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Accepted
Richard Holloway
Asked: 2010-08-18 07:52:40 +0800 CST

apt-get or aptitude equivalent to yum whatprovides [duplicate]

  • 772

Is there an equivalent to the yum "whatprovides" option in apt-get?

For example on CentOS

yum whatprovides /usr/share/gdm/themes/TreeFlower/background.png

Tells me 

redhat-logos-4.9.99-11.el5.centos.noarch : CentOS-related icons and pictures.
Repo        : base
Matched from:
Filename    : /usr/share/gdm/themes/TreeFlower/background.png

Can I get similar functionality on the command line in Ubuntu?

apt aptitude

4 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    This depends on whether the package containing the file is already installed. If so, use dpkg -S filename.

    If your intention is to find out which package to install to get a certain file, one option is to use the online packages.ubuntu.com: scroll down to "Search the contents of packages". Make sure that the right distribution is selected. If you're looking for a files irrespective of the path, check the appropriate option.

    There is also apt-file. Because this method required updating the files database, however, I prefer the other, instant option.

    • 40

  2. You want the 'apt-file' command.

    apt-file search /usr/share/gdm/themes/TreeFlower/background.png

    Before using it, you may need to create or update its database by running:

    apt-file update
    • 30

  3. wajig whichpkg /usr/share/gdm/themes/TreeFlower/background.png

    You'll have to install wajig, which is a frontend to a bunch of utilities related to apt. If you use wajig, you can use all of those tools without having to memorize their names.

    • 1

  4. Isn't this the same question as this How do I find the package that provides a file?

    I prefer the dpkg -S <filepath> command

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