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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0//EN">
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<title>The Debian GNU/Linux FAQ - The Debian package management tools</title>
<link href="index.en.html" rel="start">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html" rel="prev">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html" rel="next">
<link href="index.en.html#contents" rel="contents">
<link href="index.en.html#copyright" rel="copyright">
<link href="ch-basic_defs.en.html" rel="chapter" title="1 Definitions and overview">
<link href="ch-getting.en.html" rel="chapter" title="2 Getting and installing Debian GNU/Linux">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html" rel="chapter" title="3 Choosing a Debian distribution">
<link href="ch-compat.en.html" rel="chapter" title="4 Compatibility issues">
<link href="ch-software.en.html" rel="chapter" title="5 Software available in the Debian system">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html" rel="chapter" title="6 The Debian FTP archives">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html" rel="chapter" title="7 Basics of the Debian package management system">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html" rel="chapter" title="8 The Debian package management tools">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html" rel="chapter" title="9 Keeping your Debian system up-to-date">
<link href="ch-kernel.en.html" rel="chapter" title="10 Debian and the kernel">
<link href="ch-customizing.en.html" rel="chapter" title="11 Customizing your installation of Debian GNU/Linux">
<link href="ch-support.en.html" rel="chapter" title="12 Getting support for Debian GNU/Linux">
<link href="ch-contributing.en.html" rel="chapter" title="13 Contributing to the Debian Project">
<link href="ch-redistrib.en.html" rel="chapter" title="14 Redistributing Debian GNU/Linux in a commercial product">
<link href="ch-nexttime.en.html" rel="chapter" title="15 Changes expected in the next major release of Debian">
<link href="ch-faqinfo.en.html" rel="chapter" title="16 General information about the FAQ">
<link href="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-whatisfaq" rel="section" title="1.1 What is this FAQ?">
<link href="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-whatisdebian" rel="section" title="1.2 What is Debian GNU/Linux?">
<link href="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-linux" rel="section" title="1.3 OK, now I know what Debian is... what is Linux?!">
<link href="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-non-linux" rel="section" title="1.4 Does Debian just do GNU/Linux?">
<link href="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-difference" rel="section" title="1.5 What is the difference between Debian GNU/Linux and other Linux distributions? Why should I choose Debian over some other distribution?">
<link href="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-gnu" rel="section" title="1.6 How does the Debian project fit in or compare with the Free Software Foundation's GNU project?">
<link href="ch-basic_defs.en.html#s-pronunciation" rel="section" title="1.7 How does one pronounce Debian and what does this word mean?">
<link href="ch-getting.en.html#s-version" rel="section" title="2.1 What is the latest version of Debian?">
<link href="ch-getting.en.html#s-updatestable" rel="section" title="2.2 Are there package upgrades in `stable'?">
<link href="ch-getting.en.html#s-boot-floppies" rel="section" title="2.3 Where/how can I get the Debian installation disks?">
<link href="ch-getting.en.html#s-cdrom" rel="section" title="2.4 How do I install the Debian from CD-ROMs?">
<link href="ch-getting.en.html#s-cdimage-symlinks" rel="section" title="2.5 Why does the official stable released CD-ROM contain symlinks for `frozen' and `unstable'? I thought this CD contains just `stable'!">
<link href="ch-getting.en.html#s-remoteinstall" rel="section" title="2.6 Can I get and install Debian directly from a remote Internet site?">
<link href="ch-getting.en.html#s-alternativebootinstaller" rel="section" title="2.7 Are there any alternative strategies for booting the system installer?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1" rel="section" title="3.1 Which Debian distribution (stable/testing/unstable) is better for me?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.2" rel="section" title="3.2 But what about Knoppix, Linex, Ubuntu, and others?">
<link href="ch-compat.en.html#s-arches" rel="section" title="4.1 On what hardware architectures/systems does Debian GNU/Linux run?">
<link href="ch-compat.en.html#s-otherdistribs" rel="section" title="4.2 How compatible is Debian with other distributions of Linux?">
<link href="ch-compat.en.html#s-otherunices" rel="section" title="4.3 How source code compatible is Debian with other Unix systems?">
<link href="ch-compat.en.html#s-otherpackages" rel="section" title="4.4 Can I use Debian packages (".deb" files) on my Red Hat/Slackware/... Linux system? Can I use Red Hat packages (".rpm" files) on my Debian GNU/Linux system?">
<link href="ch-compat.en.html#s-non-debian-programs" rel="section" title="4.5 How should I install a non-Debian program?">
<link href="ch-compat.en.html#s-termcap" rel="section" title="4.6 Why can't I compile programs that require libtermcap?">
<link href="ch-compat.en.html#s-accelx" rel="section" title="4.7 Why can't I install AccelX?">
