Editing Dpkg (section)

{{Short description|Package management system}}
{{Tone|date=January 2025}}
{{lowercase title}}
{{Infobox software
| name = dpkg
| title = dpkg
| logo = <!-- Image name is enough -->
| logo caption = 
| logo_size = 
| logo_alt = 
| screenshot = <!-- Image name is enough -->
| caption = 
| screenshot_size = 
| screenshot_alt = 
| collapsible = 
| author = [[Ian Murdock]]
| developer = The [[Debian]] Project
| released = {{Start date and age|1994|01|df=yes}}<ref name="first-release" />
| discontinued = 
| latest release version = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q305892|P348|P548=Q2804309}}
| latest release date = {{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|Q305892|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}
| latest preview version = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q305892|P348|P548=Q3295609}}
| latest preview date = {{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|Q305892|P348|P548=Q3295609|P577}}
| programming language = [[C (programming language)|C]], [[C++]], [[Perl]]<ref>{{cite web
 | url        = https://git.dpkg.org/cgit/dpkg/dpkg.git
 | title      = dpkg on git.dpkg.org
 | publisher  = Dpkg Developers
 | date       = 2018-07-15
 | access-date = 2018-07-15}}</ref>
| operating system = [[Unix-like]]
| platform = 
| size = 
| language = 
| language count = 42
| language footnote = <ref>{{cite web | url = https://git.dpkg.org/cgit/dpkg/dpkg.git/tree/po/LINGUAS | title = po/LINGUAS | publisher = Dpkg Developers | date = 2022-11-22 }}</ref>
| genre = [[Package manager]]
| license = [[GNU General Public License|GPL]]v2
| alexa = 
| website = {{URL|https://wiki.debian.org/Teams/Dpkg}}
| standard = 
| AsOf = 
}}
'''dpkg''' is the [[software]] at the base of the package management system in the [[free software|free]] operating system [[Debian]] and its numerous [[Debian family|derivatives]]. <code>dpkg</code> is used to install, remove, and provide information about [[deb (file format)|.deb]] [[Package (package management system)|package]]s.

<code>dpkg</code> (Debian Package) itself is a low-level tool. [[APT (Debian)|APT]] (Advanced Package Tool), a higher-level tool, is more commonly used than <code>dpkg</code> as it can fetch packages from remote locations and deal with complex package relations, such as dependency resolution. Frontends for APT, like [[aptitude (software)|aptitude]] ([[ncurses]]) and [[synaptic (software)|synaptic]] ([[GTK]]), are used for their friendlier interfaces.

The Debian package "dpkg" provides the <code>dpkg</code> program, as well as several other programs necessary for run-time functioning of the packaging system, including <code>dpkg-deb</code>, <code>dpkg-split</code>, <code>dpkg-query</code>, <code>dpkg-statoverride</code>, <code>dpkg-divert</code> and <code>dpkg-trigger</code>.<ref>{{cite web|title=dpkg package file list|url=https://packages.debian.org/sid/amd64/dpkg/filelist|publisher=Debian project|access-date=2015-03-09}}</ref> It also includes the programs such as <code>update-alternatives</code> and <code>start-stop-daemon</code>. The Debian package "dpkg-dev" includes the numerous build tools described below.