2619

I'd like to output a list of all installed packages into a text file so that I can review it and bulk-install on another system. How would I do this?

2

25 Answers 25

3010

Ubuntu 14.04 and above

The apt tool on Ubuntu 14.04 and above makes this very easy.

apt list --installed

Older Versions

To get a list of packages installed locally do this in your terminal:

dpkg --get-selections | grep -v deinstall

(The -v tag "inverts" grep to return non-matching lines)

To get a list of a specific package installed:

dpkg --get-selections | grep postgres

To save that list to a text file called packages on your desktop do this in your terminal:

dpkg --get-selections | grep -v deinstall > ~/Desktop/packages

Alternatively, simply use

dpkg -l

(you don't need to run any of these commands as the superuser, so no sudo or any other variants necessary here)

15
  • 43
    Then, when installing to the new computer, do cat ~/Desktop/packages > sudo dpkg --set-selections && sudo apt-get dselect upgrade source
    – koanhead
    Dec 17, 2010 at 5:51
  • 15
    The syntax for dpkg may have changed slightly since 2006 because that command didn't work for me, @koanhead. sudo dpkg --set-selections < ~/Desktop/packages && sudo apt-get -u dselect-upgrade does the trick.
    – James
    Feb 17, 2011 at 20:44
  • 264
    Note that this won't keep track of which packages were explicitly installed by the user and which were installed as dependencies. This means that if you use this method to recreate your setup on another machine, apt won't be able to remove unneeded dependencies when you remove a given package.
    – intuited
    Aug 28, 2012 at 21:03
  • 2
    Note that if you've installed some packages from other sources (other ppa sites), you'll need to add those sources to sources.list when you setup the new machine. Some examples: dropbox, heroku, steam, braid, ...
    – drevicko
    Jun 14, 2013 at 1:52
  • 83
    It's sad and amazing that @intuited 's comment is not better understood by the community. Would the more "highly rated" contributors stop to think more before giving the advice that simply reloading old packages on a new ubuntu version is not a good idea(?). With all the dpkg options I still do not see one that pulls out the 'expressely' installed packages by a user in order that THAT list can be reloaded and allowed to have its dependencies installed; I would love to know it - please share that info. In the meantime, make a list of the packages you really need on a re-install and run that
    – Ricalsin
    Jul 17, 2013 at 17:42
507

To get just the packages which were expressly installed (not just installed as dependencies), you can run

aptitude search '~i!~M'

This will also include a brief description, which you may want. If not, also add the option -F '%p', as mentioned by karthick87.


Yet another option seems to be to copy the file /var/lib/apt/extended_states, which is a text file database in this format:

Package: grub-common
Architecture: amd64
Auto-Installed: 0

Package: linux-headers-2.6.35-22-generic
Architecture: amd64
Auto-Installed: 1

Auto-Installed: 0 indicates that the package was expressly installed and is not just a dependency.

14
  • 62
    This should be the correct answer. Why list dependencies? Dec 8, 2012 at 1:44
  • 14
    This should be the answer, but using aptitude is a bit unreliable because of Multiarch currently (fixes on the way), unfortunately. Still +1 for pointing out only listing explicitly installed packages and a way to do this (despite it won't work on 11.10+ currently).
    – gertvdijk
    Jan 11, 2013 at 15:31
  • 5
    @intuited "Fix Released" for Precise (some time ago). :)
    – gertvdijk
    Jun 20, 2013 at 20:10
  • 14
    This lists all packages, not just manually installed packages on Ubuntu 13.10. Oct 31, 2013 at 14:33
  • 19
    is there a way to achieve the same result with apt-get? Jul 10, 2017 at 13:27
258

To list all packages intentionally installed (not as dependencies) by apt commands, run the following :

(zcat $(ls -tr /var/log/apt/history.log*.gz); cat /var/log/apt/history.log) 2>/dev/null |
  egrep '^(Start-Date:|Commandline:)' |
  grep -v aptdaemon |
  egrep '^Commandline:'

This provides a reverse time based view, with older commands listed first:

Commandline: apt-get install k3b
Commandline: apt-get install jhead
...

