Your message dated Fri, 6 Mar 2026 10:36:21 +0000
with message-id <[email protected]>
and subject line Re: Bug#1129778: debconf: dpkg-reconfigure doesn't work and
reverts settings set via debconf-set-selections
has caused the Debian Bug report #1129778,
regarding debconf: dpkg-reconfigure doesn't work and reverts settings set via
debconf-set-selections
to be marked as done.
This means that you claim that the problem has been dealt with.
If this is not the case it is now your responsibility to reopen the
Bug report if necessary, and/or fix the problem forthwith.
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--
1129778: https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=1129778
Debian Bug Tracking System
Contact [email protected] with problems
--- Begin Message ---
Package: debconf
Version: 1.5.91
Severity: important
X-Debbugs-Cc: [email protected]
Dear Maintainer,
Attempting to reconfigure a package via dpkg-set-selections, followed by
dpkg-reconfigure, fails with a strange error, and reverts the selections made.
█[hp11][dotfiles][0]$ sudo debconf-set-selections <<EOF
# Size of AFS cache in kB:
openafs-client openafs-client/cachesize string 1000
EOF
█[hp11][dotfiles][0]$ debconf-get-selections openafs-client | grep cache
debconf: DbDriver "passwords" warning: could not open
/var/cache/debconf/passwords.dat: Permission denied
# Size of AFS cache in kB:
openafs-client openafs-client/cachesize string 1000
█[hp11][dotfiles][0]$ sudo DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive dpkg-reconfigure
openafs-client
Could not execute systemctl: at /usr/bin/deb-systemd-invoke line 148.
█[hp11][dotfiles][0]$ debconf-get-selections openafs-client | grep cache
debconf: DbDriver "passwords" warning: could not open
/var/cache/debconf/passwords.dat: Permission denied
# Size of AFS cache in kB:
openafs-client openafs-client/cachesize string 20971520
█[hp11][dotfiles][0]$
Ernesto
-- System Information:
Debian Release: 13.3
APT prefers stable-updates
APT policy: (500, 'stable-updates'), (500, 'stable-security'), (500, 'stable')
Architecture: amd64 (x86_64)
Kernel: Linux 6.12.63+deb13-amd64 (SMP w/2 CPU threads; PREEMPT)
Kernel taint flags: TAINT_PROPRIETARY_MODULE, TAINT_OOT_MODULE,
TAINT_UNSIGNED_MODULE
Locale: LANG=en_US.UTF-8, LC_CTYPE=en_US.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8), LANGUAGE not set
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /usr/bin/dash
Init: systemd (via /run/systemd/system)
LSM: AppArmor: enabled
debconf depends on no packages.
Versions of packages debconf recommends:
ii apt 3.0.3
ii apt-utils 3.0.3
ii debconf-i18n 1.5.91
Versions of packages debconf suggests:
pn debconf-doc <none>
pn debconf-kde-helper <none>
ii debconf-utils 1.5.91
ii libgtk3-perl 0.038-3
pn libnet-ldap-perl <none>
pn libterm-readline-gnu-perl <none>
ii perl 5.40.1-6
ii whiptail 0.52.25-1
-- debconf information:
debconf/priority: high
debconf-apt-progress/info:
debconf-apt-progress/media-change:
debconf/frontend: Dialog
debconf-apt-progress/title:
debconf-apt-progress/preparing:
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
On Thu, Mar 05, 2026 at 06:10:02PM -0500, Ernesto Alfonso wrote:
> Attempting to reconfigure a package via dpkg-set-selections, followed by
> dpkg-reconfigure, fails with a strange error, and reverts the selections made.
>
> █[hp11][dotfiles][0]$ sudo debconf-set-selections <<EOF
> # Size of AFS cache in kB:
> openafs-client openafs-client/cachesize string 1000
> EOF
>
> █[hp11][dotfiles][0]$ debconf-get-selections openafs-client | grep cache
> debconf: DbDriver "passwords" warning: could not open
> /var/cache/debconf/passwords.dat: Permission denied
> # Size of AFS cache in kB:
> openafs-client openafs-client/cachesize string 1000
While this would be a bug in openafs-client rather than in debconf if it
were a bug, it's not a bug. debconf is not intended to be a registry. As
debconf-devel(7) says:
"The issue to watch out for here is that debconf is not intended to be, and
must not be used as a registry. This is unix after all, and programs are
configured by files in /etc, not by some nebulous debconf database (that is
only a cache anyway and might get blown away)."
Preseeding answers to debconf questions is suitable for initial
installations, but for automating changes to installed systems you should
just update the configuration directly. In this case, that would be
/etc/openafs/cacheinfo.
Thanks,
--
Colin Watson (he/him) [[email protected]]
--- End Message ---
