Answer by kenorb for How to list files of a Debian package without install

Seems it's not possible before installing it first or extracting the list from .deb file.

Try the following command:

dpkg --contents <(curl -s $(apt-get install --yes --no-download --reinstall --print-uris language-pack-en | tail -n1 | grep -o "http[^']\+"))

Change language-pack-en with your package name.

It basically reads .deb file extracted via curl and run dpkg --contents FILE on it.

You can also check the content without downloading the package file.

So if you know the URL of .deb file, the following shell command will list all the package files:

dpkg -c <(curl -sL "http://httpredir.debian.org/debian/pool/main/a/avis/avis_1.2.2-4_all.deb")

^{Curl params: -s - silent, -L - follow moved links.}

If you don't know the URL, fetch by: apt --print-uris, e.g.

apt --print-uris install avis | grep avis