Get All Available Packages using pkg-config

The pkg-config tool is widely used to retrieve metadata about installed libraries, including compiler and linker options. In some cases, it is useful to view a complete list of all packages known to pkg-config, for example when exploring available development libraries or verifying installed dependencies. This tutorial shows how to get all available packages using pkg-config.

To print every package recognized by pkg-config, use the --list-all option:

pkg-config --list-all

After running the command, the output will include entries similar to the following:

libcrypt       libxcrypt - Extended crypt library for DES, MD5, Blowfish and others
libnsl         libnsl - Library containing NIS functions using TI-RPC (IPv6 enabled)
libpainter     libpainter - Library for manipulating memory bitmaps.
libtirpc       libtirpc - Transport Independent RPC Library
...

Each line represents a package, showing its identifier followed by a short description. This information can help identify which libraries are available on the system and which names should be referenced when compiling or linking applications.