dpkg Command: Tutorial & Examples

Install, remove, and manage Debian package files

dpkg is a package management system for Debian and Debian-based Linux distributions such as Ubuntu, Linux Mint, and Raspbian. It is used to install, remove, and manage software packages in the .deb format.

dpkg can be used to perform a variety of package management tasks, such as:

• Installing a new package: dpkg -i package_name.deb
• Removing a package: dpkg -r package_name
• Listing all installed packages: dpkg -l
• Searching for a package: dpkg -S file_name
• Getting information about an installed package: dpkg -s package_name

However, for updating a package, dpkg is not recommended as it operates at a lower level than other package managers like apt and aptitude. It doesn't resolve dependencies between packages automatically, so if you want to install a package that depends on other packages, you need to install those packages first. Also, dpkg doesn't automatically remove packages that are no longer needed.

While dpkg is a powerful tool, it's often recommended to use higher-level package management tools like apt or aptitude, which provide more advanced features such as dependency resolution and automatic removal of orphaned packages.