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How to list package dependees (reverse dependencies)?

I want to find all the packages in the Ubuntu repository that depends on one particular package. In this case I want that dependency to be libqt4-dev, so I can find all the packages developed with Qt. I know I need to use apt-cache, but I'm not sure what the arguments should be.

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marked as duplicate by devav2, Thomas W., Eliah Kagan, hhlp, Javier Rivera Jan 4 '13 at 10:58


Looking for reverse dependencies of libqt4-dev will not show you what packages are developed with Qt. -dev packages provide header files. You would see libqt4-dev to compile programs that are developed with Qt4--you would not need it to install them from binary packages. –  Eliah Kagan Jan 4 '13 at 5:44

1 Answer 1

You should get used to using man. Hence,

$ man apt-cache


showpkg pkg...


Hence the command you are after is apt-cache showpkg libqt4-dev.

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I've tried showpkg, but it doesn't seem to list everything. KDE is built on Qt, but there's no K* apps in there. –  Chris Wilson Jan 3 '13 at 14:03
I assume either you'd probably have to follow the inheritance of dependencies further, or perhaps it's a different package(s) that KDE uses? e.g. I can see plenty of KDE if I try apt-cache showpkg libqt4-dbus. –  Sparhawk Jan 3 '13 at 14:07
