how do I get apt-get to completely uninstall a package?

fulvetta · 10-05-2013, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnnyHead

Hi! I too wanted to purge my machine throughly from old uninstalled packages... I have ubuntu karmic.

I used this simple trick:

dpkg --get-selections | grep deinstall > tobepurged

then opened the resulting file and removed the "deinstalled" line from each entry (used find deinstall and replace *blank*, there were a couple hundred packages). Finally:

cat tobepurged | xargs sudo dpkg -P

It worked fine for me and most important.. it didn't purge active packages!
Hope to hear some suggestions and ways to make it better. It's the first time I post an original solution (I understand it's very basic...) of mine on a linux forum.

I am well aware that this is a considerable bump, but I wanted to thank you for posting this. It worked beautifully on my CB system.

fulvetta · 10-06-2013, 01:41 AM

Just ran it on my web server and it removed 133 packages. So thrilled, thanks again!

JohnnyHead · 10-07-2013, 02:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fulvetta

Just ran it on my web server and it removed 133 packages. So thrilled, thanks again!

My very pleasure

fenario · 12-18-2013, 08:57 PM

s4sarath, yes in Ubuntu it is the same as Debian. Downloaded packages are kept in: /var/cache/apt/archives/
before you clean them out you could save them on an external HDD, just in case you may want/need to re-install them later on if you can't waste your download quota.

muxman, some programs add hidden folders (with a . in front; use keys: Ctrl + H to unhide them)
mostly they would be left behind after removing programs.
So if you don't need those folders again you can remove them too.

JeremyBoden · 04-02-2014, 07:37 AM

sudo apt-get purge 'package' removes the package files and also config files from /etc.
I think it also removes /var/log files - but not sure.

If you accept any prompts to remove dependent packages, they are simply removed (not purged).

However - apt-get does NOT remove files created in /home (usually prefixed with a dot).
This is a real pain - I've kept the same /home for years and running
apt-get clean removes all history of uninstalled packages.
However the clean option speeds up simplistic backup programs by a huge factor...

evo2 · 04-02-2014, 07:17 PM

Hi,

I don't normally like to comment on zombie threads, but I also don't like misinformation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeremyBoden

apt-get clean removes all history of uninstalled packages.

No it does not. It removes downloaded package files from /var/cache/apt/archives and /var/cache/apt/archives/partial/.

Evo2.

cmcanulty · 07-01-2014, 04:26 PM

How does purge compare to completely remove in synaptic?

replica9000 · 07-01-2014, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmcanulty

How does purge compare to completely remove in synaptic?

Same thing.

sudowtf · 12-17-2014, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnnyHead

Hi! I too wanted to purge my machine throughly from old uninstalled packages... I have ubuntu karmic.

I used this simple trick:

dpkg --get-selections | grep deinstall > tobepurged

then opened the resulting file and removed the "deinstalled" line from each entry (used find deinstall and replace *blank*, there were a couple hundred packages). Finally:

cat tobepurged | xargs sudo dpkg -P

It worked fine for me and most important.. it didn't purge active packages!
Hope to hear some suggestions and ways to make it better. It's the first time I post an original solution (I understand it's very basic...) of mine on a linux forum.

interesting! thank you.
same as one-liner:

Code:

dpkg --get-selections | grep deinstall | awk -F" " '{print $1}' | xargs sudo apt-get -y purge

JeremyBoden · 12-17-2014, 11:35 AM

Don't forget to remove any user files/directories which get created in /home, such as hidden config or data files.

jlibraryist · 03-15-2016, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HappyTux

apt-get --purge remove <package>

You should never remove files by hand use dpkg --purge <package> if you have already removed it with apt plus the files by hand and it thinks it is still configured this should get rid of it.

See above and try apt-get --reinstall install <package> to see if it helps if not the dpkg --purge then reinstall.

I am running a VM debian 8.3 testing a multitude of things and definitely found this suggestion for dpkg --purge <package> command to work.

I thought I'd toss in my 2 cents as a newbie learner.

Thank you.

JeremyBoden · 03-15-2016, 05:10 PM

Code:

apt-get --purge remove <package>

will remove all references to a package, including config files in /etc.
It won't touch any files in /home including any hidden files such as user config files.

Just using

Code:

apt-get remove <package>

or its equivalent in synaptic will leave some dross lying around.

jlibraryist · 03-16-2016, 07:04 PM

Thank you Jeremy.

muxman · 03-17-2016, 09:37 AM

After 12 years this thread is still going. Nice.

erik2282 · 03-17-2016, 10:43 AM

1,251,872 views is why i clicked on this.