What does the output of dpkg -l means?

Question

The command dpkg -l is used to list all installed packages in the system.

But if you look to the output such as below:

ii  whoopsie       0.1.34         Ubuntu crash database submission daemon
rc  wicd-daemon    1.7.2.3-1ubunt wired and wireless network manager - daemon
rc  wicd-gtk       1.7.2.3-1ubunt wired and wireless network manager - GTK+ cl
ii  winbind        2:3.6.3-2ubunt Samba nameservice integration server
ii  wine           1:1.7.18-0ubun Microsoft Windows Compatibility Layer (meta-
ii  wine-gecko2.21 2.21-0ubuntu1~ Microsoft Windows compatibility layer (embed
ii  wine-gecko2.21 2.21-0ubuntu1~ Microsoft Windows compatibility layer (embed
ii  wine-mono0.0.8 0.0.8-0ubuntu1 Microsoft Windows compatibility layer (.NET 
rc  wine1.4        1.4.1-0ubuntu1 Microsoft Windows Compatibility Layer (Binar
rc  wine1.4-amd64  1.4.1-0ubuntu1 Microsoft Windows Compatibility Layer (64-bi
rc  wine1.4-i386:i 1.4.1-0ubuntu1 Microsoft Windows Compatibility Layer (32-bi
ii  wine1.6        1:1.6.1-0ubunt Microsoft Windows Compatibility Layer (Binar

you can see the first element is either ii or rc.

So my question what is the meaning of ii and rc?

It wasn't like that. I really asked the question by time i found the link then when i see the answer is founded i marked as duplicate myself. It's not a game, It's self learning — Maythux, May 20 '15 at 15:01

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered May 20 '15 at 14:42

To get that you need to check the man page of dpkg-query. From man dpkg-query :

The first three columns of the output show the desired action, the package status, and errors, in that order.

          Desired action:
            u = Unknown
            i = Install
            h = Hold
            r = Remove
            p = Purge

          Package status:
            n = Not-installed
            c = Config-files
            H = Half-installed
            U = Unpacked
            F = Half-configured
            W = Triggers-awaiting
            t = Triggers-pending
            i = Installed

          Error flags:
            <empty> = (none)
            R = Reinst-required

score 2 · Answer 2 · edited May 20 '15 at 15:12

Quoted from https://linuxprograms.wordpress.com/2010/05/11/status-dpkg-list/

Status of every package is represented by three characters xxx

The first character signifies the desired state

u: Unknown (an unknown state)
i: Install (marked for installation)
r: Remove (marked for removal)
p: Purge (marked for purging)
h: Hold

The second character signifies the current state, whether it is installed or not.

n: Not- The package is not installed
i: Inst – The package is successfully installed
c: Cfg-files – Configuration files are present
u: Unpacked- The package is stilled unpacked
f: Failed-cfg- Failed to remove configuration files
h: Half-inst- The package is only partially installed
W: trig-aWait
t: Trig-pend

The third Character corresponds to the error state.

R: Reinst-required The package must be installed.

Then

rc comes to packages remove with config files present

ii comes to packages marked for installation and it's successfully installed

edited to remove my downvote sorry – A.B. May 20 '15 at 15:12 — A.B., May 20 '15 at 15:12

What does the output of dpkg -l means?

2 Answers2