How To Install pdftk on Debian 9

In this tutorial we learn how to install pdftk on Debian 9. pdftk is tool for manipulating PDF documents

Introduction

In this tutorial we learn how to install pdftk on Debian 9.

What is pdftk

pdftk is:

If PDF is electronic paper, then PDFtk is an electronic stapler-remover, hole-punch, binder, secret-decoder-ring, and X-Ray-glasses. PDFtk is a simple tool for doing everyday things with PDF documents. Keep one in the top drawer of your desktop and use it to:

  • Merge PDF documents
  • Split PDF pages into a new document
  • Decrypt input as necessary (password required)
  • Encrypt output as desired
  • Fill PDF Forms with FDF Data and/or Flatten Forms
  • Apply a Background Watermark
  • Report PDF on metrics, including metadata and bookmarks
  • Update PDF Metadata
  • Attach Files to PDF Pages or the PDF Document
  • Unpack PDF Attachments
  • Burst a PDF document into single pages
  • Uncompress and re-compress page streams
  • Repair corrupted PDF (where possible)

There are three methods to install pdftk on Debian 9. We can use apt-get, apt and aptitude. In the following sections we will describe each method. You can choose one of them.

Install pdftk Using apt-get

Update apt database with apt-get using the following command.

sudo apt-get update

After updating apt database, We can install pdftk using apt-get by running the following command:

sudo apt-get -y install pdftk

Install pdftk Using apt

Update apt database with apt using the following command.

sudo apt update

After updating apt database, We can install pdftk using apt by running the following command:

sudo apt -y install pdftk

Install pdftk Using aptitude

If you want to follow this method, you might need to install aptitude first since aptitude is usually not installed by default on Debian. Update apt database with aptitude using the following command.

sudo aptitude update

After updating apt database, We can install pdftk using aptitude by running the following command:

sudo aptitude -y install pdftk

How To Uninstall pdftk on Debian 9

To uninstall only the pdftk package we can use the following command:

sudo apt-get remove pdftk

Uninstall pdftk And Its Dependencies

To uninstall pdftk and its dependencies that are no longer needed by Debian 9, we can use the command below:

sudo apt-get -y autoremove pdftk

Remove pdftk Configurations and Data

To remove pdftk configuration and data from Debian 9 we can use the following command:

sudo apt-get -y purge pdftk

Remove pdftk configuration, data, and all of its dependencies

We can use the following command to remove pdftk configurations, data and all of its dependencies, we can use the following command:

sudo apt-get -y autoremove --purge pdftk

Dependencies

pdftk have the following dependencies:

References

Summary

In this tutorial we learn how to install pdftk package on Debian 9 using different package management tools: apt, apt-get and aptitude.