Installation data also showing synaptic usage, but without details (the same with installation date) :

(zcat $(ls -tr /var/log/apt/history.log*.gz); cat /var/log/apt/history.log) 2>/dev/null |
  egrep '^(Start-Date:|Commandline:)' |
  grep -v aptdaemon |
  egrep -B1 '^Commandline:'

providing the following:

Start-Date: 2012-09-23  14:02:14
Commandline: apt-get install gparted
Start-Date: 2012-09-23  15:02:51
Commandline: apt-get install sysstat
...
9
  • 3
    Or (with zgrep and removing update messages): zgrep -hE '^(Start-Date:|Commandline:)' $(ls -tr /var/log/apt/history.log*.gz ) | egrep -v 'aptdaemon|upgrade' | egrep -B1 '^Commandline:'
    – belacqua
    May 17, 2013 at 16:16
  • 3
    Does this approach miss packages installed with dpkg??
    – drevicko
    Jun 13, 2013 at 23:27
  • 9
    While the above simple answers are good for the general user. This method by far is the best for backtracking all the customizations done to the machine, as it also shows what was removed, or added, from the base image, as it list them in the sequence it was performed, and helps you remember which is the correct sequence to add them back in another system.
    – AllGamer
    Jul 24, 2014 at 16:27
  • 3
    @drevicko you are correct, it does not list packages that are installed with dpkg Apr 14, 2015 at 10:39
  • 4
    This is pretty handy for keeping organized-- my brain prefers it this way for whatever reason.. Apr 8, 2016 at 15:36
210

Create a backup of what packages are currently installed:

dpkg --get-selections > list.txt

Then (on another system) restore installations from that list:

dpkg --clear-selections
sudo dpkg --set-selections < list.txt

To get rid of stale packages:

sudo apt-get autoremove

To get installed like at backup time (i.e. to install packages set by dpkg --set-selections):

sudo apt-get dselect-upgrade
3
  • 8
    Great tip about restoring on another machine. +1. Jan 17, 2013 at 0:28
  • 16
    migrating between 2 different ubuntu 12.04 machines this approach broke my system. it took a while until I realized that somehow ubuntu-desktop got uninstalled - probably due to one of the dpkg commands. be careful, it took me hours to repair the damage!
    – Karl Frisk
    Aug 19, 2013 at 16:02
  • 1
    And sometimes system updates an app that you specifically wish system to not touch it ever, do fire this at end of commands sudo apt-mark hold name-your-package . This will prevent apt-get from upgrading to current version which is the default for updating process.
    – Faron
    Mar 1, 2016 at 0:29
108
apt-mark showmanual

man pages state:

will print a list of manually installed packages

So, it should just give a list of explicitly installed packages (though this includes packages that were part of the default initial install) without all of the dependencies included due to these packages being installed.

To output the result into a text file:

apt-mark showmanual > list-manually-installed.txt
5
  • On Debian "apt-mark showmanual" didn't work on "squeeze" but worked on "wheezy"
    – Wadih M.
    Oct 5, 2015 at 0:07
  • 15
    Like with most other answers, apt-mark showmanual doesn't really. It also lists tons of automatically installed packages, probably part of the base install.
    – mivk
    Nov 29, 2015 at 22:05
  • 8
    Well the question was for installed packages and this gives all installed packages minus the automatically installed dependencies. It does include the initial packages as part of the initial install. I guess you could run this on a fresh install to get a list of the default installs and then subtract that from this to see the difference. Nov 29, 2015 at 23:54
  • 18
    No one mention this alternative to list manually installed packages: apt list --manual-installed. Jan 18, 2019 at 1:59
  • Is there a way to filter what's only from official repos from 3th party software and depencies that have been installed using the output of apt-mark showmanual ? @Tim Tisdall
    – user849355
    Jan 26, 2023 at 14:43
45

dpkg-query (instead of dpkg --get-selections, which lists some packages that are not installed) as follows:

dpkg-query -W -f='${PackageSpec} ${Status}\n' | grep installed |  sort -u | cut -f1 -d \ > installed-pkgs

