dpkg-vendor - Linux

Overview

dpkg-vendor is a command-line utility used in Debian-based Linux distributions. It provides information about the vendor or sponsor of installed Debian packages.

Syntax

dpkg-vendor [options] <package-name>

Options/Flags

  • -h, –help: Display usage information.
  • -s, –show: Display vendor information for all installed packages.
  • -i, –info: Display additional information about the vendor, such as contact details and website.
  • -t, –type: Specify the type of vendor information to display:
    • authors: Display package authors.
    • maintainers: Display package maintainers.
    • sponsors: Display package sponsors.

Examples

  • Display vendor information for the apt package:
dpkg-vendor apt
  • Display vendor information for all installed packages:
dpkg-vendor -s
  • Display the website of the vendor for the vim package:
dpkg-vendor --info --type=sponsors vim

Common Issues

  • Permission denied: Ensure you have sufficient privileges to execute the command.
  • Package not found: Verify that the specified package is installed on the system.

Integration

dpkg-vendor can be used in conjunction with other commands to automate tasks:

  • Integrate with grep to filter vendor information:
dpkg-vendor -s | grep -i "canonical"
  • Combine with awk to extract specific fields:
dpkg-vendor -s | awk '{print $1, $5}'

Related Commands

  • dpkg: Manage Debian packages.
  • apt: Install, update, and remove packages from Debian repositories.
  • dpkg-query: Query information about installed Debian packages.