dpkg

low-level Debian package manager

TLDR

Install a package

$ sudo dpkg -i [path/to/file.deb]

Remove a package

$ sudo dpkg -r [package]

List installed packages

$ dpkg -l [pattern]

List a package's contents

$ dpkg -L [package]

List contents of a local package file

$ dpkg -c [path/to/file.deb]

Find which package owns a file

$ dpkg -S [path/to/file]

Purge a package including configuration files

$ sudo dpkg -P [package]

Show package status

$ dpkg -s [package]

SYNOPSIS

dpkg [options] action [package|file]

dpkg is the low-level package manager for Debian-based systems. It handles the installation, removal, and management of .deb packages. Higher-level tools like apt and apt-get use dpkg internally.

PARAMETERS

-i, --install file.deb

Install a package from a .deb file

-r, --remove package

Remove a package (keep configuration files)

-P, --purge package

Remove a package and its configuration files

-l, --list pattern

List packages matching pattern

-L, --listfiles package

List files installed by a package

-c, --contents file.deb

List contents of a .deb file

-S, --search path

Search for a package owning a file

-s, --status package

Display package status details

--configure package

Configure an unpacked package

--unpack file.deb

Unpack but don't configure a package

--get-selections

Get list of package selections

--set-selections

Set package selections from stdin

CAVEATS

dpkg does not handle dependencies automatically. Use apt or apt-get for dependency resolution. Configuration files are kept by default when removing packages.

HISTORY

dpkg was originally created for the Debian project in 1994 by Ian Murdock, then rewritten in C by Ian Jackson who became its primary developer. It remains the foundation of package management on Debian-based systems.