I see (at least) two possibilities: 1. dpkg -s $PACKAGE 2. sed -n -e "/^Package: $PACKAGE$/,/^$/p" < /var/lib/dpkg/status The first is slow and the second fast, but I'm wary of using the second in my code (what if the format of status changes?). Are my fears justified? [I notice that bug uses the second...] -itai