NAME
dpkg-query - a tool to query the dpkg database
SYNOPSIS
dpkg-query [option...] command
DESCRIPTION
dpkg-query is a tool to show information about packages listed in the
dpkg database.
COMMANDS
-l, --list package-name-pattern...
List packages matching given pattern. If no package-name-pattern
is given, list all packages in /var/lib/dpkg/status, excluding
the ones marked as not-installed (i.e. those which have been
previously purged). Normal shell wildchars are allowed in
package-name-pattern. Please note you will probably have to
quote package-name-pattern to prevent the shell from performing
filename expansion. For example this will list all package names
starting with "libc6":
dpkg-query -l 'libc6*'
The first three columns of the output show the desired action,
the package status, and errors, in that order.
Desired action:
u = Unknown
i = Install
h = Hold
r = Remove
p = Purge
Package status:
n = Not-installed
c = Config-files
H = Half-installed
U = Unpacked
F = Half-configured
W = Triggers-awaiting
t = Triggers-pending
i = Installed
Error flags:
<empty> = (none)
R = Reinst-required
An uppercase status or error letter indicates the package is
likely to cause severe problems. Please refer to dpkg(1) for
information about the above states and flags.
The output format of this option is not configurable, but varies
automatically to fit the terminal width. It is intended for
human readers, and is not easily machine-readable. See -W
(--show) and --showformat for a way to configure the output
format.
-W, --show package-name-pattern...
Just like the --list option this will list all packages matching
the given pattern. However the output can be customized using
the --showformat option. The default output format gives one
line per matching package, each line having the name and
installed version of the package, separated by a tab.
-s, --status package-name...
Report status of specified package. This just displays the entry
in the installed package status database.
-L, --listfiles package-name...
List files installed to your system from package-name. However,
note that files created by package-specific installation-scripts
are not listed.
-c, --control-path package-name [control-file]
List paths for control files installed to your system from
package-name. If control-file is specified then only list the
path for that control file if it is present. Warning: this
command is semi-public, it should be used only as a last resort
solution, and if no other interface is available. It might get
deprecated later on if better interfaces or the current
architectural deficiencies have been solved.
-S, --search filename-search-pattern...
Search for a filename from installed packages. All standard
shell wildchars can be used in the pattern. This command will
not list extra files created by maintainer scripts, nor will it
list alternatives.
-p, --print-avail package-name...
Display details about package-name, as found in
/var/lib/dpkg/available. Users of APT-based frontends should use
apt-cache show package-name instead as the available file is
only kept up-to-date when using dselect.
-h, --help
Show the usage message and exit.
--version
Show the version and exit.
OPTIONS
--admindir=dir
Change the location of the dpkg database. The default location
is /var/lib/dpkg.
-f, --showformat=format
This option is used to specify the format of the output --show
will produce. The format is a string that will be output for
each package listed.
In the format string, "\" introduces escapes:
\n newline
\r carriage return
\t tab
"\" before any other character suppresses any special meaning of
the following character, which is useful for "\" and "$".
Package information can be included by inserting variable
references to package fields using the syntax
"${field[;width]}". Fields are printed right-aligned unless the
width is negative in which case left alignment will be used. The
following fields are recognised but they are not necessarily
available in the status file (only internal fields or fields
stored in the binary package end up in it):
Architecture
Bugs
Conffiles (internal)
Config-Version (internal)
Conflicts
Breaks
Depends
Description
Enhances
Essential
Filename (internal, dselect related)
Homepage
Installed-Size
MD5sum (internal, dselect related)
MSDOS-Filename (internal, dselect related)
Maintainer
Origin
Package
Pre-Depends
Priority
Provides
Recommends
Replaces
Revision (obsolete)
Section
Size (internal, dselect related)
Source
Status (internal)
Suggests
Tag (usually not in the .deb but in APT's Packages files)
Triggers-Awaited (internal)
Triggers-Pending (internal)
Version
The default format string is "${Package}\t${Version}\n".
Actually, all other fields found in the status file (i.e. user
defined fields) can be requested, too. They will be printed as-
is, though, no conversion nor error checking is done on them.
To get the name of the dpkg maintainer and the installed
version, you could run:
dpkg-query -W -f='${Package} ${Version}\t${Maintainer}\n' dpkg
EXIT STATUS
0 The requested query was successfully performed.
1 Problems were encountered while parsing the command line or
performing the query, including no file or package being found
(except for --control-path).
ENVIRONMENT
COLUMNS
This setting influences the output of the --list option by
changing the width of its output.
AUTHOR
Copyright (C) 2001 Wichert Akkerman
This is free software; see the GNU General Public Licence version 2 or
later for copying conditions. There is NO WARRANTY.
SEE ALSO
dpkg(1).