Or:

dpkg -l | grep ^ii | sed 's_  _\t_g' | cut -f 2 > installed-pkgs
3
  • Typying # for pkg in `cat installed-pkgs`; do apt-get install -y $pkg; done in the second system I have made this so that it will install Packages. Mar 11, 2015 at 19:46
  • 1
    @julianromera: apt-get install -y $(< installed-pkgs) will make it so that apt-get runs just once and takes care of all dependencies at once.
    – jamadagni
    Nov 10, 2015 at 8:29
  • @julianromera...correct me if I'm mistaken but to build an app with dependencies before doing the install usually would be sudo apt-get build-dep name-package; sudo apt-get install name-package; ?
    – Faron
    Mar 1, 2016 at 0:39
44

To list all installed packages,

dpkg -l |awk '/^[hi]i/{print $2}' > 1.txt

or

aptitude search -F '%p' '~i' > 1.txt

or

dpkg --get-selections > 1.txt

Note:
You will get the result 1.txt file in your home folder or you can specify your own path.

0
41

APT-Clone

This package can be used to clone/restore the packages on a apt based system.

  • It will save/restore the packages, sources.list, keyring and automatic-installed states.
  • It can also save/restore no longer downloadable packages using dpkg-repack.

source: man apt-clone

APT-Clone is used by ubiquity (Ubuntu installer) for upgrade process. It is much better than the dpkg --get-selections solution because:

  1. It preserves all repositories information.
  2. It keeps track of what packages were automatically installed.
  3. It allows to repack locally installed DEB files.

How to Use

  1. Install

     sudo apt-get install apt-clone
    
  2. Make backup

     sudo apt-clone clone path-to/apt-clone-state-ubuntu-$(lsb_release -sr)-$(date +%F).tar.gz
    
  3. Restore backup

     sudo apt-clone restore path-to/apt-clone-state-ubuntu.tar.gz
    

    Restore to newer release:

     sudo apt-clone restore-new-distro path-to/apt-clone-state-ubuntu.tar.gz $(lsb_release -sc)
    

Result structure

It makes a simple gzipped tar file which can be easily edited and reviewed before restoring on the other machines. Here an example of its structure:

/
├── etc
│   └── apt
│       ├── preferences.d
│       ├── sources.list
│       ├── sources.list.d
│       │   ├── anton_-ubuntu-dnscrypt-vivid.list
│       │   ├── maarten-baert-ubuntu-simplescreenrecorder-vivid.list
│       │   └── megasync.list
│       ├── trusted.gpg
│       └── trusted.gpg.d
│           ├── anton__ubuntu_dnscrypt.gpg
│           ├── anton__ubuntu_dnscrypt.gpg~
│           ├── maarten-baert_ubuntu_simplescreenrecorder.gpg
│           └── maarten-baert_ubuntu_simplescreenrecorder.gpg~
└── var
    └── lib
        └── apt-clone
            ├── extended_states
            ├── installed.pkgs
            └── uname
38

You can use Synaptic to save the current state of your installed packaged. In Synaptic, select "file/save markings", Enter the name of the file to save the state to, and make sure to check the "Save full state, not only changes" box.

The file saved from this can be loaded into a new machine using "file/read markings" in Synaptic.

38

I recommend using blueprint. Even though it is designed for servers, it can be also used from desktops as well. It will create a shell script/chef/puppet that you ca use to re-install all you packages.

1
  • 1
    I am not trying a complete mirror, but only the fact of taking config files into account is awesome. I was looking for such a tool for a while now, thank you very much!
    – tbolender
    Sep 5, 2014 at 9:58
36

There's also a tool called Aptik (currently proprietary, both command line and GUI) which can help you view a list of all installed packages, with an option to select/unselect some of them, make a backup list, and then restore the same set of packages in another system.

