List Packages from PPA/Source in Command Line – How to

aptcommand linedpkg

I want to list all the files from a source, say extras.ubuntu.com from the command line. What is the command for that?

dpkg --list lists all files or just the filename.

Best Answer

Find the relevant file in /var/lib/apt/lists/ ending in Packages, and perform this command:

# example for deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu natty-security multiverse
awk '$1 == "Package:" { print $2 }' /var/lib/apt/lists/security*multiverse*Packages

By the way, my extras.ubuntu.com_ubuntu_dists_natty_main_binary-i386_Packages is empty.

EDIT

You could also parse apt-cache output. This script lists all packages with server and repo information:

#!/bin/bash

apt-cache policy $(dpkg -l | awk 'NR >= 6 { print $2 }') |
  awk '/^[^ ]/    { split($1, a, ":"); pkg = a[1] }
    nextline == 1 { nextline = 0; printf("%-40s %-50s %s\n", pkg, $2, $3) }
    /\*\*\*/      { nextline = 1 }'

Sorting conveniently the output you can get the infos you're looking for.

To search for a particular package by name or description:

From the command-line, use:

apt-cache search keyword

where the search keyword can be all or part of a package name or any words used in its description.

For example, apt-cache search proxy includes both these packages:

tinyproxy - A lightweight, non-caching, optionally anonymizing HTTP proxy
tircd - ircd proxy to the twitter API

Note: the list may be long, so you can pipe the output to less to make it scrollable one line or one screen at a time, i.e. apt-cache search something | less.

To get a list of ALL packages

apt-cache search .

Use Synaptic if you have X-forwarding enabled or are on a desktop

Synaptic is often a more convenient way to do this, but requires at least an X server on your end (unless you're running a desktop environment). Install with sudo apt-get install synaptic if necessary.

Synaptic on ssh'd server via X forwarding:
Synaptic running locally on Ubuntu Desktop:

Ubuntu – How to list all the packages which are installed from PPAs

The following command returns the package name and its ppa (if installed from a ppa):

apt-cache policy $(dpkg --get-selections | grep -v deinstall$ | awk '{ print $1 }') | perl -e '@a = <>; $a=join("", @a); $a =~ s/\n(\S)/\n\n$1/g;  @packages = split("\n\n", $a); foreach $p (@packages) {print "$1: $2\n" if $p =~ /^(.*?):.*?500 http:\/\/ppa\.launchpad\.net\/(.*?)\s/s}'

Details:

dpkg --get-selections gives only the installed packages after grep -v deinstall$
awk '{ print $1 }' returns only the package name
perl -e '@a = <>; $a=join("", @a)' concatenates all the lines returned by apt-cache policy
$a =~ s/\n(\S)/\n\n$1/g; adds a newline between each package section
@packages = split("\n\n", $a); is a perl array containing all the packages infos, one package per item.
foreach $p (@packages) {print "$1: $2\n" if $p =~ /^(.*?):.*?500 http:\/\/ppa\.launchpad\.net\/(.*?)\s/s} is a loop where the package and the ppa are printed if a ppa with prio 500 is found in the policy.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Command-Line – Search for Available Packages

To search for a particular package by name or description:

To get a list of ALL packages

Use Synaptic if you have X-forwarding enabled or are on a desktop

Ubuntu – How to list all the packages which are installed from PPAs

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