1. Overview
Linux-based systems use client applications to help in package management. Although some software packages are preinstalled by default, Linux users can install other packages when needed.
In this tutorial, we’ll see five approaches to listing all the installed packages in Linux – using apt, dpkg, snap, dnf, and flatpak.
2. Using apt Package Manager
apt is a command-line tool that works with Advanced Packaging Tool (APT) in Debian-based systems, such as Ubuntu. It is used to install new software packages, upgrade existing software packages, update the package list index, and upgrade the entire Ubuntu system.
2.1. List Installed Packages
We use the ––installed tag to only list the installed packages.
$ apt list --installed | head
WARNING: apt does not have a stable CLI interface. Use with caution in scripts.
Listing...
accountsservice/now 0.6.55-0ubuntu12~20.04.4 amd64 [installed,upgradable to: 0.6.55-0ubuntu12~20.04.5]
acl/focal,now 2.2.53-6 amd64 [installed,automatic]
acpi-support/focal,now 0.143 amd64 [installed,automatic]
acpid/focal,now 1:2.0.32-1ubuntu1 amd64 [installed,automatic]
adduser/focal,focal,now 3.118ubuntu2 all [installed,automatic]
adwaita-icon-theme/focal-updates,focal-updates,now 3.36.1-2ubuntu0.20.04.2 all [installed,automatic]
aisleriot/focal,now 1:3.22.9-1 amd64 [installed,automatic]
alsa-base/focal,focal,now 1.0.25+dfsg-0ubuntu5 all [installed,automatic]
alsa-topology-conf/focal,focal,now 1.2.2-1 all [installed,automatic]
...Installed packages have either of these three tags; [installed],[installed,automatic] and [installed,local]
- [installed] – shows that the software package was installed manually from the repository list
- [installed,automatic] – indicates that the software package was installed automatically as a dependency for another software package
- [installed,local] – shows that the software package is not from the official repository list
2.2. List Packages
We use the apt list command to list all the installed and available packages.
$ apt list | head
WARNING: apt does not have a stable CLI interface. Use with caution in scripts.
Listing...
0ad-data-common/focal,focal 0.0.23.1-1 all
0ad-data/focal,focal 0.0.23.1-1 all
0ad/focal 0.0.23.1-4ubuntu3 amd64
0install-core/focal 2.15.1-1 amd64
0install/focal 2.15.1-1 amd64
0xffff/focal 0.8-1 amd64
2048-qt/focal 0.1.6-2build1 amd64
2ping/focal,focal 4.3-1 all
2to3/focal,focal 3.8.2-0ubuntu2 all
The output of the apt list command is very long. We pipe it to the head command to only list the first ten lines.
2.3. List Specific Package
We add the package name to the apt list command to list a specific package.
$ apt list python3 --installed
Listing... Done
python3/focal,now 3.8.2-0ubuntu2 amd64 [installed,automatic]
We list the details of the package, python3.
3. Using dpkg Package Manager
dpkg is a package manager for Debian-based systems.
To list the installed packages on our system:
$ dpkg --get-selections | grep -w "install" | head
accountsservice install
acl install
acpi-support install
acpid install
adduser install
adwaita-icon-theme install
aisleriot install
alsa-base install
alsa-topology-conf install
alsa-ucm-conf installThe ––get-selections gets a list of package selections and writes the output to stdout. We can pipe this output to the grep command, which selects the lines that match the word “install”. The head command helps trim the output by displaying the first 1o lines of the output.
Another way is to use the dpkg-query tool. This tool queries the dpkg database.
$ dpkg-query -l | head
ii accountsservice 0.6.55-0ubuntu12~20.04.4 amd64 query and manipulate user account information
ii acl 2.2.53-6 amd64 access control list - utilities
ii acpi-support 0.143 amd64 scripts for handling many ACPI events
ii acpid 1:2.0.32-1ubuntu1 amd64 Advanced Configuration and Power Interface event daemon
ii adduser 3.118ubuntu2 all add and remove users and groups
ii adwaita-icon-theme 3.36.1-2ubuntu0.20.04.2 all default icon theme of GNOME (small subset)
ii aisleriot 1:3.22.9-1 amd64 GNOME solitaire card game collection
ii alsa-base 1.0.25+dfsg-0ubuntu5 all ALSA driver configuration files
ii alsa-topology-conf 1.2.2-1 all ALSA topology configuration files
ii alsa-ucm-conf 1.2.2-1ubuntu0.5 all ALSA Use Case Manager configuration files
The -l option lists all the packages installed on our system.
4. Using snap Package Manager
snap is an alternative package manager in Linux developed by Canonical.
The snap list command lists all the packages installed using snap.
$ snap list
Name Version Rev Tracking Publisher Notes
core 16-2.54.4 12834 latest/stable canonical* core
hello-world 6.4 29 latest/stable canonical* -
5. Using dnf Package Manager
dnf is intended to be a replacement for the yum package manager on Red Hat-based systems.
To list the installed packages on our system using dnf:
$ dnf list installed
Installed Packages
acl.x86_64 2.2.53-1.el8 @anaconda
audit.x86_64 3.0-0.10.20180831git0047a6c.el8 @anaconda
audit-libs.x86_64 3.0-0.10.20180831git0047a6c.el8 @anaconda6. Using flatpak
flatpak is a package management software that is used to distribute software across various Linux distributions.
To view all the installed flatpak applications on our system:
$ flatpak list --app
Name Application ID Version Branch Installation
Fondo com.github.calo001.fondo 1.3.8 stable system
Flatseal com.github.tchx84.Flatseal 1.5.2 stable system
GNOME Boxes org.gnome.Boxes 3.36.6 stable system7. Conclusion
In this tutorial, we saw how to use the apt command to list all the installed and available packages in Linux. We also learned how to use dpkg, dpkg-query, snap, dnf, and flatpak to list the installed packages.