<link href="ch-compat.en.html#s-motifnls" rel="section" title="4.8 Why do my old XFree 2.1 Motif applications crash?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-apps" rel="section" title="5.1 What types of applications and development software are available for Debian GNU/Linux?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-softwareauthors" rel="section" title="5.2 Who wrote all that software?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-pkglist" rel="section" title="5.3 How can I get a current list of programs that have been packaged for Debian?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-buildenv" rel="section" title="5.4 How can I install a developer's environment to build packages?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-missing" rel="section" title="5.5 What is missing from Debian GNU/Linux?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-no-devs" rel="section" title="5.6 Why do I get "ld: cannot find -lfoo" messages when compiling programs? Why aren't there any libfoo.so files in Debian library packages?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-java" rel="section" title="5.7 (How) Does Debian support Java?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-isitdebian" rel="section" title="5.8 How can I check that I am using a Debian system, and what version is it?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-nonenglish" rel="section" title="5.9 How does Debian support non-English languages?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-pine" rel="section" title="5.10 Where is pine?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-qmail" rel="section" title="5.11 Where is qmail/ezmlm/djbdns?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-flash" rel="section" title="5.12 Where is a player for Flash (SWF)?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-googleearth" rel="section" title="5.13 Where is Google Earth?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-voip" rel="section" title="5.14 Where is VoIP software?">
<link href="ch-software.en.html#s-nonfreewireless" rel="section" title="5.15 I have a wireless network card which doesn't work with Linux. What should I do?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-dists" rel="section" title="6.1 How many Debian distributions are there?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-codenames" rel="section" title="6.2 What are all those names like etch, lenny, etc.?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-sid" rel="section" title="6.3 What about "sid"?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-stable" rel="section" title="6.4 What does the stable directory contain?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-testing" rel="section" title="6.5 What does the testing distribution contain?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-unstable" rel="section" title="6.6 What does the unstable distribution contain?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-dirtree" rel="section" title="6.7 What are all those directories at the Debian FTP archives?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-archsections" rel="section" title="6.8 What are all those directories inside <samp>dists/stable/main</samp>?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-source" rel="section" title="6.9 Where is the source code?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-pools" rel="section" title="6.10 What's in the <samp>pool</samp> directory?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-incoming" rel="section" title="6.11 What is "incoming"?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-ownrepository" rel="section" title="6.12 How do I set up my own apt-able repository?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-package" rel="section" title="7.1 What is a Debian package?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-deb-format" rel="section" title="7.2 What is the format of a Debian binary package?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-pkgname" rel="section" title="7.3 Why are Debian package file names so long?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-controlfile" rel="section" title="7.4 What is a Debian control file?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-conffile" rel="section" title="7.5 What is a Debian conffile?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-maintscripts" rel="section" title="7.6 What is a Debian preinst, postinst, prerm, and postrm script?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-priority" rel="section" title="7.7 What is an <em>Essential</em>, <em>Required</em>, <em>Important</em>, <em>Standard</em>, <em>Optional</em>, or <em>Extra</em> package?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-virtual" rel="section" title="7.8 What is a Virtual Package?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-depends" rel="section" title="7.9 What is meant by saying that a package <em>Depends</em>, <em>Recommends</em>, <em>Suggests</em>, <em>Conflicts</em>, <em>Replaces</em> or <em>Provides</em> another package?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-pre-depends" rel="section" title="7.10 What is meant by Pre-Depends?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-pkgstatus" rel="section" title="7.11 What is meant by <em>unknown</em>, <em>install</em>, <em>remove</em>, <em>purge</em> and <em>hold</em> in the package status?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-puttingonhold" rel="section" title="7.12 How do I put a package on hold?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-sourcepkgs" rel="section" title="7.13 How do I install a source package?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-sourcebuild" rel="section" title="7.14 How do I build binary packages from a source package?">
