Detailed explanation of dpkg command in Ubuntu system
Dpkg, package manager for Debian, is a major package management tool in Debian and Debian based systems. It can be used to install, build, uninstall and manage deb format software packages. The main and more friendly front end of dpkg is aptitude. Dpkg itself is completely controlled by command line parameters, which contain only one action and zero or more options. Action parameters tell dpkg what to do, and options control the behavior of the action in some way.
apt is a yum tool similar to red hat system, which can solve the dependency of deb package by itself. apt Command Reference Linux apt command
Install software
dpkg command to install software:
$ dpkg -i <package_file_path>
Therefore, dpkg is mainly used to install deb packages that have been downloaded locally, or to manage the installed software. Apt get can download and install software directly from the remote software warehouse.
dpkg command details
dpkg -i manually installs a software package (this command does not solve the dependency problem before the software package). If you encounter a software dependency problem when installing a software package, you can use apt get - f install to solve the dependency problem
dpkg --info "software package name" -- lists the package name after unpacking the software package
dpkg -l -- lists all the packages in the current system. It can be used with the parameter less and viewed on a split screen. (similar to rpm -qa)
dpkg -l <package_ Name > query package information
dpkg -l |grep -i "package name" -- view the package associated with "package name" in the system
dpkg -s queries the details of installed packages
dpkg -L query the location of the installed software package in the system. (similar to rpm -ql)
dpkg -S queries which software package a file in the system belongs to. (similar to rpm -qf)
dpkg -I queries the details of deb package. After a software package is downloaded locally, see whether it is installed or not
dpkg -r uninstalls the package. It is not completely uninstalled. Its configuration file still exists
dpkg -P uninstall all (but it still can't solve the problem of software package dependency)
dpkg -reconfigure
In terms of package query, dpkg query has the same function as dpkg. For details, please refer to: Dpkg query command
Example
Software installation
$ sudo dpkg -i fping_4.2-1_amd64.deb (Reading database ... The system currently has 252654 files and directories installed.) Ready to unzip fping_4.2-1_amd64.deb ... Decompressing fping (4.2-1) And cover (4.2-1) ... Setting fping (4.2-1) ... Processing for man-db (2.8.5-2) Trigger for ...
Query vim package information
$ dpkg -l vim Desired=Unknown/Install/Remove/Purge/Hold | Status=Not/Inst/Conf-files/Unpacked/halF-conf/Half-inst/trig-aWait/Trig-pend |/ Err?=(none)/Reinst-required (Status,Err: uppercase=bad) ||/ Name Version Architecture Description +++-==============-===================-============-================================= ii vim 2:8.1.2269-1ubuntu5 amd64 Vi IMproved - enhanced vi editor
List installed software
You can use the dpkg -l command to list the installed software and the status of software packages in the current system. For example:
$ dpkg -l Expected state=unknown(u)/install(i)/delete(r)/eliminate(p)/keep(h) | state=Not installed(n)/already installed(i)/Configuration only(c)/Extract only(U)/Configuration failed(F)/Incomplete installation(H)/Trigger wait(W)/Trigger pending(T) |/ error?=(nothing)/Must be reinstalled(R) (Status, error: uppercase=fault) ||/ name edition Architecture describe +++-=============================================-===================================-============-=============================================================================== ii 2048-qt 0.1.6-1build1 amd64 mathematics based puzzle game ii accountsservice 0.6.50-0ubuntu1 amd64 query and manipulate user account information ii acl 2.2.53-4 amd64 access control list - utilities ii acpi-support 0.143 amd64 scripts for handling many ACPI events ii acpid 1:2.0.31-1ubuntu2 amd64 Advanced Configuration and Power Interface event daemon ii adduser 3.118ubuntu1 all add and remove users and groups ii adwaita-icon-theme 3.32.0-1ubuntu1 all default icon theme of GNOME (small subset) ii alsa-base 1.0.25+dfsg-0ubuntu5 all ALSA driver configuration files ii alsa-utils 1.1.8-1ubuntu1 amd64 Utilities for configuring and using ALSA ...
