Distinction between apt-cache and dpkg -l





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9















I use apt-cache pkgname to retrieve the packages as



me@host:~$ apt-cache pkgnames | wc -l
62803


get 62803 results



but



me@host:~$ dpkg -l | wc -l
2336


What's the reasons which lead such a huge distinction. I presume that dpkg is super than apt.










share|improve this question




















  • 2





    Possible duplicate of dpkg-query vs apt-cache

    – Olorin
    Mar 12 at 6:46











  • @Olorin I voted to Leave this question Open. They're duplicates alright, but I want the direction of the duplication to be reversed and dpkg-query vs apt-cache to be closed as a duplicate of this question instead.

    – karel
    Mar 12 at 8:38




















9















I use apt-cache pkgname to retrieve the packages as



me@host:~$ apt-cache pkgnames | wc -l
62803


get 62803 results



but



me@host:~$ dpkg -l | wc -l
2336


What's the reasons which lead such a huge distinction. I presume that dpkg is super than apt.










share|improve this question




















  • 2





    Possible duplicate of dpkg-query vs apt-cache

    – Olorin
    Mar 12 at 6:46











  • @Olorin I voted to Leave this question Open. They're duplicates alright, but I want the direction of the duplication to be reversed and dpkg-query vs apt-cache to be closed as a duplicate of this question instead.

    – karel
    Mar 12 at 8:38
















9












9








9


0






I use apt-cache pkgname to retrieve the packages as



me@host:~$ apt-cache pkgnames | wc -l
62803


get 62803 results



but



me@host:~$ dpkg -l | wc -l
2336


What's the reasons which lead such a huge distinction. I presume that dpkg is super than apt.










share|improve this question
















I use apt-cache pkgname to retrieve the packages as



me@host:~$ apt-cache pkgnames | wc -l
62803


get 62803 results



but



me@host:~$ dpkg -l | wc -l
2336


What's the reasons which lead such a huge distinction. I presume that dpkg is super than apt.







apt package-management dpkg






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited Mar 12 at 5:16









Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy

75.5k9156330




75.5k9156330










asked Mar 12 at 2:27









AliceAlice

572111




572111








  • 2





    Possible duplicate of dpkg-query vs apt-cache

    – Olorin
    Mar 12 at 6:46











  • @Olorin I voted to Leave this question Open. They're duplicates alright, but I want the direction of the duplication to be reversed and dpkg-query vs apt-cache to be closed as a duplicate of this question instead.

    – karel
    Mar 12 at 8:38
















  • 2





    Possible duplicate of dpkg-query vs apt-cache

    – Olorin
    Mar 12 at 6:46











  • @Olorin I voted to Leave this question Open. They're duplicates alright, but I want the direction of the duplication to be reversed and dpkg-query vs apt-cache to be closed as a duplicate of this question instead.

    – karel
    Mar 12 at 8:38










2




2





Possible duplicate of dpkg-query vs apt-cache

– Olorin
Mar 12 at 6:46





Possible duplicate of dpkg-query vs apt-cache

– Olorin
Mar 12 at 6:46













@Olorin I voted to Leave this question Open. They're duplicates alright, but I want the direction of the duplication to be reversed and dpkg-query vs apt-cache to be closed as a duplicate of this question instead.

– karel
Mar 12 at 8:38







@Olorin I voted to Leave this question Open. They're duplicates alright, but I want the direction of the duplication to be reversed and dpkg-query vs apt-cache to be closed as a duplicate of this question instead.