To install:

sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:teejee2008/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install aptik

Further info: https://teejeetech.in/aptik/

enter image description here

As can be seen in the screenshot, Aptik lets you also backup and restore PPAs, which will certainly be necessary to install some of the packages installed.

1
  • 1
    If you want the GUI, you have to install apt-get install aptik-gtk as well May 24, 2018 at 6:14
35

You want to reinstall the packages now there on 12.04, right?

If so, it's very easy. You'll need an "Ubuntu Single Sign On account." (Create it before reinstalling so that your system is synced.)

  1. Go to the Software Center and look for the "Sync Between Computers..." option under the File menu.

  2. When you click on it you will see your computer registered and a list of all apps on your computer.

  3. When you will install fresh, that computer will be considered a new computer.

  4. You just have to sign in to your Ubuntu account and your previous computer will be shown.

  5. Click on it; you'll get a list of all apps. Select "install" on the app you want to install.

1
  • I set the same name for my computer on a fresh installation to prevent from huge downloading from Ubuntu One server each time. Do you think that this work for me? Aug 17, 2013 at 20:29
30

You can look at the apt log under /var/log/apt/ and the dpkg log under /var/log/

and you can get the list of the installed packages with just a command:

dpkg -l | grep '^ii '
29

There's a great explanation on Unix StackExchange that describes how to use aptitude to list packages not installed as dependencies, and how to compare that list with the list of default packages for your Ubuntu release.

To obtain the manifest file for desktop versions of 12.04 and newer, visit this site, choose your release, and scroll down below the CD images to the files section. You'll find something like "ubuntu-12.04.4-desktop-amd64+mac.manifest" that matches your architecture.

For server versions you'll need to obtain the manifest file from the ISO that was used to install the original system. For a VPS or cloud server, your provider may make the images available or you might need to contact them.

Here's an example using the code from the referenced post, along with modifications to install on the new server.

Old server (code from other post, output saved to file):

aptitude search '~i !~M' -F '%p' --disable-columns | sort -u > currently-installed.list
wget -qO - http://mirror.pnl.gov/releases/precise/ubuntu-12.04.3-desktop-amd64.manifest \
  | cut -f1 | sort -u > default-installed.list
comm -23 currently-installed.list default-installed.list > user-installed.list

On the new server, copy the file using scp, then use sed to append 'install' to every line (-i performs an inline-replace). Then you can use the list as input to 'dpkg --set-selections' and install the packages with apt-get:

scp user@oldserver:user-installed.list .
sed -i 's/$/\tinstall/' user-installed.list
sudo dpkg --set-selections < user-installed.list
sudo apt-get dselect-upgrade

Before starting this task, I recommend reading and understanding all parts of the post mentioned in the beginning, and then consult the aptitude reference guide for details on search patterns and the Customizing how packages are displayed to use the -F option as you like.

28

I'm surprised the apt-cache command designed exactly for this purpose hasn't been mentioned above...

apt-cache pkgnames

For more info, run apt-cache --help:

**apt-cache is a low-level tool used to query information
from APT's binary cache files

Commands:
   gencaches - Build both the package and source cache
   showpkg - Show some general information for a single package
   showsrc - Show source records
   stats - Show some basic statistics
   dump - Show the entire file in a terse form
   dumpavail - Print an available file to stdout
   unmet - Show unmet dependencies
   search - Search the package list for a regex pattern
   show - Show a readable record for the package
   depends - Show raw dependency information for a package
   rdepends - Show reverse dependency information for a package
   pkgnames - List the names of all packages in the system
   dotty - Generate package graphs for GraphViz
   xvcg - Generate package graphs for xvcg
   policy - Show policy settings

