1dselect(1)                        dpkg suite                        dselect(1)
2
3
4

NAME

6       dselect - Debian package management frontend
7

SYNOPSIS

9       dselect [option...] [command...]
10

DESCRIPTION

12       dselect  is one of the primary user interfaces for managing packages on
13       a Debian system. At the dselect main  menu,  the  system  administrator
14       can:
15        - Update the list of available package versions,
16        - View the status of installed and available packages,
17        - Alter package selections and manage dependencies,
18        - Install new packages or upgrade to newer versions.
19
20       dselect  operates  as  a  front-end  to  dpkg(1),  the low-level Debian
21       package handling tool. It features  a  full-screen  package  selections
22       manager  with  package  depends  and  conflicts resolver. When run with
23       administrator privileges,  packages  can  be  installed,  upgraded  and
24       removed. Various access methods can be configured to retrieve available
25       package version  information  and  installable  packages  from  package
26       repositories.   Depending on the used access method, these repositories
27       can be public archive servers on the internet, local archive servers or
28       cdroms.  The recommended access method is apt, which is provided by the
29       package apt.
30
31       Normally dselect is invoked without parameters. An interactive menu  is
32       presented,  offering the user a list of commands. If a command is given
33       as argument, then that command is started immediately. Several  command
34       line  parameters are still available to modify the running behaviour of
35       dselect or show additional information about the program.
36

OPTIONS

38       All options can be specified both  on  the  command  line  and  in  the
39       dselect  configuration  file  /etc/dpkg/dselect.cfg or the files on the
40       configuration directory  /etc/dpkg/dselect.cfg.d/.  Each  line  in  the
41       configuration file is either an option (exactly the same as the command
42       line option but without leading hyphens) or a  comment  (if  it  starts
43       with a ‘#’).
44
45       --admindir directory
46              Changes  the  directory where the dpkg ‘status’, ‘available’ and
47              similar files are located.  This defaults to  /var/lib/dpkg  and
48              normally there shouldn't be any need to change it.
49
50       -Dfile, --debug file
51              Turn on debugging. Debugging information is sent to file.
52
53       --expert
54              Turns  on  expert  mode,  i.e. doesn't display possibly annoying
55              help messages.
56
57       --colour|--color screenpart:[foreground],[background][:attr[+attr]...]
58              Configures screen  colors.  This  works  only  if  your  display
59              supports colors.  This option may be used multiple times (and is
60              best used in dselect.cfg).  Each  use  changes  the  color  (and
61              optionally,  other  attributes)  of one part of the screen.  The
62              parts of the screen (from top to bottom) are:
63
64              title  The screen title.
65
66              listhead
67                     The header line above the list of packages.
68
69              list   The scrolling list of packages (and also some help text).
70
71              listsel
72                     The selected item in the list.
73
74              pkgstate
75                     In the list of packages, the text indicating the  current
76                     state of each package.
77
78              pkgstatesel
79                     In  the list of packages, the text indicating the current
80                     state of the currently selected package.
81
82              infohead
83                     The header line that displays the state of the  currently
84                     selected package.
85
86              infodesc
87                     The package's short description.
88
89              info   Used  to  display  package  info  such  as  the package's
90                     description.
91
92              infofoot
93                     The last line of the screen when selecting packages.
94
95              query  Used to display query lines
96
97              helpscreen
98                     Color of help screens.
99
100              After the part of  the  screen  comes  a  colon  and  the  color
101              specification.  You can specify either the foreground color, the
102              background color, or both, overriding  the  compiled-in  colors.
103              Use standard curses color names.
104
105              Optionally,  after the color specification is another colon, and
106              an attribute specification. This  is  a  list  of  one  or  more
107              attributes,  separated  by  plus  (‘+’)  characters.   Available
108              attributes  include  (not  all  of  these  will  work   on   all
109              terminals): normal, standout, underline, reverse, blink, bright,
110              dim, bold
111
112       -?, --help
113              Print a brief help text and exit successfully.
114
115       --version
116              Print version information and exit successfully.
117

