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I tried to install a mutagen package, available according to apt-cache:

$ apt-cache madison mutagen
   mutagen |   1.40.0-2 | http://deb.debian.org/debian buster/main Sources

apt-get won't deliver:

$ sudo apt-get install mutagen
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
E: Unable to locate package mutagen

I tried apt-src:

$ sudo apt-src install mutagen

The result was catastrophic: it made a grand show, apparently installing the entire python and everything (already present in the system).

So I have to (a) locate the damage and remove it and (b) install mutagen the right way. How am I supposed to go about it?

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mutagen |   1.40.0-2 | http://deb.debian.org/debian buster/main Sources

says that mutagen is a source package, not a binary package. If you want to install the Python module using apt-get, you need to find the relevant binary package;

apt showsrc mutagen

will list them. You presumably want either

sudo apt install python3-mutagen

or

sudo apt install python-mutagen

depending on the version of Python you’re installing.

Cleaning up after your sudo apt-src install will involve removing any build-dependency you don’t need. Look at the Build-Depends line in the output from apt showsrc above, and remove any package you don’t think you need — one good approach is to mark them as automatically installed, then autoremove:

sudo apt-mark auto debhelper dh-python faad flac libc-bin oggz-tools pypy pypy-hypothesis pypy-pytest python-all python-docutils python-hypothesis python-pycodestyle python-pyflakes python-pytest python2.7-doc python3-all python3-hypothesis python3-pycodestyle python3-pyflakes python3-pytest python3-sphinx python3-sphinx-rtd-theme python3.7-doc vorbis-tools
sudo apt autoremove
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  • Thanks! apt showsrc mutagen/apt install python3-mutagen works just right. Only vorbis-tools got autoremoved from my longish Build-Depends list. All the other packages are either Unable to locate or not found by glob/regex Does it look right? Commented Mar 24, 2019 at 12:03
  • That looks OK; I’d have to know exactly what apt-src install did on your system to say conclusively. Since apt install works, at least your packages are consistent which means your system isn’t broken ;-). Commented Mar 24, 2019 at 12:08
  • The system does not appear to be broken, indeed. Let's consider he problem to be solved. Thank you very much! Commented Mar 24, 2019 at 12:13

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