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PKG-QUERY(8) System Manager's Manual PKG-QUERY(8) NAME pkg query -- query information for packages SYNOPSIS pkg query <query-format> <pkg-name> pkg query [-a] <query-format> pkg query -F <pkg-file> <query-format> pkg query [-Cgix] [-e <evaluation-condition>] <query-format> <pattern> <...> pkg query [--all] <query-format> pkg query --file <pkg-file> <query-format> pkg query [--{case-sensitive,glob,case-insensitive,regex}] [--evaluate <evaluation-condition>] <query-format> <pattern> <...> DESCRIPTION pkg query is used for displaying information about packages. OPTIONS The following options are supported by pkg query: -a, --all Match all packages from the database -C, --case-sensitive Make the standard or the regular expression (-x) matching against pkg-name in pattern case sensitive. This is the default, unless modified by setting CASE_SENSITIVE_MATCH to false in pkg.conf. -e, --evaluate Match packages using the given evaluation-condition. See "EVALUATION FORMAT" for details. -F pkg-file, --file pkg-file Display information only for the package file pkg-name. -i, --case-insensitive Make the standard or regular expression (-x) matching against pkg-name in pattern case insensitive. -g, --glob Treat <pattern> as a glob pattern. -x, --regex Treat <pattern> as a regular expression according to the "modern" or "extended" syntax of re_format(7). QUERY FORMAT There are two types of keywords for the query format: the multiline and the normal one. Only one type of multiline pattern is accepted for a given query. Normal patterns %n Name of the matched package %v Version of the matched package %o Origin of the matched package %p Prefix of the matched package %m Maintainer of the matched package %c Comment of the matched package %e Description of the matched package %w Home page of the matched package %V Returns 0 if the package is not marked as "vital", and 1 if the package is marked "vital". %l License logic of the matched package - nothing for single, & for AND, and | for OR %s[bh] The flat size of the matched package, where b is in bytes, and h is in human readable format. %a Returns 1 if the matched package was automatically installed as a de- pendency of another package, 0 otherwise. The package can be automati- cally removed via `pkg autoremove' when this flag is set and no other package depends on it. %Q Alternative architecture of the matched package %q Architecture of the matched package %k Returns 1 if the matched package is locked against modification or deletion, 0 otherwise %M message contained in the matched package %t Timestamp that the package was installed %R The name of the repository from which the package was installed if available, or "unknown-repository" otherwise. %X Internal package checksum %?[drCFODLUGBbAyY] Returns 0 if the list is empty and 1 if the list has information to display. d for dependencies r for reverse dependencies C for categories F for files O for options D for directories L for licenses U for users G for groups B for required shared libraries b for provided shared libraries y for provides Y for requires A for annotations %#[drCFODLUGBbAyY] Returns the number of elements in the list d for dependencies r for reverse dependencies C for categories F for files O for options D for directories L for licenses U for users G for groups B for required shared libraries b for provided shared libraries y for provides Y for requires A for annotations Multiline patterns %d[nov] Expands to the list of dependencies for the matched package, where n stands for the package name, o for the package origin, and v for the package version. %r[nov] Expands to the list of reverse dependencies for the matched package, where n stands for the package name, o for the package origin, and v for the package version. %C Expands to the list of categories the matched package belongs to. %F[psugmftl] Expands to the list of files of the matched package, where p stands for path, s for checksum, u for owner, g for group, m for mode (permis- sions), f for file flags, l for last modification time, and t for the symlink target (or empty string if no symlink). %D Expands to the list of directories of the matched package. %S[pugmf] Expands to the list of (sub-)directories of the matched package, where p stands for path, u for owner, g for group, m for mode (permissions), and f for file flags. Same as %D but allows specifying suboptions. %O[kv] Expands to the list of options of the matched package, where k stands for option key and v for option value. %L Expands to the list of license(s) for the matched package. %U Expands to the list of users needed by the matched package. %G Expands to the list of groups needed by the matched package. %B Expands to the list of shared libraries used by programs from the matched package. %b Expands to the list of shared libraries provided by the matched pack- age. %y Expands to the list of provides for the matched package. %Y Expands to the list of requires for the matched package. %A[tv] Expands to the list of annotations for the matched package, where t stands for the annotation tag, and v stands for the annotation value. Inline iteration with %{...%} When the format string contains a %{...%} construct, the entire format is interpreted using pkg_printf(3) format codes instead of the legacy query format codes. This allows multiline items to be joined on a single line using a custom separator, rather than producing one line per item. The syntax is: %X%{<item-format>%|<separator>%} Where X is a list-valued format code (A, B, C, D, F, G, L, O, U, d, r, b, y, Y), <item-format> is the format for each item, and <separator> (delimited by %|) is optional and inserted between items. Inside %{...