COMMANDS

119       When dselect is started it can perform the following  commands,  either
120       directly  if  it  was specified on the command line or by prompting the
121       user with a menu of available commands if running interactively:
122
123   access
124       Choose and configure an access method to access package repositories.
125
126       By default, dselect provides several methods such as  cdrom,  multi_cd,
127       nfs,  multi_nfs,  harddisk,  mounted,  multi_mount,  floppy or ftp, but
128       other packages may provide  additional  methods,  eg.  the  apt  access
129       method provided by the apt package.
130
131       The use of the apt access method is strongly recommended.
132
133
134   update
135       Refresh the available packages database.
136
137       Retrieves  a  list  of  available  package  versions  from  the package
138       repository, configured for the current access method,  and  update  the
139       dpkg   database.  The  package  lists  are  commonly  provided  by  the
140       repository as files named Packages or Packages.gz.  These files can  be
141       generated    by    repository    maintainers,    using    the   program
142       dpkg-scanpackages(1).
143
144       Details  of  the  update  command  depend  on   the   access   method's
145       implementation.   Normally  the process is straightforward and requires
146       no user interaction.
147
148
149   select
150       View or manage package selections and dependencies.
151
152       This is the main function of dselect. In the select  screen,  the  user
153       can  review  a  list  of all available and installed packages. When run
154       with administrator privileges, it is  also  possible  to  interactively
155       change  packages  selection  state.  dselect tracks the implications of
156       these changes to other depending or conflicting packages.
157
158       When a conflict or failed depends is detected, a dependency  resolution
159       subscreen  is  prompted  to  the  user.  In  this  screen,  a  list  of
160       conflicting or depending  packages  is  shown,  and  for  each  package
161       listed,  the  reason  for  its listing is shown. The user may apply the
162       suggestions proposed by dselect, override them, or  back  out  all  the
163       changes,  including  the  ones  that  created the unresolved depends or
164       conflicts.
165
166       The use of the interactive  package  selections  management  screen  is
167       explained in more detail below.
168
169
170   install
171       Installs selected packages.
172
173       The  configured  access  method  will  fetch  installable or upgradable
174       packages from the relevant repositories and install these  using  dpkg.
175       Depending  on the implementation of the access method, all packages can
176       be prefetched before installation, or fetched when needed.  Some access
177       methods may also remove packages that were marked for removal.
178
179       If  an  error  occurred  during install, it is usually advisable to run
180       install again. In most cases, the problems will disappear or be solved.
181       If problems persist or the installation performed was incorrect, please
182       investigate into the causes and circumstances, and file a  bug  in  the
183       Debian bug tracking system. Instructions on how to do this can be found
184       at https://bugs.debian.org/ or by reading the documentation for  bug(1)
185       or reportbug(1), if these are installed.
186
187       Details   of   the  install  command  depend  on  the  access  method's
188       implementation.  The user's attention and input may be required  during
189       installation, configuration or removal of packages. This depends on the
190       maintainer scripts in the  package.  Some  packages  make  use  of  the
191       debconf(1)  library,  allowing  for  more  flexible  or  even automated
192       installation setups.
193
194
195   config
196       Configures any previously installed, but not fully configured packages.
197
198
199   remove
200       Removes or purges installed packages, that are marked for removal.
201
202
203   quit
204       Quit dselect.
205
206       Exits the program with zero (successful) errorcode.
207
208

