PKG_DELETE(1) | General Commands Manual | PKG_DELETE(1)

# NAME

`pkg_delete` — delete software package distributions

# SYNOPSIS

`pkg_delete` | [`-acIimnqsVvXx`] [`-B` pkg-destdir] [`-D` name[=value]] [pkg-name ...]

# DESCRIPTION

The `pkg_delete` command is used to delete packages that have been previously installed with the pkg_add(1) command.

Package names may be specified either as the package name itself, or as a filename which consists of the package name plus the “.tgz” suffix, or as a full pathname like /var/db/pkg/pkgname, so that shell wildcards can be used.

Version numbers and flavors (see packages-specs(7)) can be omitted, unless the resulting specification is ambiguous.

Otherwise, pkg-name in `pkg_delete` may use the same convenient shortcuts as pkg_add(1): ‘`pkg_delete` autoconf%2.13’ will delete autoconf from the 2.13 branch.

`pkg_delete` will syslog(3) deletions by default.

`pkg_delete` relies on the file system information being consistent. In case of a system crash, /var/db/pkg may become corrupted. Use pkg_check(8) to repair things.

`pkg_delete` may ask questions in interactive mode, or error out otherwise. Interactive mode is the default on a tty, see options `-I/i`.

The options are as follows:

`-a`
  Delete unused dependencies (packages that are not needed by anything tagged as installed manually). Can be used without pkgnames. If used with pkgnames, it will only delete non manual installs in the list.
`-B` pkg-destdir
  Set pkg-destdir as the prefix to prepend to any object deleted.
`-c`
  Delete extra configuration files, users and groups mentioned as `@extra`, `@newuser` and `@newgroup` in the packing-list, respectively.
`-D` name[=value]
  Force removal of the package. name is a keyword that states what failsafe should be waived. Recognized keywords include:

  `baddepend`
    Force the deletion of packages even if they reference nonexistent dependencies.
  `checksum`
    Verify checksums before deleting files.
  `dependencies`
    Also delete the whole set of packages that depends upon the requested packages.
  `nonroot`
    Uninstall even if not running as root.
  `scripts`
    External scripts may fail.
`-I`
  Force non-interactive mode. Default is to be interactive when run from a tty.
`-i`
  Force interactive mode, even if not run from a tty. `pkg_delete` may ask questions to the user if faced with difficult decisions.
`-m`
  Causes `pkg_delete` to always display the progress meter in cases it would not do so by default.
`-n`
  Don't actually deinstall a package, just report the steps that would be taken if it were.
`-qq`
  Do not bother with checksums for configuration files.
`-s`
  Don't actually deinstall packages, report the disk size changes that would happen.
`-V`
  Turn on statistics output. For now, only displays the number of packages done/total number of packages. Several `-V` will turn on more statistics in the future.
`-v`
  Turn on verbose output. Several `-v` turn on more verbose output. By default, `pkg_delete` is almost completely silent, but it reacts to keyboard status requests (see stty(1)). `-v` turns on basic messages, `-vv` adds relevant system operations, `-vvv` shows most internal computations apart from individual file/directory additions, and `-vvvvv` shows everything.
`-X`
  Delete everything, except the list of packages that follow.
`-x`
  Disable progress meter.

# TECHNICAL DETAILS

`pkg_delete` examines installed package records for the pkgname specified, checks inter-dependencies between installed packages, deletes the package contents in an order respecting dependencies (e.g., packages with dependencies get removed first), and finally removes the package records.

If a package is required by other installed packages not mentioned in the list of packages to remove, `pkg_delete` will list those dependent packages and refuse to delete the package.

# ENVIRONMENT

`PKG_CHECKSUM`
  If set, verify files checksums during deletion, exactly like `-D` `checksum`.
`PKG_DBDIR`
  Where to look for installed packages instead of /var/db/pkg.

# SEE ALSO

pkg_add(1), pkg_create(1), pkg_info(1), packages-specs(7), pkg_check(8)

# AUTHORS

Jordan Hubbard
  initial design
Marc Espie
  complete rewrite

May 22, 2025 | Debian