– karel
Mar 12 at 8:38












2 Answers
2






active

oldest

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16














apt is for managing remote repositories, dpkg - for locally installed packages. They're related. apt is front end to dpkg. When you run apt-get install package it gets .deb file, and installs it via dpkg. So numbers differ because there's a lot of packages available, but only fraction is installed locally on your system.



apt-cache can show both installed and non-installed packages, because it queries the apt cache - listing of what is available in remote repositories ( that cache is what you get when you do apt-get update). For instance,



$ apt-cache policy terminator
terminator:
Installed: (none)
Candidate: 1.91-1


$ dpkg -l terminator
dpkg-query: no packages found matching terminator




Note that there is another tool which can query list of installed/removed local packages, and that's dpkg-query. For instance,



$ dpkg-query -l 'libc6'
Desired=Unknown/Install/Remove/Purge/Hold
| Status=Not/Inst/Conf-files/Unpacked/halF-conf/Half-inst/trig-aWait/Trig-pend
|/ Err?=(none)/Reinst-required (Status,Err: uppercase=bad)
||/ Name Version Architecture Description
+++-====================-===============-===============-=============================================
ii libc6:amd64 2.27-3 amd64 GNU C Library: Shared libraries
ii libc6:i386 2.27-3 i386 GNU C Library: Shared libraries

$ dpkg -l libc6
Desired=Unknown/Install/Remove/Purge/Hold
| Status=Not/Inst/Conf-files/Unpacked/halF-conf/Half-inst/trig-aWait/Trig-pend
|/ Err?=(none)/Reinst-required (Status,Err: uppercase=bad)
||/ Name Version Architecture Description
+++-====================-===============-===============-=============================================
ii libc6:amd64 2.27-3 amd64 GNU C Library: Shared libraries
ii libc6:i386 2.27-3 i386 GNU C Library: Shared libraries


As per dpkg manual




dpkg can also be used as a front-end to dpkg-deb(1) and dpkg-query(1). The list of supported actions can be found later on in the ACTIONS section. If any such action is encountered dpkg just runs dpkg-deb or dpkg-query with the parameters given to it, but no specific options are currently passed to them, to use any such option the back-ends need to be called directly.




As far as dpkg-query goes, it should be noted that this tool is focused on querying the database of installed packages, and can output information in particular format(-f option plus -W action). For instance,



$ dpkg-query -W -f='PACK:${Package}nARCH:${Architecture}nSTAT:${Status}n---n' libc6
PACK:libc6
ARCH:amd64
STAT:install ok installed
---
PACK:libc6
ARCH:i386
STAT:install ok installed
---


Interestingly enough, dpkg database maintains listing of packages that are selected for removal or were removed at some point. dpkg-query can also take glob pattern as an argument, and depending on presence of absence of it show only installed/configured packages or all packages.






share|improve this answer

































    2














    dpkg -l shows your installed package versions (starting with ii), removed ones (rc), and some others (e.g. installed but not configured, see the manpage).



    apt-cache pkgnames shows you all the available package names (but not versions of the same package) in the added repositories.






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      2 Answers
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      2 Answers
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      16














      apt is for managing remote repositories, dpkg - for locally installed packages. They're related. apt is front end to dpkg. When you run apt-get install package it gets .deb file, and installs it via dpkg. So numbers differ because there's a lot of packages available, but only fraction is installed locally on your system.



      apt-cache can show both installed and non-installed packages, because it queries the apt cache - listing of what is available in remote repositories ( that cache is what you get when you do apt-get update). For instance,



      $ apt-cache policy terminator
      terminator:
      Installed: (none)
      Candidate: 1.91-1


      $ dpkg -l terminator
      dpkg-query: no packages found matching terminator




      Note that there is another tool which can query list of installed/removed local packages, and that's dpkg-query. For instance,



      $ dpkg-query -l 'libc6'
      Desired=Unknown/Install/Remove/Purge/Hold
      | Status=Not/Inst/Conf-files/Unpacked/halF-conf/Half-inst/trig-aWait/Trig-pend
      |/ Err?=(none)/Reinst-required (Status,Err: uppercase=bad)
      ||/ Name Version Architecture Description
      +++-====================-===============-===============-=============================================
      ii libc6:amd64 2.27-3 amd64 GNU C Library: Shared libraries
      ii libc6:i386 2.27-3 i386 GNU C Library: Shared libraries