PACKAGE SELECTIONS MANAGEMENT

210   Introduction
211       dselect directly exposes the administrator to some of the  complexities
212       involved   with   managing   large   sets   of   packages   with   many
213       interdependencies. For a user who is unfamiliar with the  concepts  and
214       the  ways  of  the  Debian  package  management system, it can be quite
215       overwhelming. Although dselect is aimed at  easing  package  management
216       and  administration,  it is only instrumental in doing so and cannot be
217       assumed to be a  sufficient  substitute  for  administrator  skill  and
218       understanding.  The  user  is required to be familiar with the concepts
219       underlying the Debian packaging system.  In case of doubt, consult  the
220       dpkg(1) manpage and the distribution policy.
221
222       Unless  dselect  is  run  in expert or immediate mode, a help screen is
223       first displayed when choosing this command from the menu. The  user  is
224       strongly  advised  to  study  all  of  the information presented in the
225       online help screens, when one pops up.  The online help screens can  at
226       any time be invoked with the ‘?’ key.
227
228
229   Screen layout
230       The  select screen is by default split in a top and a bottom half.  The
231       top half shows  a  list  of  packages.  A  cursor  bar  can  select  an
232       individual package, or a group of packages, if applicable, by selecting
233       the group header. The bottom half of  the  screen  shows  some  details
234       about  the  package  currently  selected in the top half of the screen.
235       The type of detail that is displayed can be varied.
236
237       Pressing the ‘I’ key toggles a  full-screen  display  of  the  packages
238       list,  an  enlarged  view  of the package details, or the equally split
239       screen.
240
241
242   Package details view
243       The  package  details  view  by  default  shows  the  extended  package
244       description  for the package that is currently selected in the packages
245       status list.  The type of detail can be toggled  by  pressing  the  ‘i
246       key.  This alternates between:
247        - the extended description
248        - the control information for the installed version
249        - the control information for the available version
250
251       In  a  dependency  resolution  screen, there is also the possibility of
252       viewing the specific unresolved depends or  conflicts  related  to  the
253       package and causing it to be listed.
254
255
256   Packages status list
257       The  main  select  screen  displays a list of all packages known to the
258       Debian package management system. This includes packages  installed  on
259       the system and packages known from the available packages database.
260
261       For  every  package,  the  list  shows  the package's status, priority,
262       section, installed and available architecture, installed and  available
263       versions,  the package name and its short description, all in one line.
264       By pressing the ‘A’ key, the display of  the  installed  and  available
265       architecture  can  be  toggled  between on an off.  By pressing the ‘V
266       key, the display of the installed and available version can be  toggled
267       between on an off.  By pressing the ‘v’ key, the package status display
268       is toggled between verbose and shorthand.   Shorthand  display  is  the
269       default.
270
271       The  shorthand status indication consists of four parts: an error flag,
272       which should normally be clear, the current status, the last  selection
273       state  and  the  current  selection state.  The first two relate to the
274       actual state of the package, the second pair are about  the  selections
275       set by the user.
276
277       These are the meanings of the shorthand package status indicator codes:
278        Error flag:
279         empty   no error
280         R       serious error, needs reinstallation;
281        Installed state:
282         empty   not installed;
283         *       fully installed and configured;
284         -       not installed but some config files may remain;
285         U       unpacked but not yet configured;
286         C       half-configured (an error happened);
287         I       half-installed (an error happened).
288        Current and requested selections:
289         *       marked for installation or upgrade;
290         -       marked for removal, configuration files remain;
291         =       on hold: package will not be processed at all;
292         _       marked for purge, also remove configuration;
293         n       package is new and has yet to be marked.
294
295
296   Cursor and screen movement
297       The  package  selection  list  and  the  dependency conflict resolution
298       screens can be navigated using motion commands mapped to the  following
299       keys:
300         p, Up, k           move cursor bar up
301         n, Down, j         move cursor bar down
302         P, Pgup, Backspace scroll list 1 page up
303         N, Pgdn, Space     scroll list 1 page down
304         ^p                 scroll list 1 line up
305         ^n                 scroll list 1 line down
306         t, Home            jump to top of list
307         e, End             jump to end of list
308         u                  scroll info 1 page up
309         d                  scroll info 1 page down
310         ^u                 scroll info 1 line up
311         ^d                 scroll info 1 line down
312         B, Left-arrow      pan display 1/3 screen left
313         F, Right-arrow     pan display 1/3 screen right
314         ^b                 pan display 1 character left
315         ^f                 pan display 1 character right
316
317
318   Searching and sorting
319       The  list  of packages can be searched by package name. This is done by
320       pressing ‘/’,  and  typing  a  simple  search  string.  The  string  is
321       interpreted  as  a regex(7) regular expression.  If you add ‘/d’ to the
322       search expression, dselect will also search in  descriptions.   If  you
323       add  ‘/i’  the  search will be case insensitive.  You may combine these
324       two suffixes like this: ‘/id’.  Repeated searching is  accomplished  by
