deb-prerm(5)

deb-prerm5

Package pre-removal maintainer script

Usage

DEBIAN/prerm

Overview

A package can perform several pre-removal actions via maintainer scripts, by including an executable prerm file in its control archive (i.e. DEBIAN/prerm during package creation).

The script can be called in the following ways:

prerm remove

Before the package is removed.

old-prerm upgrade new-version

Before an upgrade.

new-prerm failed-upgrade old-version new-version

If the above upgrade fails.

Support for new-version since dpkg 1.18.5.

prerm deconfigure in-favour new-package new-version
[ removing old-package old-version ]

Before package is deconfigured while dependency is replaced due to conflict.

prerm remove in-favour new-package new-version

Before the package is replaced due to conflict.

Releases

6 releases since Debian 9 (Stretch); the text changed 5 times.

  1. 9
  2. 10
  3. 11
  4. 12
  5. 13
  6. Arch

From dpkg 1.23.11-1 in Arch Linux 2026-11-01. Parsed by carta from the page's man source.