How to use the command 'dpkg' (with examples)

The dpkg command is the Debian package manager, used for managing .deb packages on Debian-based Linux distributions. It provides various subcommands to perform package installation, removal, and other related operations.

Use case 1: Install a package

Code:

dpkg -i path/to/file.deb

Motivation: You want to install a .deb package on your Debian-based Linux system.

Explanation:

• -i: This option is used to install the package.
• path/to/file.deb: The path to the .deb package file that you want to install.

Example output:

Selecting previously unselected package package-name.
(Reading database ... 100%
(Preparing to unpack path/to/file.deb ...
Unpacking package-name (version) ...
Setting up package-name (version) ...

Use case 2: Remove a package

Code:

dpkg -r package

Motivation: You want to remove a previously installed package from your system.

Explanation:

• -r: This option is used to remove the package.
• package: The name of the package you want to remove.

Example output:

(Reading database ... 100%
(Reading database ... 100%
(1/2) Removing package-name (version) ...
(2/2) Removing package-name (version) ...

Use case 3: List installed packages

Code:

dpkg -l pattern

Motivation: You want to list all the installed packages on your system matching a specific pattern.

Explanation:

• -l: This option is used to list packages.
• pattern: The pattern to match against the package names.

Example output:

||/ Name           Version   Architecture Description
+++-==============-=========-============-=================================
ii  package-name   1.0       amd64        A brief description of the package
ii  package2-name  2.0       amd64        Another package description

Use case 4: List a package’s contents

Code:

dpkg -L package

Motivation: You want to view the contents of a specific installed package.

Explanation:

• -L: This option is used to list the files provided by the package.
• package: The name of the package.

Example output:

/.
/usr
/usr/bin
/usr/bin/executable
/usr/share
/usr/share/doc
/usr/share/doc/package
/usr/share/doc/package/changelog.Debian.gz
/usr/share/doc/package/copyright

Use case 5: List contents of a local package file

Code:

dpkg -c path/to/file.deb

Motivation: You want to see the contents of a .deb package file before installing it.

Explanation:

• -c: This option is used to display the contents of the package file.
• path/to/file.deb: The path to the .deb package file.

Example output:

drwxr-xr-x root/root         0 2021-01-01 00:00 ./
drwxr-xr-x root/root         0 2021-01-01 00:00 ./usr/
drwxr-xr-x root/root         0 2021-01-01 00:00 ./usr/bin/
-rwxr-xr-x root/root    123456 2021-01-01 00:00 ./usr/bin/executable

Use case 6: Find out which package owns a file

Code:

dpkg -S path/to/file

Motivation: You want to determine which installed package owns a specific file.

Explanation:

• -S: This option is used to search for the package owning the specified file.
• path/to/file: The path to the file.

Example output:

package-name: /path/to/file

Conclusion:

In this article, we explored various use cases of the dpkg command. We covered how to install and remove packages, list installed packages, list a package’s contents, view the contents of a local package file, and determine the package owning a file. The dpkg command is a powerful tool for managing packages on Debian-based Linux systems.