Purpose: Debian has a very powerful package management system called APT. Learning some useful commands can really unleash the true power and usefulness of this package management system. From time to time I will add commands and other tips and tricks that will be helpful to solve some issues and get work done faster. The idea is to make this post a COMPREHENSIVE command guide for APT package management.
Note: For most of the examples, I have used “traceroute” as an example package wherever possible. In some scenarios I have used other packages for the example since traceroute was not suitable for those.
APT-GET Commands
- To install a package. For example, let say you would like to install traceroute package:
#apt-get install traceroute
- To install a package’s source files. For example, let say you would like to download “traceroute” package’s source:
# apt-get source traceroute
- To install dependencies of a package for building the package from it’s source. For example, before you start building a binary package (traceroute) from it’s source, you need to install the dependencies that are required to build the package from it’s source:
# apt-get build-dep traceroute
- To build a package from it’s source:
# apt-get source traceroute
# cd traceroute-VERSION
# debuild -uc -us
# cd ..
- To fix a system with incorrect/broken dependencies. Also useful if the apt-get was stopped unexpectedly due to crash or power failure:
# apt-get -f install
DPKG Commands
- To reconfigure any package that is unpacked but not yet configured or half-configured state. This can be used along with “apt-get -f install”. Also useful in case of unexpected shutdown while upgrading the system.
# apt-get -f install# dpkg --configure -a
- To remove a package (this does not remove the configuration files the package):
# dpkg --remove traceroute
- To remove a package (and its configuration files):
# dpkg --purge traceroute
- To reconfigure a package. For example suppose you want to select a different settings for your X server:
# dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg
- To identify the package name that produced a particular file. For example, “I would like to know which Debian package produced the file ‘lft.db’:
# dpkg -S lft.db
or# dpkg --search lft.db
Output:
traceroute: /usr/bin/lft.db
traceroute: /usr/share/man/man8/lft.db.8.gz
- To list all the files installed a particular package:
# dpkg --listfiles traceroute
- To list all the packages installed on the system along with their state, name, version and a description:
# dpkg --list
- To list all the packages installed on the system (only names):
# dpkg --get-selections
- To troubleshoot error messages like the following:
Unpacking dictionaries-common (from …/dictionaries-common_0.98.12_all.deb) …
dpkg-divert: cannot open diversions: No such file or directory
dpkg: error processing /var/cache/apt/archives/dictionaries-common_0.98.12_all.deb (–unpack):
subprocess pre-installation script returned error exit status 2
Selecting previously deselected package aspell.
Unpacking aspell (from …/aspell_0.60.6-1_i386.deb) …
Processing triggers for man-db …
Errors were encountered while processing:
/var/cache/apt/archives/dictionaries-common_0.98.12_all.deb
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)
debian-486:/var/lib/dpkg# ls
# touch /var/lib/dpkg/diversions
- To troubleshoot error messages like following:
Errors were encountered while processing:
/var/cache/apt/archives/acpid_ 1.0.8-7.deb
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)
Try following commands one by one:
# apt-get -f install
# apt-get upgrade
# apt-get dist-upgrade
# dpkg --configure -a
# apt-get -f install
# cd /var/lib/dpkg/info
# rm -rf acpid*
# apt-get install acpid
# cd /var/lib/apt/lists
# rm *
# apt-get update
# apt-get install acpid
# cd /var/cache/apt/archives
# rm acpid_ 1.0.8-7.deb
# apt-get install acpid
APT-CACHE Commands
- To perform a full-text search on a package’s name, description, etc:
# apt-cache search traceroute
- To print detailed information of a package:
# apt-cache show traceroute
- To print a list of packages a given package (traceroute) depends on. For example, show me all the packages on which traceroute depends:
# apt-cache depends traceroute
Output:
traceroute
Depends: libc6
Conflicts: tcptraceroute
Conflicts:
Conflicts: traceroute-nanog
- To print a list of packages that are dependent on a particular package. For example, show me all the packages that are dependent on “traceroute” package:
# apt-cache rdepends traceroute
Output:
Reverse Depends:
xorp
traceroute-nanog
traceroute-nanog
licq
traceroute-nanog
ksniffer
traceroute-nanog
iputils-tracepath
traceroute-nanog
gnome-nettool
traceroute-nanog
education-common
traceroute-nanog
- To print detailed information of the versions available for a package and the packages that reverse-depends on it. For example, show me all the packages which depends on traceroute:
# apt-cache showpkg traceroute
Happy Debians! :)
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