<link href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-creatingdebs" rel="section" title="7.15 How do I create Debian packages myself?">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-pkgprogs" rel="section" title="8.1 What programs does Debian provide for managing its packages?">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-updaterunning" rel="section" title="8.2 Debian claims to be able to update a running program; how is this accomplished?">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-whatpackages" rel="section" title="8.3 How can I tell what packages are already installed on a Debian system?">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-listfiles" rel="section" title="8.4 How to display the files of a package installed?">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-filesearch" rel="section" title="8.5 How can I find out what package produced a particular file?">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-datapackages" rel="section" title="8.6 Why doesn't get `foo-data' removed when I uninstall `foo'? How do I make sure old unused library-packages get purged?">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-howtocurrent" rel="section" title="9.1 How can I keep my Debian system current?">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-upgradesingle" rel="section" title="9.2 Must I go into single user mode in order to upgrade a package?">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-savedebs" rel="section" title="9.3 Do I have to keep all those .deb archive files on my disk?">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-keepingalog" rel="section" title="9.4 How can I keep a log of the packages I added to the system? I'd like to know when which package upgrades and removals have occured!">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-autoupdate" rel="section" title="9.5 Can I automatically update the system?">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-aptproxy" rel="section" title="9.6 I have several machines how can I download the updates only one time?">
<link href="ch-kernel.en.html#s-non-debian-kernel" rel="section" title="10.1 Can I install and compile a kernel without some Debian-specific tweaking?">
<link href="ch-kernel.en.html#s-customkernel" rel="section" title="10.2 What tools does Debian provide to build custom kernels?">
<link href="ch-kernel.en.html#s-custombootdisk" rel="section" title="10.3 How can I make a custom boot floppy?">
<link href="ch-kernel.en.html#s-modules" rel="section" title="10.4 What special provisions does Debian provide to deal with modules?">
<link href="ch-kernel.en.html#s-removeoldkernel" rel="section" title="10.5 Can I safely de-install an old kernel package, and if so, how?">
<link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-papersize" rel="section" title="11.1 How can I ensure that all programs use the same paper size?">
<link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-hardwareaccess" rel="section" title="11.2 How can I provide access to hardware peripherals, without compromising security?">
<link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-consolefont" rel="section" title="11.3 How do I load a console font on startup the Debian way?">
<link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-appdefaults" rel="section" title="11.4 How can I configure an X11 program's application defaults?">
<link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-booting" rel="section" title="11.5 Every distribution seems to have a different boot-up method. Tell me about Debian's.">
<link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-custombootscripts" rel="section" title="11.6 It looks as if Debian does not use <samp>rc.local</samp> to customize the boot process; what facilities are provided?">
<link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-interconffiles" rel="section" title="11.7 How does the package management system deal with packages that contain configuration files for other packages?">
<link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-divert" rel="section" title="11.8 How do I override a file installed by a package, so that a different version can be used instead?">
<link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-localpackages" rel="section" title="11.9 How can I have my locally-built package included in the list of available packages that the package management system knows about?">
<link href="ch-customizing.en.html#s-diverse" rel="section" title="11.10 Some users like mawk, others like gawk; some like vim, others like elvis; some like trn, others like tin; how does Debian support diversity?">
<link href="ch-support.en.html#s-debiandocs" rel="section" title="12.1 What other documentation exists on and for a Debian system?">
<link href="ch-support.en.html#s-onlineresources" rel="section" title="12.2 Are there any on-line resources for discussing Debian?">
<link href="ch-support.en.html#s-searchtools" rel="section" title="12.3 Is there a quick way to search for information on Debian GNU/Linux?">
<link href="ch-support.en.html#s-buglogs" rel="section" title="12.4 Are there logs of known bugs?">
<link href="ch-support.en.html#s-bugreport" rel="section" title="12.5 How do I report a bug in Debian?">
<link href="ch-contributing.en.html#s-contrib" rel="section" title="13.1 How can I become a Debian software developer?">
<link href="ch-contributing.en.html#s-contribresources" rel="section" title="13.2 How can I contribute resources to the Debian project?">
