How to fix subprocess installed post-removal script returned error exit status 1 in APT

This is the first and safest fix. It tells dpkg to process and configure all partially installed packages:

sudo dpkg --configure -a

The -a flag means "all" and --configure tells dpkg to complete configuration of unpacked packages. This often resolves the error if the package was interrupted during installation.

If the above doesn't work, use apt to fix broken dependencies:

sudo apt install -f

Or equivalently:

sudo apt install --fix-broken

This command attempts to repair broken package dependencies and may complete the installation of the problematic package.

Clear the apt cache and try the operation again:

sudo apt clean
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

This removes potentially corrupted package files and refreshes the package index.

If the post-removal script has DOS line endings (CR-LF), it will fail. First, identify the problematic package name from the error message, then fix it:

# If you have dos2unix installed:
sudo dos2unix /var/lib/dpkg/info/<package-name>.postrm

# Or replace the script with a minimal placeholder:
sudo sh -c 'echo "#!/bin/sh" > /var/lib/dpkg/info/<package-name>.postrm'

After fixing the script, retry the operation:

sudo apt remove <package-name>

Replace <package-name> with the actual package name from the error message (without the .postrm extension).

If the script contains a failing command, you can disable the -e flag (exit on error):

# First, back up the dpkg database
sudo cp -r /var/lib/dpkg /var/lib/dpkg.backup

# Edit the postrm script to comment out the set -e line
sudo sed -i 's/^set -e/#set -e/g' /var/lib/dpkg/info/<package-name>.postrm

This makes the script continue even if individual commands fail. Retry the operation after this change.

If standard removal fails, try forcing it with --force options:

# Attempt forced removal
sudo apt remove --allow-downgrades --allow-remove-essential --allow-change-held-packages <package-name>

# Or use dpkg directly with --force-all
sudo dpkg --remove --force-all <package-name>

# Then clean up
sudo apt install -f
sudo dpkg --configure -a

Use this only after trying other methods, as it bypasses safety checks.