How to extract RPM or DEB packages

RPM and DEB packages are both containers for other files. An RPM is some sort of cpio archive. On the other hand, a DEB file is a pure ar archive. So, it should be possible to unpack their contents using standard archiving tools, regardless of your distribution’s package format. Under normal conditions, you should use your distribution’s standard package manager, rpm or dpkg and their frontends, to manage those files. But, if you need to be more generic, here is how to do it.

RPM

For RPMs you need two command line utilities, rpm2cpio and cpio. Extracting the contents of the RPM package is a one step process:

rpm2cpio mypackage.rpm | cpio -vid

If you just need to list the contents of the package without extracting them, use the following:

rpm2cpio mypackage.rpm | cpio -vt

The -v option is used in order to get verbose output to the stdout. If you don’t need it, you can safely omit this switch. For more information about the cpio options, please refer to the cpio(1) manual page.

DEB

DEB files are ar archives, which contain three files:

debian-binary
control.tar.gz
data.tar.gz

As you might have already guessed, the needed archived files exist in data.tar.gz. It is also obvious that unpacking this file is a two-step process.

First, extract the aforementioned three files from the DEB file (ar archive):

ar vx mypackage.deb

Then extract the contents of data.tar.gz using tar:

tar -xzvf data.tar.gz

Or, if you just need to get a listing of the files:

tar -tzvf data.tar.gz

Again the -v option in both ar and tar is used in order to get verbose output. It is safe not to use it. For more information, read the man pages: tar(1) and ar(1).

~~If anyone knows a one step process to extract the contents of the data.tar.gz, I’d be very interested in it!~~

Update 1

As Jon suggested in the comment area, the contents of data.tar.gz can be extracted from the DEB package in a one step process as shown below:

ar p mypackage.deb data.tar.gz | tar zx

Update 2 – Debian 8

As Vlad suggested in the comments below, starting with Debian 8, data.tar.gz inside .deb packages has been replaced with data.tar.xz (the xz format, which is based on LZMA2 offers better compression). So, if you are using Debian 8 or newer, the one-liner should be updated to something like this:

ar p mypackage.deb data.tar.xz | unxz | tar x

Moreover, tar is now able to handle xz compression and decompression (I also confirm tar supports this compression filter on CentOS), so the following one liner would do the trick as well:

ar p mypackage.deb data.tar.xz | tar xJ

That will do it.

Update: As Steve pointed out in the comments below, specifying the decompression filter in the tar command line arguments is no longer necessary with modern releases of tar, so the J switch above could be safely omitted.

How to extract RPM or DEB packages by George Notaras is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Copyright © 2008 - Some Rights Reserved

29 responses on “How to extract RPM or DEB packages”

knud May 2, 2008 at 11:46Permalink →

Please also try these:
‘rpm -qpvl package.rpm’
‘rpm -qpvl package.rpm > textfile’
‘less package.rpm’
‘lesspipe… > textfile’
‘less package.deb’
‘lesspipe… package.deb > textfile’
And of course The Midtnight Commander ‘mc’ will open both rpm and deb.
Rgds

Jon February 1, 2009 at 19:53Permalink →

One-liner to extract data.tar.gz:

ar p package.deb data.tar.gz|tar zx

znik November 19, 2014 at 08:31Permalink →

for unpack only data.tar.gz directly from deb:
ar p package.deb data.tar.gz|tar xvzf –
f – is strongly recommended because tar command have default archive file hardcoded into binary. of course this default can be changed by environment, but f – is the simplest way without calling env as envelop for setting temporary environment.

George Notaras Post authorFebruary 3, 2009 at 15:19Permalink →

Jon: Excellent. Thanks for your feedback. I will update the post.

Kilgore Trout March 22, 2009 at 14:36Permalink →

Is there a GUI program to do all this that will take any package and convert it to what you want?

George Notaras Post authorMarch 24, 2009 at 02:47Permalink →

None that I know of. There is a command line tool though, called alien, which can convert packages between the RPM and DEB formats. Its use is very straightforward. I highly recommend you give it a shot.

Steven Li August 18, 2009 at 07:06Permalink →

to extract RPM, I recommend p7z

Benjamin May 9, 2010 at 16:52Permalink →

The easiest way to extract a Debian package is with dpkg-deb. To extract the content run “dpkg-deb –extract mypackage.deb foobar”. If you want to modify the package:

dpkg-deb –extract mypackage.deb foobar
dpkg-deb -e mypackage.deb foobar/DEBIAN
modify files in foobar directory
dpkg-deb -b foobar

George Notaras Post authorMay 9, 2010 at 18:07Permalink →

Hi Benjamin,

Having used RPM-based distributions, I was not aware that it was so easy to modify the contents of a DEB package and then repackage the modified files. Thanks for the tip!

As for the method of extracting the contents of RPM or DEB I describe in that post, it is meant to be a generic method without requiring any distribution specific tools, but generic archive managers.

I had decided to write it because I once needed to extract a DEB package under CentOS; I cannot recall why.