      $ dpkg -l libc6
      Desired=Unknown/Install/Remove/Purge/Hold
      | Status=Not/Inst/Conf-files/Unpacked/halF-conf/Half-inst/trig-aWait/Trig-pend
      |/ Err?=(none)/Reinst-required (Status,Err: uppercase=bad)
      ||/ Name Version Architecture Description
      +++-====================-===============-===============-=============================================
      ii libc6:amd64 2.27-3 amd64 GNU C Library: Shared libraries
      ii libc6:i386 2.27-3 i386 GNU C Library: Shared libraries


      As per dpkg manual




      dpkg can also be used as a front-end to dpkg-deb(1) and dpkg-query(1). The list of supported actions can be found later on in the ACTIONS section. If any such action is encountered dpkg just runs dpkg-deb or dpkg-query with the parameters given to it, but no specific options are currently passed to them, to use any such option the back-ends need to be called directly.




      As far as dpkg-query goes, it should be noted that this tool is focused on querying the database of installed packages, and can output information in particular format(-f option plus -W action). For instance,



      $ dpkg-query -W -f='PACK:${Package}nARCH:${Architecture}nSTAT:${Status}n---n' libc6
      PACK:libc6
      ARCH:amd64
      STAT:install ok installed
      ---
      PACK:libc6
      ARCH:i386
      STAT:install ok installed
      ---


      Interestingly enough, dpkg database maintains listing of packages that are selected for removal or were removed at some point. dpkg-query can also take glob pattern as an argument, and depending on presence of absence of it show only installed/configured packages or all packages.






      share|improve this answer






























        16














        apt is for managing remote repositories, dpkg - for locally installed packages. They're related. apt is front end to dpkg. When you run apt-get install package it gets .deb file, and installs it via dpkg. So numbers differ because there's a lot of packages available, but only fraction is installed locally on your system.



        apt-cache can show both installed and non-installed packages, because it queries the apt cache - listing of what is available in remote repositories ( that cache is what you get when you do apt-get update). For instance,



        $ apt-cache policy terminator
        terminator:
        Installed: (none)
        Candidate: 1.91-1


        $ dpkg -l terminator
        dpkg-query: no packages found matching terminator




        Note that there is another tool which can query list of installed/removed local packages, and that's dpkg-query. For instance,



        $ dpkg-query -l 'libc6'
        Desired=Unknown/Install/Remove/Purge/Hold
        | Status=Not/Inst/Conf-files/Unpacked/halF-conf/Half-inst/trig-aWait/Trig-pend
        |/ Err?=(none)/Reinst-required (Status,Err: uppercase=bad)
        ||/ Name Version Architecture Description
        +++-====================-===============-===============-=============================================
        ii libc6:amd64 2.27-3 amd64 GNU C Library: Shared libraries
        ii libc6:i386 2.27-3 i386 GNU C Library: Shared libraries

        $ dpkg -l libc6
        Desired=Unknown/Install/Remove/Purge/Hold
        | Status=Not/Inst/Conf-files/Unpacked/halF-conf/Half-inst/trig-aWait/Trig-pend
        |/ Err?=(none)/Reinst-required (Status,Err: uppercase=bad)
        ||/ Name Version Architecture Description
        +++-====================-===============-===============-=============================================
        ii libc6:amd64 2.27-3 amd64 GNU C Library: Shared libraries
        ii libc6:i386 2.27-3 i386 GNU C Library: Shared libraries


        As per dpkg manual




        dpkg can also be used as a front-end to dpkg-deb(1) and dpkg-query(1). The list of supported actions can be found later on in the ACTIONS section. If any such action is encountered dpkg just runs dpkg-deb or dpkg-query with the parameters given to it, but no specific options are currently passed to them, to use any such option the back-ends need to be called directly.




