I learned how to view the configuration files for a package that's already installed from reading:
How to list all configuration files for an already installed package?
Using dnsmasq as an example, I can view the files and configuration files for that package after it's installed using these two commands:
cat /var/lib/dpkg/info/dnsmasq.conffiles
dpkg -L dnsmasq
I know I can search for the existence of the package and get relevant meta data about the package using these commands
dpkg --list | grep dnsmasq
apt-cache search dnsmasq
apt-cache show dnsmasq
But, I'd like to know the configuration files for the package before installing it.
How do I list configuration files for a package before installing the package?