%}, use pkg_printf(3) sub-option codes: %On for option name (%Ok is accepted as a deprecated alias), %Ov for option value, %An for an- notation name (%At is accepted as a deprecated alias), %Fn for file path, %Fp for file permissions, %Cn for category name, etc. See pkg_printf(3) for the full list of format codes. Note: When using %{...%}, the format codes outside the braces must also follow pkg_printf(3) conventions. In particular, %Fn is used for file path (not %Fp as in legacy query format). EVALUATION FORMAT Packages can be selected by using expressions comparing Variables (see be- low) to string or integer values. The mode of comparison is specified by the Operator (also listed below). Expressions can be combined using && (for and) and || (for or). Parentheses can be used for grouping in the usual manner. String values are either any text not containing whitespace (possibly fol- lowed by but not including whitespace) or any text enclosed in single or double quotes. Normal Variables %n Name of the package (type string) %o Origin of the package (type string) %p Prefix of the package (type string) %m Maintainer of the package (type string) %c Comment of the package (type string) %e Description of the package (type string) %w WWW address of the package (type string) %s Flatsize of the package (type integer) %a Automatic status of the package (type integer) %q Architecture of the package (type string) %k Locking status of the package (type integer) %M Message of the package (type string) %t Timestamp that the package was installed (type integer) %i Additional information about the package (type string) %#[drCFODLUGBbAyY] Number of elements in the list of information (type integer). See %? above for what information is used. Multiline variables When used in an evaluation, these variables refer to the items in the list. The condition evaluates to true if any element in the list matches. Nega- tive operators are an exception: they check for the absence of any matching element. For example, "%dn != 'curl'" means "the package does not depend on curl". %d[nov] Dependency of the package (type string) %r[nov] Reverse dependency of the package (type string) %C Category of the package (type string) %L License of the package (type string) %B Required shared library of the package (type string) %b Provided shared library of the package (type string) %y Provide of the package (type string) %Y Require of the package (type string) %A[tv] Annotation of the package (type string) Operators var ~ glob The string value of var matches the given glob pattern. var !~ glob The string value of var does not match the given glob pattern. var >[=] num The numerical value of var is greater than [or equal to] the given num- ber. var <[=] num The numerical value of var is less than [or equal to] the given number. var =[=] [num | string] The value of var is equal to the given number or string. var =~ [num | string] The value of var is equal (case insensitive) to the given number or string. var != [num | string] The value of var is not equal to the given number or string. var !=~ [num | string] The value of var is not equal case insensitive to the given number or string. ENVIRONMENT The following environment variables affect the execution of pkg query. See pkg.conf(5) for further description. PKG_DBDIR CASE_SENSITIVE_MATCH FILES See pkg.conf(5). EXIT STATUS The pkg query utility exits 0 on success, and >0 if an error occurs. EXAMPLES List all installed packages by name-version: $ pkg query %n-%v List all dependencies for a package by origin: $ pkg query %do subversion List all dependencies by package name-version: $ pkg query %dn-%dv subversion List all reverse dependencies for a package: $ pkg query %ro perl List all files and their known checksums for a package: $ pkg query '%Fp %Fs' perl List all files for all packages: $ pkg query '%o: %Fp' List all packages with no reverse dependencies: $ pkg query -e '%#r = 0' %o List non-automatic packages: $ pkg query -e '%a = 0' %o List automatic packages: $ pkg query -e '%a = 1' %o List unmaintained packages: $ pkg query -e '%m = ports@FreeBSD.org' %o List packages that depend on python312: $ pkg query -e '%dn = python312' %o List all categories of a package on a single line, separated by spaces: $ pkg query '%n: %C%{%Cn%| %}' firefox List all shared libraries used by a package on a single line: $ pkg query '%n: %B%{%Bn%| %}' perl List all options of a package in key=value format: $ pkg query '%n %O%{%On=%Ov%| %}' vim SEE ALSO pkg_checksum(3), pkg_create(3), pkg_printf(3), pkg_repo_create(3), pkg_re- pos(3), pkg-keywords(5), pkg-lua-script(5), pkg-repository(5), pkg- script(5), pkg-triggers(5), pkg.conf(5), pkg(8), pkg-add(8), pkg-alias(8), pkg-annotate(8), pkg-audit(8), pkg-autoremove(8), pkg-check(8), pkg-check- sum(8), pkg-clean(8), pkg-config(8), pkg-create(8), pkg-delete(8), pkg- fetch(8), pkg-help(8), pkg-info(8), pkg-install(8), pkg-key(8), pkg- lock(8), pkg-plugins(8), pkg-register(8), pkg-repo(8), pkg-repositories(8), pkg-rquery(8), pkg-rwhich(8), pkg-search(8), pkg-set(8), pkg-shell(8), pkg- shlib(8), pkg-ssh(8), pkg-stats(8), pkg-triggers(8), pkg-unregister(8), pkg-update(8), pkg-updating(8), pkg-upgrade(8), pkg-version(8), pkg- which(8) FreeBSD ports 15.quarterly April 17, 2026 PKG-QUERY(8)
NAME | SYNOPSIS | DESCRIPTION | OPTIONS | QUERY FORMAT | EVALUATION FORMAT | ENVIRONMENT | FILES | EXIT STATUS | EXAMPLES | SEE ALSO
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