        As far as dpkg-query goes, it should be noted that this tool is focused on querying the database of installed packages, and can output information in particular format(-f option plus -W action). For instance,



        $ dpkg-query -W -f='PACK:${Package}nARCH:${Architecture}nSTAT:${Status}n---n' libc6
        PACK:libc6
        ARCH:amd64
        STAT:install ok installed
        ---
        PACK:libc6
        ARCH:i386
        STAT:install ok installed
        ---


        Interestingly enough, dpkg database maintains listing of packages that are selected for removal or were removed at some point. dpkg-query can also take glob pattern as an argument, and depending on presence of absence of it show only installed/configured packages or all packages.






        share|improve this answer




























          16












          16








          16







          apt is for managing remote repositories, dpkg - for locally installed packages. They're related. apt is front end to dpkg. When you run apt-get install package it gets .deb file, and installs it via dpkg. So numbers differ because there's a lot of packages available, but only fraction is installed locally on your system.



          apt-cache can show both installed and non-installed packages, because it queries the apt cache - listing of what is available in remote repositories ( that cache is what you get when you do apt-get update). For instance,



          $ apt-cache policy terminator
          terminator:
          Installed: (none)
          Candidate: 1.91-1


          $ dpkg -l terminator
          dpkg-query: no packages found matching terminator




          Note that there is another tool which can query list of installed/removed local packages, and that's dpkg-query. For instance,



          $ dpkg-query -l 'libc6'
          Desired=Unknown/Install/Remove/Purge/Hold
          | Status=Not/Inst/Conf-files/Unpacked/halF-conf/Half-inst/trig-aWait/Trig-pend
          |/ Err?=(none)/Reinst-required (Status,Err: uppercase=bad)
          ||/ Name Version Architecture Description
          +++-====================-===============-===============-=============================================
          ii libc6:amd64 2.27-3 amd64 GNU C Library: Shared libraries
          ii libc6:i386 2.27-3 i386 GNU C Library: Shared libraries

          $ dpkg -l libc6
          Desired=Unknown/Install/Remove/Purge/Hold
          | Status=Not/Inst/Conf-files/Unpacked/halF-conf/Half-inst/trig-aWait/Trig-pend
          |/ Err?=(none)/Reinst-required (Status,Err: uppercase=bad)
          ||/ Name Version Architecture Description
          +++-====================-===============-===============-=============================================
          ii libc6:amd64 2.27-3 amd64 GNU C Library: Shared libraries
          ii libc6:i386 2.27-3 i386 GNU C Library: Shared libraries


          As per dpkg manual




          dpkg can also be used as a front-end to dpkg-deb(1) and dpkg-query(1). The list of supported actions can be found later on in the ACTIONS section. If any such action is encountered dpkg just runs dpkg-deb or dpkg-query with the parameters given to it, but no specific options are currently passed to them, to use any such option the back-ends need to be called directly.




          As far as dpkg-query goes, it should be noted that this tool is focused on querying the database of installed packages, and can output information in particular format(-f option plus -W action). For instance,



          $ dpkg-query -W -f='PACK:${Package}nARCH:${Architecture}nSTAT:${Status}n---n' libc6
          PACK:libc6
          ARCH:amd64
          STAT:install ok installed
          ---
          PACK:libc6
          ARCH:i386
          STAT:install ok installed
          ---


          Interestingly enough, dpkg database maintains listing of packages that are selected for removal or were removed at some point. dpkg-query can also take glob pattern as an argument, and depending on presence of absence of it show only installed/configured packages or all packages.






          share|improve this answer















          apt is for managing remote repositories, dpkg - for locally installed packages. They're related. apt is front end to dpkg. When you run apt-get install package it gets .deb file, and installs it via dpkg. So numbers differ because there's a lot of packages available, but only fraction is installed locally on your system.



          apt-cache can show both installed and non-installed packages, because it queries the apt cache - listing of what is available in remote repositories ( that cache is what you get when you do apt-get update). For instance,