<link href="ch-contributing.en.html#s-supportingorganizations" rel="section" title="13.3 How can I contribute financially to the Debian project?">
<link href="ch-redistrib.en.html#s-sellcds" rel="section" title="14.1 Can I make and sell Debian CDs?">
<link href="ch-redistrib.en.html#s-packagednonfree" rel="section" title="14.2 Can Debian be packaged with non-free software?">
<link href="ch-redistrib.en.html#s-childistro" rel="section" title="14.3 I am making a special Linux distribution for a "vertical market". Can I use Debian GNU/Linux for the guts of a Linux system and add my own applications on top of it?">
<link href="ch-redistrib.en.html#s-commercialdebs" rel="section" title="14.4 Can I put my commercial program in a Debian "package" so that it installs effortlessly on any Debian system?">
<link href="ch-nexttime.en.html#s-i18n" rel="section" title="15.1 Extended support for non-English users">
<link href="ch-nexttime.en.html#s-dependencybasedboot" rel="section" title="15.2 Faster booting: Dependency based boot sequence">
<link href="ch-nexttime.en.html#s-di" rel="section" title="15.3 Improvements in the Debian Installer">
<link href="ch-nexttime.en.html#s-morearches" rel="section" title="15.4 More architectures">
<link href="ch-nexttime.en.html#s-morekernels" rel="section" title="15.5 More kernels">
<link href="ch-faqinfo.en.html#s-authors" rel="section" title="16.1 Authors">
<link href="ch-faqinfo.en.html#s-feedback" rel="section" title="16.2 Feedback">
<link href="ch-faqinfo.en.html#s-latest" rel="section" title="16.3 Availability">
<link href="ch-faqinfo.en.html#s-docformat" rel="section" title="16.4 Document format">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.1" rel="subsection" title="3.1.1 You asked me to install stable, but in stable so and so hardware is not detected/working. What should I do?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.2" rel="subsection" title="3.1.2 Will there be different different versions of packages in different distributions?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.3" rel="subsection" title="3.1.3 The stable distributions really contains outdated packages. Just look at Kde, Gnome, Xorg or even the kernel. They are very old. Why is it so?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.4" rel="subsection" title="3.1.4 If I were to decide to change to another distribution, Can I do that?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.5" rel="subsection" title="3.1.5 Could you tell me whether to install testing or unstable?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.6" rel="subsection" title="3.1.6 You are talking about testing being broken. What do you mean by that?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.7" rel="subsection" title="3.1.7 Why is it that testing could be broken for months? Wont the fixes introduced in unstable flow directly down into testing?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.8" rel="subsection" title="3.1.8 From an administrator's point of view, Which distribution requires more attention?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.9" rel="subsection" title="3.1.9 What happens when a new release is made?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.10" rel="subsection" title="3.1.10 I have a working Desktop/cluster with Debian installed. How do I know which distribution I am running?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.11" rel="subsection" title="3.1.11 I am currently tracking stable. Can I change to testing or unstable? If so, How?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.12" rel="subsection" title="3.1.12 I am currently tracking testing (lenny). What will happen when a release is made? Will I still be tracking testing or will my machine be running the new stable distribution?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.1.13" rel="subsection" title="3.1.13 I am still confused. What did you say I should install?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.2.1" rel="subsection" title="3.2.1 I know that Knoppix/Linex/Ubuntu/... is Debian-based. So after installing it on the hard disk, can I use 'apt' package tools on it?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.2.2" rel="subsection" title="3.2.2 I installed Knoppix/Linex/Ubuntu/... on my hard disk. Now I have a problem. What should I do?">
<link href="ch-choosing.en.html#s3.2.3" rel="subsection" title="3.2.3 I'm using Knoppix/Linex/Ubuntu/... and now I want to use Debian. How do I migrate?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-oldcodenames" rel="subsection" title="6.2.1 Which other codenames have been used in the past?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-sourceforcodenames" rel="subsection" title="6.2.2 Where do these codenames come from?">
<link href="ch-ftparchives.en.html#s-frozen" rel="subsection" title="6.5.1 What about "testing"? How is it `frozen'?">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-dpkg" rel="subsection" title="8.1.1 dpkg">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-apt-get" rel="subsection" title="8.1.2 APT">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-aptitude" rel="subsection" title="8.1.3 aptitude">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-synaptic" rel="subsection" title="8.1.4 synaptic">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-tasksel" rel="subsection" title="8.1.5 tasksel">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-dpkg-extra" rel="subsection" title="8.1.6 Other package management tools">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-dselect" rel="subsection" title="8.1.6.1 dselect">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-dpkg-deb" rel="subsection" title="8.1.6.2 dpkg-deb">
