PKG_DELETE(1)              OpenBSD Reference Manual              PKG_DELETE(1)

NAME
     pkg_delete - a utility for deleting previously installed software package
     distributions

SYNOPSIS
     pkg_delete [-vDdnf] [-p prefix] pkg-name [...]

DESCRIPTION
     The pkg_delete command is used to delete packages that have been previ-
     ously installed with the pkg_add(1) command.

     Package names may be specified either as the package name itself, or as
     filenames which consist of the package name plus the ``.tgz'' ,
     ``.tar.gz'' , or the ``.tar'' suffix.

     The options are as follows:

     pkg-name [...]
             The named packages are deinstalled.

     -v      Turn on verbose output.

     -D      If a deinstallation script exists for a given package, do not ex-
             ecute it.

     -n      Don't actually deinstall a package, just report the steps that
             would be taken if it were.

     -p prefix
             Set prefix as the directory in which to delete files from any in-
             stalled packages which do not explicitly set theirs.  For most
             packages, the prefix will be set automatically to the installed
             location by pkg_add(1).

     -d      Remove empty directories created by file cleanup.  By default,
             only files/directories explicitly listed in a package's contents
             (either as normal files/directories or with the @dirrm directive)
             will be removed at deinstallation time.  This option tells
             pkg_delete to also remove any directories that were emptied as a
             result of removing the package.

     -f      Force removal of the package, even if a dependency is recorded or
             the deinstall or require script fails.

TECHNICAL DETAILS
     pkg_delete does pretty much what it says.  It examines installed package
     records in /var/db/pkg/<pkg-name>, deletes the package contents, and fi-
     nally removes the package records.

     If a package is required by other installed packages, pkg_delete will
     list those dependent packages and refuse to delete the package (unless
     the -f option is given).

     If the package contains a require file (see pkg_create(1)), then this is
     executed first as

           require <pkg-name> DEINSTALL

     (where pkg-name is the name of the package in question and DEINSTALL is a
     keyword denoting that this is a deinstallation) to see whether or not de-
     installation should continue.  A non-zero exit status means no, unless
     the -f option is specified.

     If a deinstall script exists for the package, it is executed before any
     files are removed.  It is this script's responsibility to clean up any
     additional messy details around the package's installation, since all
     pkg_delete knows how to do is delete the files created in the original
     distribution.  The deinstall script is called as:

           deinstall <pkg-name> DEINSTALL

     Passing the keyword DEINSTALL lets you potentially write only one pro-
     gram/script that handles all aspects of installation and deletion.

     All scripts are called with the environment variable PKG_PREFIX set to
     the installation prefix (see the -p option above).  This allows a package
     author to write a script that reliably performs some action on the direc-
     tory where the package is installed, even if the user might have changed
     it by specifying the -p option when running pkg_delete or pkg_add.

SEE ALSO
     pkg_add(1), pkg_create(1), pkg_info(1), mktemp(3), mtree(8)

AUTHORS
     Jordan Hubbard
             most of the work
     John Kohl
             refined it for NetBSD

WARNING
     Since the pkg_delete command may execute scripts or programs provided by
     a package file, your system may be susceptible to ``trojan horses'' or
     other subtle attacks from miscreants who create dangerous package files.

     You are advised to verify the competence and identity of those who pro-
     vide installable package files.  For extra protection, examine all the
     package control files in the package record directory
     (/var/db/pkg/<pkg-name>/). Pay particular attention to any +INSTALL, +DE-
     INSTALL, +REQUIRE or +MTREE_DIRS files, and inspect the +CONTENTS file
     for @cwd, @mode (check for setuid), @dirrm, @exec, and @unexec direc-
     tives, and/or use the pkg_info(1) command to examine the installed pack-
     age control files.

OpenBSD 3.0                    November 25, 1994                             2
