dpkg-query

A tool to query the dpkg database.

Description

The dpkg-query command is a tool for querying information about packages from the dpkg package database.

Syntax

dpkg-query (options) (parameters)

Options

-l    List packages matching the given pattern.
-s    Report status of the specified package.
-L    List files installed to your system from the specified package.
-S    Search for a file name in installed packages.
-w    Display information about the specified package(s).
-c    Display the path to the package's control file.
-p    Display details about the specified package.

Parameters

Package Name: Specifies the package to query.

Examples

Find which package installed a specific file (file1):

dpkg-query -S file1

List installed packages and their versions on Ubuntu:

dpkg-query -W --showformat='${Package} ${Version}\n' > filename

View detailed information about a package (capistrano):

dpkg-query -s capistrano

List files installed by a specific package:

dpkg-query -L capistrano

List all installed packages:

dpkg-query -l

Check the exact status (e.g., whether it is installed) and version of a package:

dpkg-query -W -f='${Status} ${Version}\n' apache-perl