1. Gawk script to parse /var/lib/dpkg/{status,available} and Packages This script can parse the dpkg database files. It can do regular expressions on the fields, and only get what you want. It can also be made to output certain fields. As an added bonus, there is an option to sort the output. 'dpkg-awk "Status: .* installed$" -- Package Version Status' will output all installed packages, with only the listed fields. 'dpkg-awk -f=/var/lib/dpkg/available "Package:^[aA].*" -- Package Version' will output all available packages that start with the letter 'A.' From Debian 3.0r0 APT