directories
(main, non-free, contrib) at a Debian FTP site (i.e. under
<samp>/debian/dists/stretch</samp>). A <samp>Contents</samp> file refers only
to the packages in the subdirectory tree where it resides. Therefore, a user
might have to search more than one <samp>Contents</samp> files to find the
package containing the file <samp>foo</samp>.

This method has the advantage over <samp>dpkg --search</samp> in that it will
find files in packages that are not currently installed on your system.

</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>

<samp>apt-file search <var>foo</var></samp>

If you install the <code>apt-file</code> package, similar to the above, it
searches files which contain the substring or regular expression
<samp>foo</samp> in their full path names. The advantage over the example
above is that there is no need to retrieve the <samp>Contents-ARCH.gz</samp>
files as it will do this automatically for all the sources defined in
<code>/etc/apt/sources.list</code> when you run (as root) <samp>apt-file
update</samp>.

</li>
</ul>

<hr>

<h2 id="s-datapackages">8.6 Why is `foo-data' not removed when I uninstall `foo'? How do I make sure old unused library-packages get purged?</h2>

Some packages are split in program (`foo') and data (`foo-data') (or in `foo'
and `foo-doc'). This is true for many games, multimedia applications and
dictionaries in Debian and has been introduced since some users might want to
access the raw data without installing the program or because the program can
be run without the data itself, making `foo-data' optional.

Similar situations occur when dealing with libraries: generally these get
installed since packages containing applications depend on them. When the
application-package is purged, the library-package might stay on the system.
Or: when the application-package no longer depends upon e.g. libdb4.2, but
upon libdb4.3, the libdb4.2 package might stay when the application-package is
upgraded.

In these cases, `foo-data' doesn't depend on `foo', so when you remove the
`foo' package it will not get automatically removed by most package management
tools. The same holds true for the library packages. This is necessary to
avoid circular dependencies. However, if you use <code>apt-get</code> (see <a
href="#s-apt-get">APT, Section 8.1.2</a>) or <code>aptitude</code> (see <a
href="#s-aptitude">aptitude, Section 8.1.3</a>) as your package management
tool, they will track automatically installed packages and give the possibility
to remove them, when no packages making use of them remain in your system.

<hr>

The Debian GNU/Linux FAQ

<address>
version 9.0, 17 November 2018 
 
Authors are listed at <a href="ch-faqinfo.en.html#s-authors">Debian FAQ Authors</a> 
 
</address>
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