How do I remove all i386 architecture packages from my Debian installation?

I am answering my own question after gathering important information from other blog posts.

  1. Show what foreign architectures are installed: dpkg --print-foreign-architectures
    • Might show: i386
  2. Remove all i386 packages: apt-get purge ".*:i386"
    • Note: The purge keyword (instead of remove) removes all configuration files associated with the packages you're uninstalling. (Thanks PCGuyIV!)
  3. Now you can remove the i386 architecture: dpkg --remove-architecture i386

I would use "purge" instead of "remove".

~# apt-get purge ".*:i386"
~# dpkg --remove-architecture i386

The "purge" keyword removes all configuration files associated with the packages you're uninstalling.


$ sudo apt remove `dpkg --get-selections |grep i386 |awk '{print $1}'`
$ sudo dpkg --remove-architecture i386