<link href="ch-pkgtools.en.html#s-dpkg-split" rel="subsection" title="8.1.6.3 dpkg-split">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-aptitude-upgrade" rel="subsection" title="9.1.1 aptitude">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-apt" rel="subsection" title="9.1.2 apt-get, dselect and apt-cdrom">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-update_aptitude" rel="subsection" title="9.1.3 aptitude">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-mirror" rel="subsection" title="9.1.4 mirror">
<link href="ch-uptodate.en.html#s-dpkg-mountable" rel="subsection" title="9.1.5 dpkg-mountable">
<link href="ch-support.en.html#s12.2.1" rel="subsection" title="12.2.1 Mailing lists">
<link href="ch-support.en.html#s-mailinglistconduct" rel="subsection" title="12.2.1.1 What is the code of conduct for the mailing lists?">
<link href="ch-support.en.html#s12.2.2" rel="subsection" title="12.2.2 Web forums">
<link href="ch-support.en.html#s12.2.3" rel="subsection" title="12.2.3 Wiki">
<link href="ch-support.en.html#s12.2.4" rel="subsection" title="12.2.4 Maintainers">
<link href="ch-support.en.html#s12.2.5" rel="subsection" title="12.2.5 Usenet newsgroups">
<link href="ch-contributing.en.html#s-SPI" rel="subsection" title="13.3.1 Software in the Public Interest">
<link href="ch-contributing.en.html#s-FSF" rel="subsection" title="13.3.2 Free Software Foundation">
</head>
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</p>
<hr>
<h1>
The Debian GNU/Linux FAQ
<br>Chapter 8 - The Debian package management tools
</h1>
<hr>
<h2><a name="s-pkgprogs"></a>8.1 What programs does Debian provide for managing its packages?</h2>
<p>
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.
</p>
<p>
It is important to understand that the higher level package management tools
such as <code>aptitude</code> or <code>dselect</code> rely on <code>apt</code>
which, itself, relies on <code>dpkg</code> to manage the packages in the
system.
</p>
<p>
See the <code><a href="http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/apt-howto/">APT
HOWTO</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#apt-howto">the APT HOWTO
entry on the DDP Users' Manuals overview</a></code>.
</p>
<hr>
<h3><a name="s-dpkg"></a>8.1.1 dpkg</h3>
<p>
This is the main package management program. <code>dpkg</code> can be invoked
with many options. Some common uses are:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
Find out all the options: <samp>dpkg --help</samp>.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
Print out the control file (and other information) for a specified package:
<samp>dpkg --info foo_VVV-RRR.deb</samp>
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
Install a package (including unpacking and configuring) onto the file system of
the hard disk: <samp>dpkg --install foo_VVV-RRR.deb</samp>.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
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 <em>not</em> 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.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
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), <em>not</em> the name of a Debian archive file (e.g.,
foo_VVV-RRR.deb).
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
Extract a single file named "blurf" (or a group of files named
"blurf*" from a Debian archive: <samp>dpkg --fsys-tarfile
foo_VVV-RRR.deb | tar -xf - blurf*</samp>
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
Remove a package (but not its configuration files): <samp>dpkg --remove
foo</samp>.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
Remove a package (including its configuration files): <samp>dpkg --purge
foo</samp>.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
List the installation status of packages containing the string (or regular
expression) "foo*": <samp>dpkg --list 'foo*'</samp>.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<hr>
<h3><a name="s-apt-get"></a>8.1.2 APT</h3>
<p>
APT is the <em>Advanced Package Tool</em> and provides the <code>apt-get</code>
program. <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.
</p>
<p>
Some common ways to use <code>apt-get</code> are:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
To update the list of package known by your system, you can run:
</p>
<pre>
apt-get update
</pre>
<p>
(you should execute this regularly to update your package lists)
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
To upgrade all the packages on your system (without installing extra packages
or removing packages), run:
</p>
<pre>
apt-get upgrade
</pre>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
To install the <var>foo</var> package and all its dependencies, run:
</p>
<pre>
apt-get install foo
</pre>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
To remove the foo package from your system, run:
</p>
<pre>
apt-get remove foo
</pre>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
To remove the foo package and its configuration files from your system, run:
</p>
<pre>
apt-get --purge remove foo
</pre>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
To upgrade all the packages on your system, and, if needed for a package
upgrade, installing extra packages or removing packages, run:
</p>
<pre>
apt-get dist-upgrade
</pre>
<p>
(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>dist-upgrade</samp> command is less
conservative.)
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>
Note that you must be logged in as root to perform any commands that modify the
system packages.