The first column ii in the output of each line of the command indicates the installation and configuration status of the software package, and its format is as follows:
Expected state | current state | error
The expected states are as follows:
- u: That is, unknown, the package is not installed and the user has not requested installation
- i: That is, install. The user requests to install the software package
- r: That is, remove. The user requests to uninstall the package
- p: That is, purge, the user requests to uninstall the package and clean up the configuration file
- h: That is, hold, the user requests to keep the current package version
The current status is as follows:
- n: That is, not installed, the package is not installed
- i: That is, installed, the software package has been installed and configured
- c: That is, config files. The package has been uninstalled, but its configuration file has not been cleaned up
- u: That is, unpacked. The package has been decompressed but not configured
- f: That is, half configured. An error occurred while configuring the package
- w: That is, triggers waited
- t: That is, triggers pending
There are several error states:
- h: The package is forced to remain
- r: That is, reinstall required. You need to uninstall and reinstall
- x: The package is corrupted
Therefore, ii indicates that the software needs to be installed and has been installed without errors;
iu indicates that the software has been installed but not configured correctly;
rc indicates that the software has been deleted, but the configuration file has not been cleaned up.
To view packages in rc state:
$ dpkg -l | grep ^rc rc libmhash2:amd64 0.9.9.9-7 amd64 Library for cryptographic hashing and message authentication rc linux-image-5.0.0-13-generic 5.0.0-13.14 amd64 Signed kernel image generic rc linux-modules-5.0.0-13-generic 5.0.0-13.14 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 5.0.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP rc linux-modules-extra-5.0.0-13-generic 5.0.0-13.14 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 5.0.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP rc zabbix-proxy-mysql 1:4.0.4+dfsg-1 amd64 network monitoring solution - proxy (using MySQL)
In addition, you can use dpkg - L < package_ name_ The pattern > command filters out packages whose names contain the specified pattern.
$ dpkg -l "nginx*" Expected state=unknown(u)/install(i)/delete(r)/eliminate(p)/keep(h) | state=Not installed(n)/already installed(i)/Configuration only(c)/Extract only(U)/Configuration failed(F)/Incomplete installation(H)/Trigger wait(W)/Trigger pending(T) |/ error?=(nothing)/Must be reinstalled(R) (Status, error: uppercase=fault) ||/ name edition Architecture describe +++-==============-===============-============-========================================================= ii nginx 1.15.9-0ubuntu1 all small, powerful, scalable web/proxy server ii nginx-common 1.15.9-0ubuntu1 all small, powerful, scalable web/proxy server - common files ii nginx-core 1.15.9-0ubuntu1 amd64 nginx web/proxy server (standard version) un nginx-doc <nothing> <nothing> (No description) un nginx-extras <nothing> <nothing> (No description) un nginx-full <nothing> <nothing> (No description) un nginx-light <nothing> <nothing> (No description)
Uninstall software
The - r option of the dpkg command can be used to uninstall the installed software package. At this time, you only need to specify the name of the software.
$ sudo dpkg -r vim (Reading database ... The system currently has 252653 files and directories installed.) Uninstalling vim (2:8.1.0320-1ubuntu3.1) ... update-alternatives: use /usr/bin/vim.tiny To provide in automatic mode /usr/bin/vi (vi) update-alternatives: use /usr/bin/vim.tiny To provide in automatic mode /usr/bin/view (view) update-alternatives: use /usr/bin/vim.tiny To provide in automatic mode /usr/bin/ex (ex) update-alternatives: use /usr/bin/vim.tiny To provide in automatic mode /usr/bin/rview (rview)
It should be noted that the - r option will only remove the specified package without affecting its configuration file. You can use the - P option to clean up the configuration file while deleting the package.
