Celeb Glow
news | March 09, 2026

Difference between apt-get and dpkg

What is the difference between these two? Also why if I do apt-get purge XY I still see XY when I invoke dpkg -l ?

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1 Answer

apt-get handles lists of packages available to the system. It also handles package dependecy resolution, so that when installing a package, all the other packages required by it get installed too. It also handles package download from package repositories.

dpkg is the low level tool that actually installs package contents to the system.

If you try to install a package with dpkg whose dependencies are missing, dpkg will exit and complain about missing dependencies.

With apt-get it also installs the dependencies.

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