</p>
<p>
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:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
To find packages whose description contain <var>word</var>:
</p>
<pre>
apt-cache search <var>word</var>
</pre>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
To print the detailed information of a package:
</p>
<pre>
apt-cache show <var>package</var>
</pre>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
To print the packages a given package depends on:
</p>
<pre>
apt-cache depends <var>package</var>
</pre>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
To print detailed information of the versions available for a package and the
packages that reverse-depends on it:
</p>
<pre>
apt-cache showpkg <var>package</var>
</pre>
</li>
</ul>
<p>
For more information, install the <code>apt</code> package and read
<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>.
</p>
<hr>
<h3><a name="s-aptitude"></a>8.1.3 aptitude</h3>
<p>
<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, it
can be used to perform management tasks in a fast and easy way.
</p>
<p>
<code>aptitude</code> provides the functionality of <code>dselect</code> and
<code>apt-get</code>, as well as many additional features not found in either
program:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
<code>aptitude</code> offers access to all versions of a package.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
<code>aptitude</code> logs all its actions in <code>/var/log/aptitude</code>.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
<code>aptitude</code> makes it easy to keep track of obsolete software by
listing it under "Obsolete and Locally Created Packages".
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
<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.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
<code>aptitude</code> tracks which packages have been installed due to
dependencies and removes them automatically when the packages that needed them
are removed from the system.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
<code>aptitude</code> can automatically install <em>Recommended:</em>
packages[<a href="footnotes.en.html#f6" name="fr6">6</a>].
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
<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>.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
<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
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>
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>.
</p>
<p>
Note that <code>aptitude</code> is the preferred program for package management
from console both for package installations and package or system upgrades.
</p>
<p>
For more informations, read the manual page <code>aptitude(8)</code> and
install the <code>aptitude-doc</code> package.
</p>
<hr>
<h3><a name="s-synaptic"></a>8.1.4 synaptic</h3>
<p>
<code>synaptic</code> is a graphical package manager. It enables you to
install, upgrade and remove software packages in a user friendly way. Next to
all 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.
</p>
<hr>
<h3><a name="s-tasksel"></a>8.1.5 tasksel</h3>
<p>
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>.
</p>
<p>
The Debian installer will typically install automaticaly 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, the task associated with it will be installed automatically too and
if you are running in a laptop system the installer recognises the
<samp>laptop</samp> task will be installed too.
</p>
<hr>
<h3><a name="s-dpkg-extra"></a>8.1.6 Other package management tools</h3>
<hr>
<h4><a name="s-dselect"></a>8.1.6.1 dselect</h4>
<p>
This program is a menu-driven interface to the Debian package management
system. For woody and earlier releases, this was the main package management
interface for for first-time installations, but currently users are encouraged
to use <code>aptitude</code> instead. Some users might feel more comfortable
using <code>aptitude</code> and it is also recommended over
<code>dselect</code> for large-scale upgrades. For more information on
<code>aptitude</code> please see <a href="#s-aptitude">aptitude, Section
8.1.3</a>.
</p>
<p>
<code>dselect</code> can:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
guide the user as he/she chooses among packages to install or remove, ensuring
that no packages are installed that conflict with one another, and that all
packages required to make each package work properly are installed;
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
warn the user about inconsistencies or incompatibilities in their selections;
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
determine the order in which the packages must be installed;
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
automatically perform the installation or removal; and
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
guide the user through whatever configuration process are required for each
package.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>
<code>dselect</code> begins by presenting the user with a menu of 7 items, each
of which is a specific action. The user can select one of the actions by using
the arrow keys to move the highlighter bar, then pressing the
<em><enter></em> key to select the highlighted action.
</p>
<p>
What the user sees next depends on the action he selected. If he selects any
option but <samp>Access</samp> or <samp>Select</samp>, then
<code>dselect</code> will simply proceed to execute the specified action: e.g.,
if the user selected the action <samp>Remove</samp>, then dselect would proceed
to remove all of the files selected for removal when the user last chose the
<samp>Select</samp> action.
</p>
<p>
Both the <samp>Access</samp> menu item and the <samp>Select</samp> menu item
lead to additional menus. In both cases, the menus are presented as split
screens; the top screen gives a scrollable list of choices, while the bottom
screen gives a brief explanation ("info") for each choice.
</p>
<p>
Extensive on-line help is available, use the '?' key to get to a help screen
at any time.
