Display a List of Recently Installed Software Packages in Ubuntu

There are 2 ways to do this

There may be times when you need to view a list of the packages that were recently installed in Ubuntu for troubleshooting purposes or maybe just to find a program you installed that does not display in the menu. There are two ways to find out what was installed recently. You can view recently installed packages by date using theSynaptic Package Managerand from the command prompt using a Terminal window.

To view software packages installed recently using theSynaptic Package Manager, selectAdministration | Synaptic Package Managerfrom theSystemmenu.

On theSynaptic Package Managerdialog box, selectHistoryfrom theFilemenu.

TheHistorydialog box displays. All packages installed and removed using theSynaptic Package Managerare listed by month and date. Click the arrow to the left of a month in the left pane to display dates within that month on which software packages were installed or removed. Click a date to view what packages were installed or removed on that date in the right pane.

NOTE:Only software packages installed using theSynaptic Package Managerare displayed on theHistorydialog box. If you installed other software using other methods, such as theUbuntu Software Center, they are not listed here.

To close theHistorydialog box, click theClosebutton.

To close theSynaptic Package Manager, selectQuitfrom theFilemenu.

If you prefer working in a Terminal window, you can get a list of installed software packages using the command line. To do this, selectAccessories | Terminalfrom theApplicationsmenu.

Enter the following command at the prompt and pressEnter.

cat /var/log/dpkg.log | grep “\ install\ “

NOTE:There is a space after each of the backslashes.

This command displays entries from thedpkg.logfile that match the term “install“, including the spaces before and after. The “install” entries indicate packages that have been fully installed.

All the “install” entries in the dpkg.log file are displayed in the Terminal window, the most recent entries listed last.

If the dates in thedpkg.logfile don’t go back as far as you need, there may be otherdpkglog files. Thedpkg.logfile is rotated and archived weekly. You can find availabledpkglog files by listing the contents of the/var/logdirectory.

To do this, enter the following command at the prompt and pressEnter.

$ ls –l /var/log

NOTE:After “ls” is one dash and a lowercase “L” followed by another space.

Notice that you get a listing of all the logs in the/var/logdirectory, not just the logs fordpkg. To display only the log files fordpkg, enter the following command at the prompt and pressEnter.

$ ls –l /var/log/dpkg*

NOTE:Again, after the “ls” is one dash and a lowercase “L” followed by another space.

Only onedpkg.logfile displays in our system, because it is a new system we installed recently. To open thedpkg.logfile for viewing, enter the following command at the prompt and pressEnter.

$ gedit /var/log/dpkg.log

Thedpkg.logfile opens ingedit. All packages are listed, not only the ones with the “install” status. This makes it harder to find the fully installed packages.

TIP:Using thecat /var/log/dpkg.log | grep “\ install\ “command is probably the best way of viewing a list of installed packages, because only “install” entries in the log file are displayed. If you need to view installed packages that are older than those available in thedpkg.logfile, simply replace thedpkg.logfilename in thecatcommand with otherdpkglog filenames you find using thels –l /var/log/dpkg*command.

To closegedit, selectQuitfrom theFilemenu.

You may notice that the list generated using the Terminal window is more complete. Programs installed using any method are listed, not just programs installed using theSynaptic Package Manager.

by Lori Kaufman

Founder of Help Desk Geek and managing editor. He began blogging in 2007 and quit his job in 2010 to blog full-time. He has over 15 years of industry experience in IT and holds several technical certifications.Read Aseem’s Full Bio

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Display a List of Recently Installed Software Packages in Ubuntu#

Display a List of Recently Installed Software Packages in Ubuntu