          $ apt-cache policy terminator
          terminator:
          Installed: (none)
          Candidate: 1.91-1


          $ dpkg -l terminator
          dpkg-query: no packages found matching terminator




          Note that there is another tool which can query list of installed/removed local packages, and that's dpkg-query. For instance,



          $ dpkg-query -l 'libc6'
          Desired=Unknown/Install/Remove/Purge/Hold
          | Status=Not/Inst/Conf-files/Unpacked/halF-conf/Half-inst/trig-aWait/Trig-pend
          |/ Err?=(none)/Reinst-required (Status,Err: uppercase=bad)
          ||/ Name Version Architecture Description
          +++-====================-===============-===============-=============================================
          ii libc6:amd64 2.27-3 amd64 GNU C Library: Shared libraries
          ii libc6:i386 2.27-3 i386 GNU C Library: Shared libraries

          $ dpkg -l libc6
          Desired=Unknown/Install/Remove/Purge/Hold
          | Status=Not/Inst/Conf-files/Unpacked/halF-conf/Half-inst/trig-aWait/Trig-pend
          |/ Err?=(none)/Reinst-required (Status,Err: uppercase=bad)
          ||/ Name Version Architecture Description
          +++-====================-===============-===============-=============================================
          ii libc6:amd64 2.27-3 amd64 GNU C Library: Shared libraries
          ii libc6:i386 2.27-3 i386 GNU C Library: Shared libraries


          As per dpkg manual




          dpkg can also be used as a front-end to dpkg-deb(1) and dpkg-query(1). The list of supported actions can be found later on in the ACTIONS section. If any such action is encountered dpkg just runs dpkg-deb or dpkg-query with the parameters given to it, but no specific options are currently passed to them, to use any such option the back-ends need to be called directly.




          As far as dpkg-query goes, it should be noted that this tool is focused on querying the database of installed packages, and can output information in particular format(-f option plus -W action). For instance,



          $ dpkg-query -W -f='PACK:${Package}nARCH:${Architecture}nSTAT:${Status}n---n' libc6
          PACK:libc6
          ARCH:amd64
          STAT:install ok installed
          ---
          PACK:libc6
          ARCH:i386
          STAT:install ok installed
          ---


          Interestingly enough, dpkg database maintains listing of packages that are selected for removal or were removed at some point. dpkg-query can also take glob pattern as an argument, and depending on presence of absence of it show only installed/configured packages or all packages.







          share|improve this answer














          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer








          edited Mar 12 at 11:14

























          answered Mar 12 at 2:56









          Sergiy KolodyazhnyySergiy Kolodyazhnyy

          75.5k9156330




          75.5k9156330

























              2














              dpkg -l shows your installed package versions (starting with ii), removed ones (rc), and some others (e.g. installed but not configured, see the manpage).



              apt-cache pkgnames shows you all the available package names (but not versions of the same package) in the added repositories.






              share|improve this answer






























                2














                dpkg -l shows your installed package versions (starting with ii), removed ones (rc), and some others (e.g. installed but not configured, see the manpage).



                apt-cache pkgnames shows you all the available package names (but not versions of the same package) in the added repositories.






                share|improve this answer




























                  2












                  2








                  2







                  dpkg -l shows your installed package versions (starting with ii), removed ones (rc), and some others (e.g. installed but not configured, see the manpage).



                  apt-cache pkgnames shows you all the available package names (but not versions of the same package) in the added repositories.






                  share|improve this answer















                  dpkg -l shows your installed package versions (starting with ii), removed ones (rc), and some others (e.g. installed but not configured, see the manpage).



                  apt-cache pkgnames shows you all the available package names (but not versions of the same package) in the added repositories.







                  share|improve this answer














                  share|improve this answer



                  share|improve this answer








                  edited Mar 12 at 13:28









                  terdon

                  67.8k13139223




                  67.8k13139223










                  answered Mar 12 at 8:38









                  NyosNyos

                  1713




                  1713






























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