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Is there a way to replace /etc configuration files from a package, overwriting my local changes? I've tried apt-get install --reinstall mypackage but it doesn't update the files.

How can I do this?

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2 Answers

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A related serverfault question describes how to restore package conffiles if you've removed them, and requires that you track down the actual .deb file.

All you need to do:

  • Find the list of conffiles provided by the package:

    dpkg --status <package>

    (look under the Conffiles: section).

  • Remove those conffiles yourself.

  • Reinstall the package. If you've found the .deb file,

    dpkg -i --force-confmiss <package_deb>.deb

    Alternatively, passing the dpkg option via apt should work:

    apt-get install --reinstall -o Dpkg::Options::="--force-confmiss" <package>
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Nice, thanks. What if you don't know in particular which package provides a file? – TK Kocheran Dec 27 '11 at 19:33
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dpkg -S /file/to/search give you the package name – Dom Dec 27 '11 at 19:51
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Besides remove apt-get also offers the purge command which cleans out your config customizations, which can then be followed by an apt-get install

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purge certainly works for many packages but not the essential ones that you can't remove without seriously breaking things. – jw013 Dec 28 '11 at 1:06

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