apt-list

List packages matching criteria from the APT package database

TLDR

List all packages available in configured repositories

$ apt list

List only installed packages

$ apt list --installed

List packages with available upgrades

$ apt list --upgradable

Show all available versions of each package

$ apt list --all-versions

Filter package names with a shell pattern

$ apt list "[nginx*]"

Combine installed filter with a pattern

$ apt list --installed "[python3-*]"

apt list displays a list of packages tracked by the APT package manager. By default, it prints every package known to the configured sources, marking each line with the package name, version, architecture, and a status tag such as [installed], [installed,automatic], or [upgradable from: ...].The command accepts one or more shell-style patterns to filter the output by package name. Filters can be combined with --installed, --upgradable, or --manual-installed to narrow results to a specific state. Output is meant for interactive consumption and may change between releases.For scripted use APT prints a warning to stderr; redirect stderr or use dpkg-query / apt-cache pkgnames when stable output is required.

PARAMETERS

--installed

Show only packages currently installed on the system.

--upgradable

Show only installed packages for which a newer version is available.

--manual-installed

Show only packages that were installed explicitly (not as a dependency).

--all-versions

Show every available version of each package, not just the candidate.

-v, --verbose

Print additional details such as the source repository.

-q, --quiet

Suppress progress indicators; quieter output suitable for logs.

-o OPTION=VALUE

Set an arbitrary APT configuration option for this invocation.

CONFIGURATION

/etc/apt/sources.list

Primary list of repositories queried by apt list.

/etc/apt/sources.list.d/

Drop-in directory for additional repository definitions.

/var/lib/apt/lists/

Cached package indexes; refreshed by apt update before listing reflects new versions.

CAVEATS

APT explicitly warns that apt does not have a stable CLI; output formatting may change between releases. Use dpkg-query -l or apt-cache in scripts. Run apt update beforehand if recent repository changes should be visible. Pattern arguments are interpreted by the shell, so quote wildcards to prevent local file expansion.

HISTORY

The list subcommand was introduced when apt was released in Debian 8 (Jessie, 2015) as a friendlier front-end to apt-get and apt-cache. It consolidates functionality previously split between dpkg -l and apt-cache pkgnames into a single human-oriented command.