sbbdep (Slack Build Binary Dependencies)

sbbdep is a tool for Slackware and Slackware based distributions that traces binary runtime dependencies of dynamic linked files.

sbbdep has been around since 2010. After a quiet period from 2018 it is back in maintenance mode as of 2026. Since the tool is feature complete, this revival is released as version 1.0.0.

Tested on Slackware current as of March 2026.

Package notes

Build:

cmake --workflow --preset release

Install into a staging directory (e.g. for Slackware packaging):

PKG=/path/to/staging

DESTDIR="$PKG" cmake --install build/ninja \
  --config Release \
  --prefix /usr \
  --component sbbdep

Create a package from source

Run

slackbuild/create-pkg.sh

then install or upgrade:

sudo upgradepkg --install-new tmp/sbbdep-*.tgz

Preview documentation locally

asciidoctor -a relfilesuffix=.html docs/*.adoc -D _site
xdg-open _site/index.html

Shell completion

Shell completion requires the bash-completion package. On Slackware it is tagged optional and may not be installed even on a full install:

slackpkg install bash-completion

Usage examples

Who uses a library?

Find all packages and binaries that depend on libssl.so.3:

sbbdep --whoneeds --xdl /usr/lib64/libssl.so.3

/lib64/libssl.so.3 (libssl.so.3) is used from:
  aaa_libraries-15.1-x86_64-49
    /usr/lib64/libcups.so.2
    /usr/lib64/libcurl.so.4.8.0
    /usr/lib64/libldap.so.2.0.200
    /usr/lib64/libssh2.so.1.0.1
  alpine-2.29.9-x86_64-1
    /usr/bin/alpine
    /usr/bin/pico
  bind-9.20.20-x86_64-1
    /usr/bin/dnssec-cds
    /usr/bin/dnssec-keyfromlabel

What does a library need?

Find which packages provide the libraries that libssl.so.3 itself depends on:

sbbdep --xdl --short /usr/lib64/libssl.so.3

check /lib64/libssl.so.3, 64bit library (libssl.so.3)
 .. from package openssl-solibs-3.5.5-x86_64-1
 .. from package openssl-3.5.5-x86_64-1

file /lib64/libssl.so.3 needs:
  libc.so.6 found in:
    /lib64/libc-2.42.so (aaa_glibc-solibs | glibc)
  libcrypto.so.3 found in:
    /lib64/libcrypto.so.3 (openssl | openssl-solibs)
  libz.so.1 found in:
    /lib64/libz.so.1.3.2 (aaa_libraries | zlib)

Package dependencies

Show all runtime dependencies of a package:

sbbdep /var/adm/packages/curl-8.19.0-x86_64-1

aaa_glibc-solibs = 2.42-x86_64-1 | glibc = 2.42-x86_64-1
aaa_libraries = 15.1-x86_64-49 | c-ares = 1.34.6-x86_64-1
aaa_libraries = 15.1-x86_64-49 | krb5 = 1.22.2-x86_64-1
aaa_libraries = 15.1-x86_64-49 | libidn2 = 2.3.8-x86_64-1
aaa_libraries = 15.1-x86_64-49 | libpsl = 0.21.5-x86_64-1
aaa_libraries = 15.1-x86_64-49 | libssh2 = 1.11.1-x86_64-1
aaa_libraries = 15.1-x86_64-49 | zlib = 1.3.2-x86_64-1
brotli = 1.2.0-x86_64-1
nghttp2 = 1.68.0-x86_64-1
openssl = 3.5.5-x86_64-1 | openssl-solibs = 3.5.5-x86_64-1

The output format is a package list as slapt-get expects it for dependencies. (The --short option generates a list without version numbers.)

Who depends on a package?

Show all packages that require curl:

sbbdep --whoneeds /var/adm/packages/curl-8.19.0-x86_64-1

NetworkManager-1.56.0-x86_64-1
cmake-4.2.3-x86_64-1
curl-8.19.0-x86_64-1
elfutils-0.194-x86_64-1
exiv2-0.28.8-x86_64-1

Non-binary file lookup

If the argument is not a binary, sbbdep searches the package database:

sbbdep /etc/ssl/openssl.cnf

not a file with binary dependencies: /etc/ssl/openssl.cnf
 try to find information in package list:
 filename found in /var/adm/packages/stunnel-5.77-x86_64-1: openssl.cnf
 filename found in /var/adm/packages/openvpn-2.7.0-x86_64-1: openssl.cnf
absolute match in /var/adm/packages/openssl-solibs-3.5.5-x86_64-1: /etc/ssl/openssl.cnf
absolute match in /var/adm/packages/openssl-3.5.5-x86_64-1: /etc/ssl/openssl.cnf

For more information and a detailed overview, visit the wiki.