dpkg-trigger(1)

📦
version 1.23.11 · 22 versions
, in arch rolling

💅 dpkg-trigger(1) — the dpkg suite's own trigger utility, bestie

Okay so welcome to dpkg-trigger(1), straight out of the dpkg suite ✨ this is the page where we learn how to poke triggers on purpose. Buckle up 🎀

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

dpkg-trigger [option...] trigger-name

dpkg-trigger [option...] command

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

dpkg-trigger is the tool that lets you explicitly activate triggers and also check whether the dpkg you're running even supports them. Two jobs, one slay little binary 🫶

So why would you need this? Because maintainer scripts sometimes get into complex and conditional situations where file triggers — or the declarative activate triggers control file directive — are just not rich enough. Like, they tried their best, but no 😭 It's also handy for testing, and for system administrators, but heads up: the triggers won't actually be run by dpkg-trigger, bestie. It activates, it doesn't execute. Know the difference 💅

Also, if you feed it an unrecognized trigger name syntax, that's an error. Not a vibe. It will not be chill about it.

This program was introduced in dpkg 1.14.17 ⭐ (so she's an icon, she's a legend, she's been here a while).

👑 COMMANDS 👑

  • --check-supported — Checks if the running dpkg supports triggers (usually called from a postinst). Exits 0 if a triggers-capable dpkg has run, or 1 with an error message to stderr if not. Normally though? It's better to just activate the trigger you want with dpkg-trigger and move on. Periodt.
  • -?, --help — Shows the usage message and exits. Our little cry for help 🥺
  • --version — Shows the version and exits. Main character reveal 🌈

✨ OPTIONS ✨

  • --admindir=dir — Changes the location of the dpkg database. Defaults to /var/lib/dpkg if DPKG_ADMINDIR has not been set. Moving house, but make it databases 🏠
  • --root=directory — Sets the root directory to directory, which sets the administrative directory to «directory/var/lib/dpkg». Supported since dpkg 1.21.0 🦋
  • --by-package=package — Overrides the trigger awaiter (normally set by dpkg through the DPKG_MAINTSCRIPT_PACKAGE environment variable of the maintainer scripts, naming the package to which the script belongs, and this will be used by default). Basically: overriding who's waiting on this, iykyk 💅
  • --no-await — This option arranges that the calling package T (if any) need not await the processing of this trigger; the interested package(s) I, will not be added to T's trigger processing awaited list and T's status is unchanged. T may be considered installed even though I may not yet have processed the trigger. She's not waiting around, she has things to do 💀
  • --await — Does the inverse of --no-await. If the interested package has declared a “noawait” directive, then this option will not be effective. It is currently the default behavior. Supported since dpkg 1.17.21 🌸
  • --no-act — Just test, do not actually change anything. The "look but don't touch" of flags 🙈

🔥 EXIT STATUS 🔥

  • 0 — The requested action was successfully performed. Or a check or assertion command returned true. Slay ✅
  • 1 — A check or assertion command returned false. Rip 😭
  • 2 — Fatal or unrecoverable error due to invalid command-line usage, or interactions with the system, such as accesses to the database, memory allocations, etc. Bad vibes only 💀

🌈 ENVIRONMENT 🌈

  • DPKG_ROOT — If set and the --root option has not been specified, it will be used as the filesystem root directory. Supported since dpkg 1.21.0 🧚
  • DPKG_ADMINDIR — If set and the --admindir option has not been specified, it will be used as the dpkg data directory. 🍓
  • DPKG_DEBUG — Sets the debug mask from an octal value. The currently accepted flags are described in the dpkg --debug option, but not all these flags might have an effect on this program. Supported since dpkg 1.21.10 🔍
  • DPKG_COLORS — Sets the color mode. The currently accepted values are: auto (default), always and never. Supported since dpkg 1.18.5 🎀 (aesthetic matters!)
  • DPKG_NLS — If set, it will be used to decide whether to activate Native Language Support, also known as internationalization (or i18n) support. The accepted values are: 0 and 1 (default). Supported since dpkg 1.22.7 🌍

🦋 SEE ALSO 🦋

💜 Friendly reminder bestie: dpkg-trigger activates triggers and checks support — it does not run them. Don't come for me when the trigger hasn't fired, I warned you 🫶

Anyway, that's the whole page! This masterpiece is from the 1.23.11-dirty era, dated 2026-09-09, and it's brought to you by the dpkg suite itself. Go activate something cute ✨💅🎀

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