Windows
Linux
Package Management
Windows winget search equivalent in Linux
Searches configured software repositories for packages matching a name or description.
Windows
→
winget search
Linux equivalents
apt search PACKAGE
dnf search PACKAGE
pacman -Ss PACKAGE
Overview
What this command does
Searches configured software repositories for packages matching a name or description.
Migration tip: Choose the command for your distribution:
apt on Debian/Ubuntu, pacman on Arch and dnf on Fedora.Practical tasks
Common use cases
Search available packages
Searches configured software repositories for packages matching a name or description.
apt search firefox
Search on Debian or Ubuntu
pacman -Ss firefox
Search on Arch Linux
dnf search firefox
Search on Fedora
Ready to run
Copyable Linux commands
Review paths, device names, package names and permissions before running any command.
apt search firefox
pacman -Ss firefox
dnf search firefox
Walkthrough
Examples with explanations
apt search firefox # search Debian-based repositories
pacman -Ss firefox # search Arch repositories
dnf search firefox # search Fedora repositoriesReference
Common options and variations
| Command or option | Use |
|---|---|
apt search firefox | Search on Debian or Ubuntu |
pacman -Ss firefox | Search on Arch Linux |
dnf search firefox | Search on Fedora |
Distro differences
Debian/Ubuntu vs Fedora vs Arch
This workflow changes mostly by Linux distribution package manager: Debian/Ubuntu uses apt, Fedora uses dnf, and Arch uses pacman.
| Distribution | Package manager / base | Equivalent command | Difference to notice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian/Ubuntu | apt | apt search PACKAGE |
Searches package names and descriptions in enabled APT repositories. |
| Fedora | dnf | dnf search PACKAGE |
Searches enabled DNF repositories. |
| Arch | pacman | pacman -Ss PACKAGE |
Searches sync repositories; use paru/yay separately for AUR if installed. |
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