Thanks for stopping by.

asfd August 18, 2010 at 08:15Permalink →

ar is rare to find already installed. Please revise this to use dpkg-deb or at least show it as an option.

dpkg-deb -x

George Notaras Post authorAugust 18, 2010 at 12:18Permalink →

This article describes how to extract a DEB or RPM package using generic archive decompressors. The fact that utilities like rpm or dpkg are not used is intentional. Thanks

Jonathan August 23, 2010 at 19:11Permalink →

“An one-step process” should be “a one step process.” This is because a/an is decided based on the pronunciation of the following word, not on the spelling.

Thanks for the article :-).

George Notaras Post authorAugust 23, 2010 at 22:22Permalink →

Hi Jonathan. Thanks for pointing it out! The same mistake probably exists in several posts throughout the web site.

It has been corrected in the current post. Thanks :-)

toto September 19, 2011 at 10:22Permalink →

good tutorial and very clear description and how to solve my problem. Thank for your tutorial. My problem about how to extract rpm file is solve :)

Eruva September 26, 2011 at 10:11Permalink →

It’s good to mention that ar is in binutils package.

George Notaras Post authorSeptember 28, 2011 at 02:54Permalink →
Hi and thanks for your feedback. The binutils package is installed by default even in minimal installations on RHEL, Fedora, CentOS and Scientific Linux, so it was kind of impossible for this package to be missing. Also the following command reveals the containing RPM package:
```
yum provides /usr/bin/ar
```

srm November 15, 2011 at 14:58Permalink →

What is the use of :

debian-binary
control.tar.gz

in a .deb package. Dont we need to extract files in them too ?

foo January 16, 2012 at 13:10Permalink →

Any way to convert .deb packages to .rpm and vice versa, without losing the post-install scripts?

vamsi March 5, 2012 at 12:59Permalink →

Benjamin, awesome!! That’s exactly what I was looking for. So I wanted to make few changes to the priority level in control file and your process is what I wanted.

Thanks George for posting good stuff.

gracias March 20, 2012 at 00:18Permalink →

Thanks, worked for me!

Mark March 27, 2012 at 00:27Permalink →

just came in very handy, my dpkg and tar binaries were incompatible (dpkg calling tar with an unknown option), so I couldn’t use the famed dpkg-deb, I guess this is a good reason to have another way to unpack these things.

Got the tar.deb and unpacked it to get the newer tar binary, so my dpkg would work again.

Hanspeter December 28, 2013 at 02:05Permalink →

On OS X (and presumably *BSD), bsdtar can handle ar archives natively.

Richard March 22, 2014 at 19:14Permalink →

You da man, man!

Vladimir October 15, 2015 at 08:38Permalink →

Hello,

Starting with Debian 8, data.tar.gz inside .deb packages has been replaced with data.tar.xz (far better compression).
Therefore, the one-liner extractor should be updated at least to something like this:

ar p mypackage.deb data.tar.xz | unxz | tar x

Hope it helps!

Vlad

George Notaras Post authorOctober 15, 2015 at 15:50Permalink →

Hey Vlad, thanks for your feedback. Much appreciated.

I’ll add an update to the post, ASAP.
1. cspenceiv December 17, 2015 at 21:32Permalink →
  
  Tar understands xz as well:
  
  ar p mypackage.deb data.tar.xz | tar Jx
  1. George Notaras Post authorDecember 17, 2015 at 22:44Permalink →
    
    Hi, thanks for your feedback. I have updated the post and added this information.

Steve February 1, 2016 at 09:08Permalink →

Modern tars are capable of working out the archive format so using z, j or J is optional.

George Notaras Post authorFebruary 18, 2016 at 15:23Permalink →

Thanks for pointing that out Steve!

knud May 2, 2008 at 11:46Permalink →

Please also try these:
‘rpm -qpvl package.rpm’
‘rpm -qpvl package.rpm > textfile’
‘less package.rpm’
‘lesspipe… > textfile’
‘less package.deb’
‘lesspipe… package.deb > textfile’
And of course The Midtnight Commander ‘mc’ will open both rpm and deb.
Rgds
Jon February 1, 2009 at 19:53Permalink →

One-liner to extract data.tar.gz:

ar p package.deb data.tar.gz|tar zx
1. znik November 19, 2014 at 08:31Permalink →
  
  for unpack only data.tar.gz directly from deb:
  ar p package.deb data.tar.gz|tar xvzf –
  f – is strongly recommended because tar command have default archive file hardcoded into binary. of course this default can be changed by environment, but f – is the simplest way without calling env as envelop for setting temporary environment.
George Notaras Post authorFebruary 3, 2009 at 15:19Permalink →

Jon: Excellent. Thanks for your feedback. I will update the post.
Kilgore Trout March 22, 2009 at 14:36Permalink →

Is there a GUI program to do all this that will take any package and convert it to what you want?
1. George Notaras Post authorMarch 24, 2009 at 02:47Permalink →
  