sudo dpkg -P <package>
Other package management operations
View the contents of the package
dpkg -c <package_file_path>
$ dpkg -c fping_4.2-1_amd64.deb drwxr-xr-x root/root 0 2019-02-20 06:27 ./ drwxr-xr-x root/root 0 2019-02-20 06:27 ./usr/ drwxr-xr-x root/root 0 2019-02-20 06:27 ./usr/bin/ -rwxr-xr-x root/root 52128 2019-02-20 06:27 ./usr/bin/fping drwxr-xr-x root/root 0 2019-02-20 06:27 ./usr/share/ drwxr-xr-x root/root 0 2019-02-20 06:27 ./usr/share/bug/ -rwxr-xr-x root/root 118 2017-06-19 05:19 ./usr/share/bug/fping drwxr-xr-x root/root 0 2019-02-20 06:27 ./usr/share/doc/ drwxr-xr-x root/root 0 2019-02-20 06:27 ./usr/share/doc/fping/ -rw-r--r-- root/root 495 2017-09-06 08:00 ./usr/share/doc/fping/NEWS.Debian.gz -rw-r--r-- root/root 1615 2019-02-20 06:27 ./usr/share/doc/fping/changelog.Debian.gz -rw-r--r-- root/root 3445 2017-12-07 04:09 ./usr/share/doc/fping/copyright drwxr-xr-x root/root 0 2019-02-20 06:27 ./usr/share/lintian/ drwxr-xr-x root/root 0 2019-02-20 06:27 ./usr/share/lintian/overrides/ -rw-r--r-- root/root 41 2017-06-19 05:19 ./usr/share/lintian/overrides/fping drwxr-xr-x root/root 0 2019-02-20 06:27 ./usr/share/man/ drwxr-xr-x root/root 0 2019-02-20 06:27 ./usr/share/man/man8/ -rw-r--r-- root/root 5733 2019-02-20 06:27 ./usr/share/man/man8/fping.8.gz -rw-r--r-- root/root 1512 2019-02-20 06:27 ./usr/share/man/man8/fping6.8.gz lrwxrwxrwx root/root 0 2019-02-20 06:27 ./usr/bin/fping6 -> fping
View the details of the package (installed)
dpkg -s <package>` or `dpkg --status <package>
$ dpkg -s fping Package: fping Status: deinstall ok installed Priority: optional Section: net Installed-Size: 87 Maintainer: Ubuntu Developers <ubuntu-devel-discuss@lists.ubuntu.com> Architecture: amd64 Version: 4.2-1 Depends: libcap2-bin, netbase, libc6 (>= 2.15) Enhances: netdata (>= 1.5) Description: sends ICMP ECHO_REQUEST packets to network hosts fping is a ping like program which uses the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) echo request to determine if a target host is responding. fping differs from ping in that you can specify any number of targets on the command line, or specify a file containing the lists of targets to ping. Instead of sending to one target until it times out or replies, fping will send out a ping packet and move on to the next target in a round-robin fashion. Original-Maintainer: Axel Beckert <abe@debian.org> Homepage: https://www.fping.org/
View the installation location of the package
dpkg -L <package>` or `dpkg --list-files <package>
$ dpkg -L fping /. /usr /usr/bin /usr/bin/fping /usr/share /usr/share/bug /usr/share/bug/fping /usr/share/doc /usr/share/doc/fping /usr/share/doc/fping/NEWS.Debian.gz /usr/share/doc/fping/changelog.Debian.gz /usr/share/doc/fping/copyright /usr/share/lintian /usr/share/lintian/overrides /usr/share/lintian/overrides/fping /usr/share/man /usr/share/man/man8 /usr/share/man/man8/fping.8.gz /usr/share/man/man8/fping6.8.gz /usr/bin/fping6
Filter out the package containing the specified file (pattern)
dpkg -S <filename_pattern>` or `dpkg --search <filename_pattern>
$ dpkg -S sites-available apache2: /etc/apache2/sites-available/default-ssl.conf apache2: /etc/apache2/sites-available/000-default.conf nginx-common: /etc/nginx/sites-available nginx-common: /etc/nginx/sites-available/default apache2: /etc/apache2/sites-available
dpkg parameter
root@Ubuntu20.04:~# dpkg --help
Usage: dpkg [<option> ...] <command>
Commands:
-i|--install <.deb file name>... | -R|--recursive <directory>...
