dpkg/man/dpkg-query.1

.TH dpkg\-query 1 "2008-08-18" "Debian Project" "dpkg suite"
.SH NAME
dpkg\-query \- a tool to query the dpkg database
.
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B dpkg\-query
.RI [ option "...] " command
.
.SH DESCRIPTION
\fBdpkg\-query\fP is a tool to show information about packages listed in
the \fBdpkg\fP database.
.
.SH COMMANDS
.TP
.BR \-l ", " \-\-list " \fIpackage-name-pattern\fP..."
List packages matching given pattern. If no \fIpackage-name-pattern\fP
is given, list all packages in \fI/var/lib/dpkg/status\fP, excluding
the ones marked as not-installed (i.e. those which have been previously
purged). Normal shell wildchars are allowed
in \fIpackage-name-pattern\fP. Please note you will probably have to
quote \fIpackage-name-pattern\fP to prevent the shell from performing
filename expansion. For example this will list all package names starting
with \*(lqlibc6\*(rq:

.nf
  \fBdpkg\-query \-l \(aqlibc6*\(aq\fP
.fi

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 \fB\-W\fP (\fB\-\-show\fP)
and \fB\-\-showformat\fP for a way to configure the output format.
.TP
.BR \-W ", " \-\-show " \fIpackage-name-pattern\fP..."
Just like the \fB\-\-list\fP option this will list all packages matching
the given pattern. However the output can be customized using the
\fB\-\-showformat\fP 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.
.TP
.BR \-s ", " \-\-status " \fIpackage-name\fP..."
Report status of specified package. This just displays the entry in
the installed package status database.
.TP
.BR \-L ", " \-\-listfiles " \fIpackage-name\fP..."
List files installed to your system from \fIpackage-name\fP.
However, note that files created by package-specific
installation-scripts are not listed.
.TP
.BR \-S ", " \-\-search " \fIfilename-search-pattern\fP..."
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.
.TP
.BR \-p ", " \-\-print\-avail " \fIpackage-name\fP..."
Display details about \fIpackage-name\fP, as found in
\fI/var/lib/dpkg/available\fP. Users of APT-based frontends
should use \fBapt\-cache show\fP \fIpackage-name\fP instead
as the \fIavailable\fP file is only kept up-to-date when
using \fBdselect\fP.
.TP
.BR \-h ", " \-\-help
Show the usage message and exit.
.TP
.B \-\-version
Show the version and exit.
.TP
.BR \-\-license ", " \-\-licence
Show the copyright licensing terms and exit.
.
.SH OPTIONS
.TP
.BI \-\-admindir= dir
Change the location of the \fBdpkg\fR database. The default location is
\fI/var/lib/dpkg\fP.
.TP
.BR \-f ", " \-\-showformat=\fIformat\fR
This option is used to specify the format of the output \fB\-\-show\fP
will produce. The format is a string that will be output for each package
listed.

In the format string, \(lq\fB\e\fP\(rq introduces escapes:

.nf
    \fB\en\fP  newline
    \fB\er\fP  carriage return
    \fB\et\fP  tab
.fi

\(lq\fB\e\fP\(rq before any other character suppresses any special
meaning of the following character, which is useful for \(lq\fB\e\fP\(rq
and \(lq\fB$\fP\(rq.

Package information can be included by inserting
variable references to package fields using the syntax
\(lq\fB${\fP\fIfield\fR[\fB;\fP\fIwidth\fR]\fB}\fP\(rq. Fields are
printed right-aligned unless the width is negative in which case left
alignment will be used. The following \fIfield\fRs 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):

.nf
    \fBArchitecture\fP
    \fBBugs\fP
    \fBConffiles\fP (internal)
    \fBConfig\-Version\fP (internal)
    \fBConflicts\fP
    \fBBreaks\fP
    \fBDepends\fP
    \fBDescription\fP
    \fBEnhances\fP
    \fBEssential\fP
    \fBFilename\fP (internal, dselect related)
    \fBHomepage\fP
    \fBInstalled\-Size\fP
    \fBMD5sum\fP (internal, dselect related)
    \fBMSDOS\-Filename\fP (internal, dselect related)
    \fBMaintainer\fP
    \fBOrigin\fP
    \fBPackage\fP
    \fBPre\-Depends\fP
    \fBPriority\fP
    \fBProvides\fP
    \fBRecommends\fP
    \fBReplaces\fP
    \fBRevision\fP (obsolete)
    \fBSection\fP
    \fBSize\fP (internal, dselect related)
    \fBSource\fP
    \fBStatus\fP (internal)
    \fBSuggests\fP
    \fBTag\fP (usually not in the .deb but in APT's Packages files)
    \fBTriggers-Awaited\fP (internal)
    \fBTriggers-Pending\fP (internal)
    \fBVersion\fP
.fi

The default format string is \(lq\fB${Package}\et${Version}\en\fP\(rq.
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:

.nf
  \fBdpkg\-query \-W \-f=\(aq${Package} ${Version}\\t${Maintainer}\\n\(aq dpkg\fP
.fi
.
.SH ENVIRONMENT
.TP
\fBCOLUMNS\fP
This setting influences the output of the \fB\-\-list\fP option by changing
the width of its output.
.
.SH AUTHOR
Copyright \(co 2001 Wichert Akkerman
.sp
This is free software; see the GNU General Public Licence version 2 or
later for copying conditions. There is NO WARRANTY.
.
.SH SEE ALSO
.BR dpkg (1).