debconf-show

debconf-show [package-name ...]

package-name
    One or more package names to display configurations for; if omitted, shows all packages

The debconf-show command is a utility from the debconf-utils package used in Debian-based systems to query and display the current configuration values stored in the debconf database for specified packages.

Debconf is Debian's flexible package configuration system that handles user prompts during package installation and configuration interactively or non-interactively. debconf-show retrieves and prints these values in a human-readable and script-friendly format, showing question keys, types, current answers, and visibility status (seen or unseen).

If package names are provided as arguments, it outputs only configurations for those packages. Without arguments, it dumps the entire debconf database across all packages. This is invaluable for debugging package configurations, auditing system settings, scripting automated setups, or backing up configurations.

Output format mimics debconf-get-selections, with lines like:
package question-type question-name answer seen-flag
Each line represents a question's state, enabling easy piping to other tools for restoration or analysis. It's non-destructive, reading-only, and runs quickly even on large databases.

Does not modify the database; output includes sensitive data like passwords if stored in plain text. Run with caution on multi-user systems. Requires debconf-utils package.

debconf-show apt
Shows only apt package configs.

debconf-show | grep password
Dumps all and filters sensitive entries.

Each line: pkg db_title question value seen
Example:
apt apt-mirror/archive-uri http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ true

Introduced with debconf in late 1990s by Joey Hess for Debian. Evolved in debconf-utils (circa 2001) to aid non-interactive installs. Remains stable in modern Debian/Ubuntu for configuration management.

debconf-get-selections(1), debconf-set-selections(1), dpkg-reconfigure(8), debconf(7)