  None that I know of. There is a command line tool though, called alien, which can convert packages between the RPM and DEB formats. Its use is very straightforward. I highly recommend you give it a shot.
Steven Li August 18, 2009 at 07:06Permalink →

to extract RPM, I recommend p7z
Benjamin May 9, 2010 at 16:52Permalink →

The easiest way to extract a Debian package is with dpkg-deb. To extract the content run “dpkg-deb –extract mypackage.deb foobar”. If you want to modify the package:

dpkg-deb –extract mypackage.deb foobar
dpkg-deb -e mypackage.deb foobar/DEBIAN
modify files in foobar directory
dpkg-deb -b foobar
1. George Notaras Post authorMay 9, 2010 at 18:07Permalink →
  
  Hi Benjamin,
  
  Having used RPM-based distributions, I was not aware that it was so easy to modify the contents of a DEB package and then repackage the modified files. Thanks for the tip!
  
  As for the method of extracting the contents of RPM or DEB I describe in that post, it is meant to be a generic method without requiring any distribution specific tools, but generic archive managers.
  
  I had decided to write it because I once needed to extract a DEB package under CentOS; I cannot recall why.
  
  Thanks for stopping by.
asfd August 18, 2010 at 08:15Permalink →

ar is rare to find already installed. Please revise this to use dpkg-deb or at least show it as an option.

dpkg-deb -x
George Notaras Post authorAugust 18, 2010 at 12:18Permalink →

This article describes how to extract a DEB or RPM package using generic archive decompressors. The fact that utilities like rpm or dpkg are not used is intentional. Thanks
Jonathan August 23, 2010 at 19:11Permalink →

“An one-step process” should be “a one step process.” This is because a/an is decided based on the pronunciation of the following word, not on the spelling.

Thanks for the article :-).
George Notaras Post authorAugust 23, 2010 at 22:22Permalink →

Hi Jonathan. Thanks for pointing it out! The same mistake probably exists in several posts throughout the web site.

It has been corrected in the current post. Thanks :-)
toto September 19, 2011 at 10:22Permalink →

good tutorial and very clear description and how to solve my problem. Thank for your tutorial. My problem about how to extract rpm file is solve :)
Eruva September 26, 2011 at 10:11Permalink →

It’s good to mention that ar is in binutils package.
1. George Notaras Post authorSeptember 28, 2011 at 02:54Permalink →
  Hi and thanks for your feedback. The binutils package is installed by default even in minimal installations on RHEL, Fedora, CentOS and Scientific Linux, so it was kind of impossible for this package to be missing. Also the following command reveals the containing RPM package:
```
yum provides /usr/bin/ar
```
srm November 15, 2011 at 14:58Permalink →

What is the use of :

debian-binary
control.tar.gz

in a .deb package. Dont we need to extract files in them too ?
foo January 16, 2012 at 13:10Permalink →

Any way to convert .deb packages to .rpm and vice versa, without losing the post-install scripts?
vamsi March 5, 2012 at 12:59Permalink →

Benjamin, awesome!! That’s exactly what I was looking for. So I wanted to make few changes to the priority level in control file and your process is what I wanted.

Thanks George for posting good stuff.
gracias March 20, 2012 at 00:18Permalink →

Thanks, worked for me!
Mark March 27, 2012 at 00:27Permalink →

just came in very handy, my dpkg and tar binaries were incompatible (dpkg calling tar with an unknown option), so I couldn’t use the famed dpkg-deb, I guess this is a good reason to have another way to unpack these things.

Got the tar.deb and unpacked it to get the newer tar binary, so my dpkg would work again.
Hanspeter December 28, 2013 at 02:05Permalink →

On OS X (and presumably *BSD), bsdtar can handle ar archives natively.
Richard March 22, 2014 at 19:14Permalink →

You da man, man!
Vladimir October 15, 2015 at 08:38Permalink →
Hello,

Starting with Debian 8, data.tar.gz inside .deb packages has been replaced with data.tar.xz (far better compression).
Therefore, the one-liner extractor should be updated at least to something like this:
```
ar p mypackage.deb data.tar.xz | unxz | tar x
```
Hope it helps!

Vlad
1. George Notaras Post authorOctober 15, 2015 at 15:50Permalink →
  
  Hey Vlad, thanks for your feedback. Much appreciated.
  
  I’ll add an update to the post, ASAP.
  1. cspenceiv December 17, 2015 at 21:32Permalink →
    
    Tar understands xz as well:
    
    ar p mypackage.deb data.tar.xz | tar Jx
    1. George Notaras Post authorDecember 17, 2015 at 22:44Permalink →
      
      Hi, thanks for your feedback. I have updated the post and added this information.
Steve February 1, 2016 at 09:08Permalink →

Modern tars are capable of working out the archive format so using z, j or J is optional.
1. George Notaras Post authorFebruary 18, 2016 at 15:23Permalink →
  
  Thanks for pointing that out Steve!

RPM

DEB

Update 1

Update 2 – Debian 8

Related Articles

29 responses on “How to extract RPM or DEB packages”