How To Install zbar-tools on Ubuntu 20.04

In this tutorial we learn how to install zbar-tools on Ubuntu 20.04. zbar-tools is QR code / bar code scanner and decoder (utilities)

Introduction

In this tutorial we learn how to install zbar-tools on Ubuntu 20.04.

What is zbar-tools

zbar-tools is:

ZBar is a library for scanning and decoding bar codes from various sources such as video streams, image files or raw intensity sensors. It supports EAN-13/UPC-A, UPC-E, EAN-8, Code 128, Code 39, Interleaved 2 of 5 and QR Code.

This package contains basic applications for decoding captured bar code images and using a video4linux device (e.g. webcam) as a bar code scanner.

There are three methods to install zbar-tools on Ubuntu 20.04. We can use apt-get, apt and aptitude. In the following sections we will describe each method. You can choose one of them.

Install zbar-tools Using apt-get

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

sudo apt-get update

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

sudo apt-get -y install zbar-tools

Install zbar-tools Using apt

Update apt database with apt using the following command.

sudo apt update

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

sudo apt -y install zbar-tools

Install zbar-tools 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 Ubuntu. Update apt database with aptitude using the following command.

sudo aptitude update

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

sudo aptitude -y install zbar-tools

How To Uninstall zbar-tools on Ubuntu 20.04

To uninstall only the zbar-tools package we can use the following command:

sudo apt-get remove zbar-tools

Uninstall zbar-tools And Its Dependencies

To uninstall zbar-tools and its dependencies that are no longer needed by Ubuntu 20.04, we can use the command below:

sudo apt-get -y autoremove zbar-tools

Remove zbar-tools Configurations and Data

To remove zbar-tools configuration and data from Ubuntu 20.04 we can use the following command:

sudo apt-get -y purge zbar-tools

Remove zbar-tools configuration, data, and all of its dependencies

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

sudo apt-get -y autoremove --purge zbar-tools

References

Summary

In this tutorial we learn how to install zbar-tools package on Ubuntu 20.04 using different package management tools: apt, apt-get and aptitude.