325       repeatedly  pressing  the  ‘n’ or ‘\’ keys, until the wanted package is
326       found.  If the search reaches the bottom of the list, it wraps  to  the
327       top and continues searching from there.
328
329       The  list  sort  order  can  be varied by pressing the ‘o’ and ‘O’ keys
330       repeatedly.  The following nine sort orderings can be selected:
331        alphabet          available           status
332        priority+section  available+priority  status+priority
333        section+priority  available+section   status+section
334       Where not listed above explicitly, alphabetic  order  is  used  as  the
335       final subordering sort key.
336
337
338   Altering selections
339       The  requested  selection  state  of individual packages may be altered
340       with the following commands:
341         +, Insert    install or upgrade
342         =, H         hold in present state and version
343         :, G         unhold: upgrade or leave uninstalled
344         -, Delete    remove, but leave configuration
345         _            remove & purge configuration
346
347       When the change request results in one or more unsatisfied  depends  or
348       conflicts,  dselect  prompts  the  user  with  a  dependency resolution
349       screen. This will be further explained below.
350
351       It is also possible to  apply  these  commands  to  groups  of  package
352       selections,  by  pointing the cursor bar onto a group header. The exact
353       grouping  of  packages  is  dependent  on  the  current  list  ordering
354       settings.
355
356       Proper  care  should be taken when altering large groups of selections,
357       because this can instantaneously create  large  numbers  of  unresolved
358       depends  or  conflicts,  all  of which will be listed in one dependency
359       resolution screen, making them very hard to handle. In  practice,  only
360       hold and unhold operations are useful when applied to groups.
361
362
363   Resolving depends and conflicts
364       When  the  change request results in one or more unsatisfied depends or
365       conflicts, dselect  prompts  the  user  with  a  dependency  resolution
366       screen. First however, an informative help screen is displayed.
367
368       The  top  half  of  this  screen  lists all the packages that will have
369       unresolved depends or conflicts, as a result of the  requested  change,
370       and  all  the  packages  whose  installation  can  resolve any of these
371       depends or whose removal can resolve any of the conflicts.  The  bottom
372       half defaults to show the depends or conflicts that cause the currently
373       selected package to be listed.
374
375       When the sublist of packages is displayed initially, dselect  may  have
376       already  set  the  requested  selection  status  of  some of the listed
377       packages, in order to resolve the depends or conflicts that caused  the
378       dependency  resolution  screen  to be displayed. Usually, it is best to
379       follow up the suggestions made by dselect.
380
381       The listed packages' selection state may be reverted  to  the  original
382       settings,  as they were before the unresolved depends or conflicts were
383       created, by pressing the  ‘R’  key.   By  pressing  the  ‘D’  key,  the
384       automatic  suggestions  are  reset,  but  the  change  that  caused the
385       dependency resolution screen to  be  prompted  is  kept  as  requested.
386       Finally, by pressing ‘U’, the selections are again set to the automatic
387       suggestion values.
388
389
390   Establishing the requested selections
391       By pressing  enter,  the  currently  displayed  set  of  selections  is
392       accepted.  If  dselect detects no unresolved depends as a result of the
393       requested selections, the new selections  will  be  set.   However,  if
394       there  are  any  unresolved depends, dselect will again prompt the user
395       with a dependency resolution screen.
396
397       To alter a  set  of  selections  that  creates  unresolved  depends  or
398       conflicts  and  forcing  dselect  to accept it, press the ‘Q’ key. This
399       sets  the  selections  as  specified  by  the  user,   unconditionally.
400       Generally, don't do this unless you've read the fine print.
401
402       The  opposite effect, to back out any selections change requests and go
403       back to the previous list of selections, is attained  by  pressing  the
404X’  or  escape  keys.  By repeatedly pressing these keys, any possibly
405       detrimental changes to the requested package selections can  be  backed
406       out completely to the last established settings.
407
408       If  you  mistakenly  establish some settings and wish to revert all the
409       selections to what is currently installed on the system, press the  ‘C
410       key.   This  is  somewhat  similar  to  using the unhold command on all
411       packages, but provides a more obvious panic button in cases  where  the
412       user pressed enter by accident.
413
414

EXIT STATUS

416       0      The requested command was successfully performed.
417
418       2      Fatal  or unrecoverable error due to invalid command-line usage,
419              or interactions  with  the  system,  such  as  accesses  to  the
420              database, memory allocations, etc.
421

ENVIRONMENT

423       HOME   If  set, dselect will use it as the directory from which to read
424              the user specific configuration file.
425

BUGS

427       The dselect package selection interface is confusing to some new users.
428       Reportedly, it even makes seasoned kernel developers cry.
429
430       The documentation is lacking.
431
432       There is no help option in the main menu.
433
434       The visible list of available packages cannot be reduced.
435
436       The  built  in access methods can no longer stand up to current quality
437       standards. Use the access method provided by apt, it is  not  only  not
438       broken, it is also much more flexible than the built in access methods.
439

SEE ALSO

441       dpkg(1), apt-get(8), sources.list(5), deb(5).
442
443
444
4451.18.25                           2018-06-26                        dselect(1)
Impressum