</p>
<p>
The order in which the actions are presented in the first <code>dselect</code>
menu represents the order in which a user would normally choose
<code>dselect</code> to install packages. However, a user can pick any of the
main menu choices as often as needed (including not at all, depending on what
one wants to do).
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
Begin by choosing an <strong>Access Method</strong>. This is the method by
which the user plans on accessing Debian packages; e.g., some users have Debian
packages available on CD-ROM, while others plan to fetch them using anonymous
FTP. The selected "Access Method" is stored after
<code>dselect</code> exits, so if it does not change, then this option need not
be invoked again.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
Then <strong>Update</strong> the list of available packages. To do this,
<code>dselect</code> reads the file "Packages.gz" which should be
included in the top level of the directory where the Debian packages to be
installed are stored. (But if it is not there, <code>dselect</code> will offer
to make it for you.)
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
<strong>Select</strong> specific packages for installation on his system.
After choosing this menu item, the user is first presented with a full screen
of help (unless the `--expert' command line option was used). Once the user
exits the Help screen, he sees the split-screen menu for choosing packages to
install (or remove).
</p>
<p>
The top part of the screen is a relatively narrow window into the list of
Debian's 18200 packages; the bottom part of the screen contains description of
the package or group of packages which are highlighted above.
</p>
<p>
One can specify which packages should be operated on by highlighting a package
name or the label for a group of packages. After that, you can select
packages:
</p>
<dl>
<dt>to be installed:</dt>
<dd>
<p>
This is accomplished by pressing the `+' key.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>
<dl>
<dt>to be deleted:</dt>
<dd>
<p>
Packages can be deleted two ways:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
removed: this removes most of the files associated with the package, but
preserves the files listed as configuration files (see <a
href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html#s-conffile">What is a Debian conffile?, Section
7.5</a>) and package configuration information. This is done by pressing the
`-' key.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
purged: this removes <em>every</em> file that is part of the package. This is
done by pressing the `_' key.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>
Note that it's not possible to remove "All Packages". If you try
that, your system will instead be reduced to the initial installed base
packages.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>
<dl>
<dt>to be put "on hold"</dt>
<dd>
<p>
This is done by pressing `=', and it effectively tells <code>dselect</code> not
to upgrade a package even if the version currently installed on your system is
not as recent as the version that is available in the Debian repository you are
using (this was specified when you set the <strong>Access Method</strong>, and
acquired when you used <strong>Update</strong>).
</p>
<p>
Just like you can put a package on hold, you can reverse such setting by
pressing `:'. That tells <code>dselect</code> that the package(s) may be
upgraded if a newer version is available. This is the default setting.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>
<p>
You can select a different order in which the packages are presented, by using
the `o' key to cycle between various options for sorting the packages. The
default order is to present packages by Priority; within each priority,
packages are presented in order of the directory (a.k.a. section) of the
archive in which they are stored. Given this sort order, some packages in
section A (say) may be presented first, followed by some packages in section B,
followed by more packages (of lower priority) in section A.
</p>
<p>
You can also expand meanings of the labels at the top of the screen, by using
the `v' (verbose) key. This action pushes much of the text that formerly fit
onto the display off to the right. To see it, press the right arrow; to scroll
back to the left, press the left arrow.
</p>
<p>
If you select a package for installation or removal, e.g.,
<code>foo.deb</code>, and that package depends on (or recommends) another
package, e.g., <code>blurf.deb</code>, then <code>dselect</code> will place the
you in a sub-screen of the main selection screen. There you can choose among
the related packages, accepting the suggested actions (to install or not), or
rejecting them. To do the latter, press Shift-D; to return to the former,
press Shift-U. In any case, you can save your selections and return to the
main selection screen by pressing Shift-Q.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
Users returning to the main menu can then select the "Install" menu
item to unpack and configure the selected packages. Alternatively, users
wishing to remove files can choose the "Remove" menu item. At any
point, users can choose "Quit" to exit dselect; users' selections are
preserved by <code>dselect</code>.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<hr>
<h4><a name="s-dpkg-deb"></a>8.1.6.2 dpkg-deb</h4>
<p>
This program manipulates Debian archive(<samp>.deb</samp>) files. Some common
uses are:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
Find out all the options: <samp>dpkg-deb --help</samp>.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
Determine what files are contained in a Debian archive file: <samp>dpkg-deb
--contents foo_VVV-RRR.deb</samp>)
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
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.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
Extract the control information files from a package: <samp>dpkg-deb --control
foo_VVV-RRR.deb tmp</samp>.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>
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.
