What is deb-get? How to Install the Debian Package with the deb-get Command (2024)

deb-get is a new command line utility built by Martin Wimpress, an active contributor to the Linux community.

You can use this utility to install third-party packages on your Debian machine. It only works with Debian or Debian-based distros like Ubuntu, Linux mint, Kali Linux, and so on.

Why Should You Use deb-get?

This is a great question. I think deb-get is more secure and faster than other package managers.

For example, the snap package is way slower, and flatpack takes a lot of space to install a single package in your Debian system.

The deb-get manager only uses .deb files from an official source and installs them in your system.

Advantages of the deb-get Command

I think the deb-get command has more advantages than other package managers like snap, Flatpak, and so on.

1. The deb-get command is a lightweight and stable bash command utility.
2. You can easily contribute with the deb-get CLI tool. You can add your own package or other packages in deb-get. To add a package, you need three to four lines of code.
3. The deb-get command installs official packages from source. It does not support third-party build packages.

Disadvantages of the deb-get Command

Again, the deb-get command has more advantages than disadvantages. But the main disadvantage is that deb-get is a new utility. For that reason, it supports fewer packages than snap or flatpack.

How to Install the deb-get Command on a Debian Distro

You can install deb-get with a bash script. For installation, you need the curl command to install deb-get in your Debian distro. If you've already installed the curl command on your distro, then skip this step.

sudo apt install curl // alredy install,then skip it.curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wimpysworld/deb-get/main/deb-get | sudo -E bash -s install deb-get

The command output looks like this:

Confirm that deb-get has been installed on your machine, then run the deb-get version command on your terminal.

> deb-get version0.3.5

How to Use deb-get

How to Install the Debian Package with deb-get

With the deb-get install command, you can install packages from deb-get.

❯ deb-get install <package-name>

How to Delete a Package with deb-get

With the deb-get purge or deb-get remove command, you can delete any package with deb-get. I prefer the deb-get purge command, but both flags (purge and remove) work the same. purge flags delete all config files which install or config with the package.

❯ deb-get purge <package-name>

How to Check Which Packages Are Available in deb-get

You check package availability in two ways. First, you can visit the deb-get official docs to find a list of available packages.

The second way is a command line utility. deb-get provides a lot of flags or options. My favorite is the two flags that come with deb-get.

1. deb-get list
2. deb-get search <package-name>

How to use deb-get list

The deb-get list flag provides a list of all the available packages in the terminal.

How to use deb-get search <package-name>

The deb-get search <package-name> flag helps you find a package by its name. If the flag finds a package, then it returns the package. Otherwise, it returns an empty string.

You can check all the available commands with deb-get help.

Conclusion

I think the deb-get distributor or Debian package manager has more potential than the other package managers.

Every package manager has advantages and disadvantages. But I believe deb-get is a game-changer in the future.

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References