pkg_delete(1) - NetBSD Manual Pages

pkg_delete(1)               NetBSD Reference Manual              pkg_delete(1)


NAME

     pkg_delete - a utility for deleting previously installed software package
     distributions


SYNOPSIS

     pkg_delete [-vDdnFfOrR] [-p prefix] pkg-name ...


DESCRIPTION

     The pkg_delete command is used to delete packages that have been previ-
     ously installed with the pkg_add(1) command.



WARNING

     Since the pkg_delete command may execute scripts or programs provided by
     a package file, your system may be susceptible to ``trojan horses'' or
     other subtle attacks from miscreants who create dangerous package files.

     You are advised to verify the competence and identity of those who pro-
     vide installable package files.  For extra protection, examine all the
     package control files in the package record directory ( /var/db/pkg/<pkg-
     name>/ ).  Pay particular attention to any +INSTALL, +DEINSTALL, +REQUIRE
     or +MTREE_DIRS files, and inspect the +CONTENTS file for @cwd, @mode
     (check for setuid), @dirrm, @exec, and @unexec directives, and/or use the
     pkg_info(1) command to examine the installed package control files.



OPTIONS

     The following command line options are supported:

     pkg-name ...
             The named packages are deinstalled, wildcards can be used, see
             pkg_info(1).  If no version is given, the one currently installed
             will be removed.  If the -F flag is given, one or more (absolute)
             filenames may be specified and the Package Database will be con-
             sulted for the package to which the given file belongs. These
             packages are then deinstalled.

     -v      Turn on verbose output.

     -D      If a deinstallation script exists for a given package, do not ex-
             ecute it.

     -n      Don't actually deinstall a package, just report the steps that
             would be taken if it were.

     -O      Only delete the package's entries from the package database, do
             not touch the package or it's files itself.

     -p prefix
             Set prefix as the directory in which to delete files from any in-
             stalled packages which do not explicitly set theirs.  For most
             packages, the prefix will be set automatically to the installed
             location by pkg_add(1).

     -r      Pkg_delete first builds a list of all packages that require (di-
             rectly and indirectly) the one being deleted.  It then deletes
             these packages using pkg_delete with the given options before
             deleting the user specified package.

     -R      Like the -r option, this does a recursive delete. The -R option
             deletes the given package and any packages required by it, unless
             some other package still needs them. This can be used to delete a
             package and all the packages it needs.

     -d      Remove empty directories created by file cleanup.  By default,
             only files/directories explicitly listed in a package's contents
             (either as normal files/directories or with the @dirrm directive)
             will be removed at deinstallation time.  This option tells
             pkg_delete to also remove any directories that were emptied as a
             result of removing the package.

     -F      Any pkg-name given will be interpreted as pathname which is sub-
             sequently transformed in a (real) package name via the Package
             Database. That way, packges can be deleted by giving a filename
             instead of the package-name.

     -f      Force removal of the package, even if a dependency is recorded or
             the deinstall or require script fails.



TECHNICAL DETAILS

     pkg_delete does pretty much what it says.  It examines installed package
     records in /var/db/pkg/<pkg-name>, deletes the package contents, and fi-
     nally removes the package records.

     If a package is required by other installed packages, pkg_delete will
     list those dependent packages and refuse to delete the package (unless
     the -f option is given).

     If a filename is given instead of a package name, the package of which
     the given file belongs to can be deleted if the -F Flag is given. The
     filename needs to be absolute, see the output produced by the pkg_info
     -aF command.

     If the package contains a require file (see pkg_create(1)), then this is
     executed first as
           require <pkg-name> DEINSTALL
     (where pkg-name is the name of the package in question and DEINSTALL is a
     keyword denoting that this is a deinstallation) to see whether or not de-
     installation should continue.  A non-zero exit status means no, unless
     the -f option is specified.

     If a deinstall script exists for the package, it is executed before and
     after any files are removed.  It is this script's responsibility to clean
     up any additional messy details around the package's installation, since
     all pkg_delete knows how to do is delete the files created in the origi-
     nal distribution.  The deinstall script is called as:
           deinstall <pkg-name> DEINSTALL
     before deleting all files and as:
           deinstall <pkg-name> POST-DEINSTALL
     after deleting them. Passing the keywords DEINSTALL and POST-DEINSTALL
     lets you potentially write only one program/script that handles all as-
     pects of installation and deletion.

     All scripts are called with the environment variable PKG_PREFIX set to
     the installation prefix (see the -p option above).  This allows a package
     author to write a script that reliably performs some action on the direc-
     tory where the package is installed, even if the user might have changed
     it by specifying the -p option when running pkg_delete or pkg_add.


SEE ALSO

     pkg_add(1), pkg_admin(1), pkg_create(1), pkg_info(1), mktemp(3),
     mtree(8).


AUTHORS

     Jordan Hubbard
             most of the work
     John Kohl
             refined it for NetBSD
     Hubert Feyrer
             NetBSD wildcard dependency processing, pkgdb, recursive "down"
             delete, etc.

NetBSD 1.5                      March 8rd, 1999                              3