</p>
<p>
More information is given in the manual page <code>dpkg-deb(1)</code>.
</p>
<hr>
<h4><a name="s-dpkg-split"></a>8.1.6.3 dpkg-split</h4>
<p>
This program splits large package into smaller files (e.g., for writing onto a
set of floppy disks), and can also be used to merge a set of split files back
into a single file. It can only be used on a Debian system (i.e. a system
containing the <code>dpkg</code> package), since it calls the program
<samp>dpkg-deb</samp> to parse the debian package file into its component
records.
</p>
<p>
For example, to split a big .deb file into N parts,
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
Execute the command <samp>dpkg-split --split foo.deb</samp>. This will produce
N files each of approximately 460 KBytes long in the current directory.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
Copy those N files to floppy disks.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
Copy the contents of the floppy disks onto the hard disk of your choice on the
other machine.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
Join those part-files together using <samp>dpkg-split --join
"foo*"</samp>.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<hr>
<h2><a name="s-updaterunning"></a>8.2 Debian claims to be able to update a running program; how is this accomplished?</h2>
<p>
The kernel (file system) in Debian GNU/Linux systems supports replacing files
even while they're being used.
</p>
<p>
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.
</p>
<hr>
<h2><a name="s-whatpackages"></a>8.3 How can I tell what packages are already installed on a Debian system?</h2>
<p>
To learn the status of all the packages installed on a Debian system, execute
the command
</p>
<pre>
dpkg --list
</pre>
<p>
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
<em>installed</em>, and a brief description.
</p>
<p>
To learn the status of packages whose names match the string any pattern
beginning with "foo" by executing the command:
</p>
<pre>
dpkg --list 'foo*'
</pre>
<p>
To get a more verbose report for a particular package, execute the command:
</p>
<pre>
dpkg --status packagename
</pre>
<hr>
<h2><a name="s-listfiles"></a>8.4 How to display the files of a package installed?</h2>
<p>
To list all the files provided by the installed package <samp>foo</samp>
execute the command
</p>
<pre>
dpkg --listfiles foo
</pre>
<p>
Note that the files created by the installation scripts aren't displayed.
</p>
<hr>
<h2><a name="s-filesearch"></a>8.5 How can I find out what package produced a particular file?</h2>
<p>
To identify the package that produced the file named <samp>foo</samp> execute
either:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
<samp>dpkg --search filename</samp>
</p>
<p>
This searches for <samp>filename</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.)
</p>
<p>
A faster alternative to this is the <code>dlocate</code> tool.
</p>
<pre>
dlocate -S filename
</pre>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
<samp>zgrep foo Contents-ARCH.gz</samp>
</p>
<p>
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/etch</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>.
</p>
<p>
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.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
<samp>apt-file search <var>foo</var></samp>
</p>
<p>
If you install the <code>apt-file</code>, 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 sample 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>.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<hr>
<h2><a name="s-datapackages"></a>8.6 Why doesn't get `foo-data' removed when I uninstall `foo'? How do I make sure old unused library-packages get purged?</h2>
<p>
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 it optional.
</p>
<p>
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.
</p>
<p>
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. If you use <code>aptitude</code> (see <a
href="#s-aptitude">aptitude, Section 8.1.3</a>) as your package management tool
it will, however, track automatically installed packages and remove them when
no packages remain that need them in your system.
</p>
<hr>
<p>
[ <a href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html">previous</a> ]
[ <a href="index.en.html#contents">Contents</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-basic_defs.en.html">1</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-getting.en.html">2</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-choosing.en.html">3</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-compat.en.html">4</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-software.en.html">5</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-ftparchives.en.html">6</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html">7</a> ]
[ 8 ]
[ <a href="ch-uptodate.en.html">9</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-kernel.en.html">10</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-customizing.en.html">11</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-support.en.html">12</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-contributing.en.html">13</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-redistrib.en.html">14</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-nexttime.en.html">15</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-faqinfo.en.html">16</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-uptodate.en.html">next</a> ]
</p>
<hr>
<p>
The Debian GNU/Linux FAQ
</p>
<address>
version 4.0.4+nmu1, 3 January 2010<br>
<br>
Authors are listed at <a href="ch-faqinfo.en.html#s-authors">Debian FAQ Authors</a><br>
<br>
</address>
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