Options:
  -h   This help text.
  -p=? The package cache.
  -s=? The source cache.
  -q   Disable progress indicator.
  -i   Show only important deps for the unmet command.
  -c=? Read this configuration file
  -o=? Set an arbitrary configuration option, eg -o dir::cache=/tmp
See the apt-cache(8) and apt.conf(5) manual pages for more information.
**
2
  • 7
    TLDR; I eventually found that apt --installed listgives best result (as suggested in top answer above. Although apt-cache pkgnames seems to do the trick at first glance, it lists "all packages in the system" (per the help text above), which also includes packages which apt knows about but aren't actually installed. There's a --installed option but it doesn't seem to work with pkgnames.
    – sxc731
    Jan 1, 2016 at 16:05
  • 4
    apt-cache pkgnames | wc -l gives 55909 packages (the system knows about), whereas aptitude search '~i!~M' | wc -l gives 2160 (packages explicitly installed, without dependencies).
    – knb
    Apr 11, 2017 at 8:42
22

For the complete rundown see:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SwitchingToUbuntu/FromLinux/RedHatEnterpriseLinuxAndFedora#Command_Line_Tools

half way across the page:

dpkg --list

22

Help out this community wiki - Add up-to-date solutions.


dpkg, xargs, & apt-get

This command should accomplish the creation of a text file containing installed packages:

dpkg -l | awk  '{print $2}' > package_list.txt

To accomplish the bulk installation of the listed packages you'll need to edit 'package_list.txt'. Remove the weird lines at the top of the file using a text editor. You can then use this command to install packages from the created file using:

xargs < package_list.txt apt-get install -y

apt-cache, xargs, & apt-get

Only use this method if you want all current packages to be installed using the list (which includes automatically installed, etc).

Output the response of 'apt-cache pkgnames' to a file we'll simply name "package_list.txt". You can accomplish this with:

apt-cache pkgnames > package_list.txt

Then when you want to install packages from "package_list.txt" you would use this command:

xargs < package_list.txt apt-get install -y

apt-mark, xargs, & apt-get

We can use the command apt-mark showmanual to give a list of packages that were manually or initially installed with Ubuntu. We'll want to output that to a file we'll just call "package-list.txt". Use this command to accomplish that:

apt-mark showmanual > package-list.txt

The command we would use to install packages from the file "package_list.txt" is below.

xargs < package_list.txt apt-get install -y

Aptik Migration Utility

Utility to simplify re-installation of software packages after upgrading/re-installing Ubuntu-based distributions.
[Launchpad | Aptik]

For information on Aptik, try visiting its official page, and for a screenshot click here or view the end of this section.

Installing Aptik is simple. Follow these steps:

  1. Add the PPA with:
    sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:teejee2008/ppa

  2. Update apt with the below command.
    sudo apt-get update

  3. Install Aptik using:
    sudo apt-get install aptik

Aptik Migration Utility v16.5.2


3
  • 1
    The output from apt-mark showmanual includes Bash, Unity, and Xorg, among others. Are they supposed to be there?
    – wjandrea
    Aug 16, 2016 at 22:55
  • @wjandrea the output of 'apt-mark showmanual' includes Bash & Unity in my generated list, also. It should be normal as the command lists manually installed & initially installed w/ Ubuntu. Aug 16, 2016 at 22:59
  • First solution is the best. All other with dpkg and selections doesn't work on new Ubuntu since few versions.
    – QkiZ
    Nov 22, 2019 at 1:03
18

The below command will also lists all the installed packages,

grep ' installed ' /var/log/dpkg.log /var/log/dpkg.log.1 | awk '{print $5}' | sort -u
1
  • The .1 there implies the log was rotated, if that's the case then maybe it's better to grep /var/log/dpkg.log* to get all rotated logs. Apr 14, 2015 at 11:55
16

To save a list of installed packages to a file named installed_packages.txt, just run:

dpkg-query --list >> installed_packages.txt
5

In addition to APT packages, many GUI packages are nowadays distributed as snaps.

If your package can't be found in apt list --installed, then try snap list:

$ snap list

Name                  Version                     Rev   Tracking  Publisher       Notes
gimp                  2.10.10                     165   stable    snapcrafters    -
gnome-calculator      3.32.1                      406   stable/…  canonical✓      -
keepassxc             2.4.1                       267   stable    keepassxreboot  -
...

