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Check if package is installed on Debian

Using dpkg

Query dpkg database to determine if package is installed.

dpkg-query --show --showformat='${db:Status-Status}\n' ca-certificates

if installed

installed

if not installed

dpkg-query: no packages found matching ca-certificates

Using apt

apt-cache policy ca-certificates

if installed

ca-certificates:
  Installed: 20230311
  Candidate: 20230311
  Version table:
 *** 20230311 500
        500 http://mirrors.linode.com/debian bookworm/main amd64 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

if not installed

iperf3:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 3.12-1+deb12u1
  Version table:
     3.12-1+deb12u1 500
        500 http://mirrors.linode.com/debian bookworm/main amd64 Packages
        500 http://mirrors.linode.com/debian-security bookworm-security/updates/main amd64 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

Reference

  • https://sleeplessbeastie.eu/2025/02/25/how-to-determine-if-specific-package-is-installed/
  • https://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/find-out-if-package-is-installed-in-linux/
  • https://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?t=159341
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