How do I find out how a particular package got installed?

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On a particular Debian VM, I want to know how did xterm and x11-utils got installed : were they installed directly (an administrator running apt-get install xterm for example) or as a requirement for other packages ?







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    up vote
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    On a particular Debian VM, I want to know how did xterm and x11-utils got installed : were they installed directly (an administrator running apt-get install xterm for example) or as a requirement for other packages ?







    share|improve this question
























      up vote
      6
      down vote

      favorite









      up vote
      6
      down vote

      favorite











      On a particular Debian VM, I want to know how did xterm and x11-utils got installed : were they installed directly (an administrator running apt-get install xterm for example) or as a requirement for other packages ?







      share|improve this question














      On a particular Debian VM, I want to know how did xterm and x11-utils got installed : were they installed directly (an administrator running apt-get install xterm for example) or as a requirement for other packages ?









      share|improve this question













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      edited Apr 1 at 17:17









      GAD3R

      22.2k154891




      22.2k154891










      asked Apr 1 at 15:28









      ychaouche

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          1 Answer
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          Packages which are installed because they’re dependencies are normally flagged as automatic; you can see that with



          apt-mark showauto xterm


          If that outputs xterm, the package was installed automatically; otherwise it was installed manually.



          You can use aptitude to see which dependencies keep a package installed:



          aptitude why xterm


          aptitude why will also explicitly say if a package was installed manually.






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            1 Answer
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            active

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            1 Answer
            1






            active

            oldest

            votes









            active

            oldest

            votes






            active

            oldest

            votes








            up vote
            12
            down vote



            accepted










            Packages which are installed because they’re dependencies are normally flagged as automatic; you can see that with



            apt-mark showauto xterm


            If that outputs xterm, the package was installed automatically; otherwise it was installed manually.



            You can use aptitude to see which dependencies keep a package installed:



            aptitude why xterm


            aptitude why will also explicitly say if a package was installed manually.






            share|improve this answer
























              up vote
              12
              down vote



              accepted










              Packages which are installed because they’re dependencies are normally flagged as automatic; you can see that with



              apt-mark showauto xterm


              If that outputs xterm, the package was installed automatically; otherwise it was installed manually.



              You can use aptitude to see which dependencies keep a package installed:



              aptitude why xterm


              aptitude why will also explicitly say if a package was installed manually.






              share|improve this answer






















                up vote
                12
                down vote



                accepted







                up vote
                12
                down vote



                accepted






                Packages which are installed because they’re dependencies are normally flagged as automatic; you can see that with



                apt-mark showauto xterm


                If that outputs xterm, the package was installed automatically; otherwise it was installed manually.



                You can use aptitude to see which dependencies keep a package installed:



                aptitude why xterm


                aptitude why will also explicitly say if a package was installed manually.






                share|improve this answer












                Packages which are installed because they’re dependencies are normally flagged as automatic; you can see that with



                apt-mark showauto xterm


                If that outputs xterm, the package was installed automatically; otherwise it was installed manually.



                You can use aptitude to see which dependencies keep a package installed:



                aptitude why xterm


                aptitude why will also explicitly say if a package was installed manually.







                share|improve this answer












                share|improve this answer



                share|improve this answer










                answered Apr 1 at 15:39









                Stephen Kitt

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