Debian Software Package Management(dpkg) in Linux
Last Updated : 10 Jun, 2024
In Linux, there are a lot of different distributions and each of these distributions has a different package type. For example .rpm or Red hat Package Manager is used as the package in the Linux distribution. A package is the compressed version of the software.
In this article, we will go through the Debian package which is used by Ubuntu. D package or Debian Package is used to install and download the software in Debian based Linux systems. Debian files end with .deb extension.
What is dpkg in Linux?
`dpkg` (Debian Package) is a low-level package management system for Debian-based Linux distributions, such as Ubuntu. It handles the installation, configuration, upgrade, and removal of software packages. Unlike higher-level tools like `apt`, which resolve dependencies and download packages from repositories, `dpkg` directly manages individual `.deb` files, making it essential for managing local packages and performing detailed package operations.
Basic Syntax
dpkg [options] action
Here,
options - optional tags that modify the behavior of dpkg
action - specifies what dpkg should do
Common Actions of dpkg
The following are the common actions of dpkg:
Option | Behavior of option |
|---|
-i or --install | to install a package |
|---|
-r or --remove | to remove a package |
|---|
-p or --pure | to remove a package with long its dependencies. |
|---|
-s or --status | It shows the status of a package. |
|---|
Example
- The following command is used to install a page from .deb files:
sudo dpkg -i package_name.deb
dpkg commands in Linux with Examples
1. Installing a stand-alone package using the Debian package
- To install a package -i flag is used. To download a stand-alone package using the Debian package, this command is used:
sudo dpkg -i name_of_package.deb
Example: To download standalone package for the open-source text editor, atom
sudo dpkg -i atom-amd64.deb
2. Removing a package using the Debian package
- To remove a package -r flag is used
sudo dpkg -r name_of_package
Example: To remove the package for the text editor "atom"
sudo dpkg -r atom
Note: -P flag helps to remove everything including conf files.
dpkg -P [package-name]
dpkg -P googler_3.3.0-1_all.deb
3. Listing the debian packages
dpkg -l
- The above line would give the output similar to the one shown below:
- To find a particular package use the grep command:
dpkg -l | grep name_of_package.
- The output of this command would look similar to the one shown below:
4. List the dpkg commands available
- -help option lists all the available dpkg commands
dpkg –help
- Output of this command would look similar to the one shown below:
- The following are the a few more options of dpkg:
5. View the content of a particular package
- To view the content of the particular package -c flag is used
dpkg -c [name of the package]
dpkg -c flashplugin-nonfree_3.2_i386.deb
- Output of this command would look similar to the one shown below:
6. Print architecture of dpkg installs
- --print-architecture command prints the architecture of dpkg installs
dpkg --print-architecture
- Output could be amd64, i386, etc.
- For example, the output produced by the above code is as shown:
7. Unpack a package
- --unpack flag helps us unpack the package.
dpkg --unpack [package-name]
dpkg --unpack flashplugin-nonfree_3.2_i386.deb
- The output would look as shown below:
- The package can be later configured using --configure flag.
dpkg --configure [package-name]
dpkg --configure flashplugin-nonfree
8. Check if the package is installed or not
- To check if a particular package is installed or not -s flag is used.
dpkg -s [package-name]
dpkg -s git
- The output would look as shown below:
9. Reconfigure the installed package
- To reconfigure the already installed package dpkg-reconfigure command is used
dpkg-reconfigure [package-name]
Locate the installed package
- The location of the installed package can be found using -L flag.
dpkg -L [package-name]
dpkg -L git
- The output would look as shown below:
10. Check for any issue with the installed package
- --audit flag would be used to check for the issues with the package.
dpkg --audit
11. Erase information
- –clear-avail Erases available information about the current packages
dpkg –-clear-avail
12. Display dpkg version
- dpkg –version is used to display dpkg version information.
sudo dpkg --version
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