I'm new to Ubuntu and would like to know where I can find the location of program files for programs installed from the Ubuntu Software Center or the Terminal.
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If you prefer/use RPM on Ubuntu, you can also use rpm –ql [package] to get a list. This method also happens to work on most Fedora and RHEL distros.– Ray FossDec 19, 2017 at 14:42
6 Answers
Also, if you just need to know where the executable is you can run whereis executable
or which executable
For instance:
$ whereis firefox
firefox: /usr/bin/firefox /etc/firefox /usr/lib/firefox /usr/share/man/man1/firefox.1.gz
$ which firefox
/usr/bin/firefox
on the command line, you can use dpkg --listfiles packagename
. For instance, dpkg --listfiles firefox
. If you want to see what files a package contains without installing it, then you can install apt-file and use that.
But you really shouldn't mess with it. There is usually no reason to manually interfere with the contents of a package. All configuration files for normal applications are placed in the users home directory. You don't have savegames in C:\Programfiles\Appname\savegames
, for instance. They would be placed in /home/username/.local/share/appname/savegames
. That way, if you move your home directory to another machine, it keeps all configurations and user data.
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This command says "package 'sdl' is not installed"; But this command: "dpkg --get-selections | grep sdl" returned : libsdl-image1.2:amd64 install ---- libsdl1.2debian:amd64 install ---- libsdl2-2.0-0:amd64 install ---- libsdl2-dev install– Dr.jackyDec 19, 2015 at 6:48
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The OP wants to know where the installation directory containing the app files is located. He did not ask for a list of files in a package. Nov 6, 2018 at 8:51
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@HedleyFinger: There is no such thing as the "installation directory". Each app has files stored in many different directories for different types of files. /etc for default configs, /usr/bin for binaries, /usr/lib for libraries, etc. The command I showed, shows where all app files are installed. Nov 7, 2018 at 16:51
If you do not find the command with whereis
or which
then maybe it is an alias. Try
alias
and check if the command is in the list.
Use the synaptic-package-manager
:
Assuming that we'd like to locate the files of the autotools-dev package, under 'Quick filter' enter autotools to locate it. The autotools-dev package appears automatically. Select it by clicking on it and then press 'Properties'. In the appearing dialog select the tab 'Installed Files'.
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4
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2I appreciate the screen shot and think this answer is a useful addition. It shouldn't be down voted. Jan 16, 2017 at 21:58
The builtin Bash command, called command
is also available:
command [-pVv] command [arguments …]
Examples of usage:
$ command -v cat
/bin/cat
$ command -V cat
cat is /bin/cat
When the searched command is an alias:
$ command -v ll
alias ll='ls -alF'
$ command -V ll
ll is aliased to `ls -alF'