--unpack <.deb file name>... | -R|--recursive <directory>...
-A|--record-avail <.deb file name>... | -R|--recursive <directory>...
--configure <package>... | -a|--pending
--triggers-only <package>... | -a|--pending
-r|--remove <package>... | -a|--pending
-P|--purge <package>... | -a|--pending
-V|--verify [<package>...] Verify the integrity of package(s).
--get-selections [<pattern>...] Get list of selections to stdout.
--set-selections Set package selections from stdin.
--clear-selections Deselect every non-essential package.
--update-avail [<Packages-file>] Replace available packages info.
--merge-avail [<Packages-file>] Merge with info from file.
--clear-avail Erase existing available info.
--forget-old-unavail Forget uninstalled unavailable pkgs.
-s|--status [<package>...] Display package status details.
-p|--print-avail [<package>...] Display available version details.
-L|--listfiles <package>... List files 'owned' by package(s).
-l|--list [<pattern>...] List packages concisely.
-S|--search <pattern>... Find package(s) owning file(s).
-C|--audit [<package>...] Check for broken package(s).
--yet-to-unpack Print packages selected for installation.
--predep-package Print pre-dependencies to unpack.
--add-architecture <arch> Add <arch> to the list of architectures.
--remove-architecture <arch> Remove <arch> from the list of architectures.
--print-architecture Print dpkg architecture.
--print-foreign-architectures Print allowed foreign architectures.
--assert-<feature> Assert support for the specified feature.
--validate-<thing> <string> Validate a <thing>'s <string>.
--compare-versions <a> <op> <b> Compare version numbers - see below.
--force-help Show help on forcing.
-Dh|--debug=help Show help on debugging.
-?, --help Show this help message.
--version Show the version.
Assertable features: support-predepends, working-epoch, long-filenames,
multi-conrep, multi-arch, versioned-provides.
Validatable things: pkgname, archname, trigname, version.
Use dpkg with -b, --build, -c, --contents, -e, --control, -I, --info,
-f, --field, -x, --extract, -X, --vextract, --ctrl-tarfile, --fsys-tarfile
on archives (type dpkg-deb --help).
Options:
--admindir=<directory> Use <directory> instead of /var/lib/dpkg.
--root=<directory> Install on a different root directory.
--instdir=<directory> Change installation dir without changing admin dir.
--path-exclude=<pattern> Do not install paths which match a shell pattern.
--path-include=<pattern> Re-include a pattern after a previous exclusion.
-O|--selected-only Skip packages not selected for install/upgrade.
-E|--skip-same-version Skip packages whose same version is installed.
-G|--refuse-downgrade Skip packages with earlier version than installed.
-B|--auto-deconfigure Install even if it would break some other package.
--[no-]triggers Skip or force consequential trigger processing.
--verify-format=<format> Verify output format (supported: 'rpm').
--no-debsig Do not try to verify package signatures.
--no-act|--dry-run|--simulate
Just say what we would do - don't do it.
-D|--debug=<octal> Enable debugging (see -Dhelp or --debug=help).
--status-fd <n> Send status change updates to file descriptor <n>.
--status-logger=<command> Send status change updates to <command>'s stdin.
--log=<filename> Log status changes and actions to <filename>.
--ignore-depends=<package>,...
Ignore dependencies involving <package>.
--force-... Override problems (see --force-help).
--no-force-...|--refuse-...
Stop when problems encountered.
--abort-after <n> Abort after encountering <n> errors.
Comparison operators for --compare-versions are:
lt le eq ne ge gt (treat empty version as earlier than any version);
lt-nl le-nl ge-nl gt-nl (treat empty version as later than any version);
< << <= = >= >> > (only for compatibility with control file syntax).
Use 'apt' or 'aptitude' for user-friendly package management.
reference material
15 Practical Examples of "dpkg commands" for Debian Based Distros
The of Linux software installation management -- dpkg and apt - * detailed explanation
Original text: https://www.jianshu.com/p/2ec0f4b945a2