It's also a good idea to add /snap/bin to the PATH so you can start those from the terminal (done automatically for non-root users).

5

https://www.rosehosting.com/blog/list-all-installed-packages-with-apt-on-ubuntu/:

1. List the installed software packages on Ubuntu

To list the installed software packages on your machine you can use the following command:

sudo apt list --installed

The output of the command will be very similar to the following one, depending on which packages are currently installed:

Listing...
acl/xenial,now 2.2.52-3 amd64 [installed]
adduser/xenial,xenial,now 3.113+nmu3ubuntu4 all [installed]
apache2/xenial-updates,xenial-security,now 2.4.18-2ubuntu3.1 amd64 [installed]
apache2-bin/xenial-updates,xenial-security,now 2.4.18-2ubuntu3.1 amd64 [installed,automatic]
apache2-data/xenial-updates,xenial-updates,xenial-security,xenial-security,now 2.4.18-2ubuntu3.1 all [installed,automatic]
apache2-doc/xenial-updates,xenial-updates,xenial-security,xenial-security,now 2.4.18-2ubuntu3.1 all [installed]
apache2-utils/xenial-updates,xenial-security,now 2.4.18-2ubuntu3.1 amd64 [installed]
apparmor/xenial-updates,now 2.10.95-0ubuntu2.5 amd64 [installed,automatic]
apt/xenial-updates,now 1.2.19 amd64 [installed]
apt-utils/xenial-updates,now 1.2.19 amd64 [installed]
...

2. Use the LESS program

To easily read the entire output you can use the less program.

sudo apt list --installed | less

3. Use the GREP Command

You can look for a specific package through the output using the grep program.

sudo apt list --installed | grep -i apache

4. List all packages that include Apache

The output from the above command will list all packages that include apache in their names.

apache2/xenial-updates,xenial-security,now 2.4.18-2ubuntu3.1 amd64 [installed]
apache2-bin/xenial-updates,xenial-security,now 2.4.18-2ubuntu3.1 amd64 [installed,automatic]
apache2-data/xenial-updates,xenial-updates,xenial-security,xenial-security,now 2.4.18-2ubuntu3.1 all [installed,automatic]
apache2-doc/xenial-updates,xenial-updates,xenial-security,xenial-security,now 2.4.18-2ubuntu3.1 all [installed]
apache2-utils/xenial-updates,xenial-security,now 2.4.18-2ubuntu3.1 amd64 [installed]
libapache2-mod-php/xenial,xenial,now 1:7.0+35ubuntu6 all [installed,automatic]
libapache2-mod-php7.0/xenial-updates,now 7.0.13-0ubuntu0.16.04.1 amd64 [installed,automatic]
libapache2-mod-security2/xenial,now 2.9.0-1 amd64 [installed]
libapache2-modsecurity/xenial,xenial,now 2.9.0-1 all [installed]

Apt supports patterns to match package names and options to list installed (--installed) packages, upgradeable (--upgradeable) packages or all available (--all-versions) package versions.

5. Use the DPKG program

Another alternative that you can use to list the installed software packages on your Ubuntu VPS is the dpkg command.

sudo dpkg -l

The output of the command will provide you with information such as the name of the package, version, architecture and short description about the package. Of course, you can use the grep program again to search for a specific package.

sudo dpkg -l | grep -i apache

The output should look like the one below:

ii  apache2                       2.4.18-2ubuntu3.1                     amd64        Apache HTTP Server
ii  apache2-bin                   2.4.18-2ubuntu3.1                     amd64        Apache HTTP Server (modules and other binary files)
ii  apache2-data                  2.4.18-2ubuntu3.1                     all          Apache HTTP Server (common files)
ii  apache2-doc                   2.4.18-2ubuntu3.1                     all          Apache HTTP Server (on-site documentation)
ii  apache2-utils                 2.4.18-2ubuntu3.1                     amd64        Apache HTTP Server (utility programs for web servers)
rc  apache2.2-common              2.2.22-6ubuntu5.1                     amd64        Apache HTTP Server common files
ii  libapache2-mod-php            1:7.0+35ubuntu6                       all          server-side, HTML-embedded scripting language (Apache 2 module) (default)
rc  libapache2-mod-php5           5.5.9+dfsg-1ubuntu4.16                amd64        server-side, HTML-embedded scripting language (Apache 2 module)
ii  libapache2-mod-php7.0         7.0.13-0ubuntu0.16.04.1               amd64        server-side, HTML-embedded scripting language (Apache 2 module)
ii  libapache2-mod-security2      2.9.0-1                               amd64        Tighten web applications security for Apache
ii  libapache2-modsecurity        2.9.0-1                               all          Dummy transitional package
ii  libapr1:amd64                 1.5.2-3                               amd64        Apache Portable Runtime Library
ii  libaprutil1:amd64             1.5.4-1build1                         amd64        Apache Portable Runtime Utility Library
ii  libaprutil1-dbd-sqlite3:amd64 1.5.4-1build1                         amd64        Apache Portable Runtime Utility Library - SQLite3 Driver
ii  libaprutil1-ldap:amd64        1.5.4-1build1                         amd64        Apache Portable Runtime Utility Library - LDAP Driver
.

With the competition of this tutorial, you have successfully learned how to list installed packages in Ubuntu.

1
  • the competition?
    – Fadi
    Feb 5, 2022 at 15:40
3

I think it is interesting to note apt list --installed or dpkg-query --list actually use the file called /var/lib/dpkg/status in behind where all the info about the packages is beard.

So if you would like to deal with the super extended list of packages just cat /var/lib/dpkg/status.

Note: Do not alter /var/lib/dpkg/status file.

2

The package dctrl-tools provide the grep-status tool to get the list of the packages marked as installed on your system:

sudo apt install dctrl-tools

Usage:

grep-status -FStatus -sPackage -n   "install ok installed"

See: man dctrl-tools

2

Another, easy and graphically beautiful approach is to use apt show command with '~i' -a flag to list only installed packages:

apt show '~i' -a

No need to use sudo.

By default, it also give useful information about all the packages, for example:

Package: linux-headers-generic-hwe-20.04
Version: 5.13.0.30.33~20.04.17
Status: install ok installed
Priority: optional
Section: kernel
Source: linux-meta-hwe-5.13
Maintainer: Ubuntu Kernel Team 
Installed-Size: 19.5 kB
Depends: linux-headers-5.13.0-30-generic
Download-Size: unknown
APT-Manual-Installed: no
APT-Sources: /var/lib/dpkg/status
Description: Generic Linux kernel headers
 This package will always depend on the latest generic kernel headers
 available.

If you want to exclude this information, use grep to print only the package name:

apt show '~i' | grep 'Package:'

For example:

Package: linux-firmware
Package: linux-generic-hwe-20.04
Package: linux-image-generic-hwe-20.04
Package: linux-headers-generic-hwe-20.04
Package: linux-headers-5.13.0-28-generic
Package: linux-hwe-5.13-headers-5.13.0-28
Package: linux-headers-5.13.0-30-generic
Package: linux-hwe-5.13-headers-5.13.0-30
Package: linux-modules-5.13.0-28-generic
Package: linux-modules-extra-5.13.0-28-generic
Package: linux-modules-5.13.0-30-generic
Package: linux-modules-extra-5.13.0-30-generic
0

I had an Ubuntu Server installation on a corrupted SD card from which I could no longer boot, and I needed to recover which packages I had installed on it.

Luckily, dpkg provides the --root option to specify the path towards an alternative root filesystem (i.e. that broken system's /).

So in a fresh Ubuntu Server installation on another SD card, after having mounted the corrupted SD card's root filesystem to /media/external-sd-card-root-fs using a second SD card reader, that broken system's installed packages can be listed with (and hoping there are no bad sectors within the investigated files):

dpkg --root=/media/external-sd-card-root-fs --get-selections

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