package ack-grep 2.12-1 fails to install/upgrade with "trying to overwrite `/usr/bin/ack', which is the diverted version of `/usr/bin/ack-grep'" if the local admin manually added that diversion beforehand (as suggested by upstream)

[Jay R. Wren]

during a do-release-upgrade trusty->utopic

ProblemType: Package
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 14.10
Package: ack-grep 2.12-1
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.11.0-11.17-generic 3.11.3
Uname: Linux 3.11.0-11-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.14.7-0ubuntu8
Architecture: amd64
Date: Fri Oct 24 11:10:14 2014
DuplicateSignature: package:ack-grep:2.12-1:trying to overwrite `/usr/bin/ack', which is the diverted version of `/usr/bin/ack-grep'
ErrorMessage: trying to overwrite `/usr/bin/ack', which is the diverted version of `/usr/bin/ack-grep'
PackageArchitecture: all
SourcePackage: ack-grep
Title: package ack-grep 2.12-1 failed to install/upgrade: trying to overwrite `/usr/bin/ack', which is the diverted version of `/usr/bin/ack-grep'
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to utopic on 2014-10-24 (0 days ago)

[Axel Beckert (xtaran)]

> trying to overwrite `/usr/bin/ack', which is the diverted version of `/usr/bin/ack-grep'

There never was a diversion of ack-grep to ack in the package, so this looks a lot like a diversion by the local system administrator.

Remove to local diversion and the package will install fine.

[Frieder Bluemle (frieder-bluemle)]

If you set up a local diversion as instructed in the section "Renaming ack-grep on Debian-derived distros" on their website, remove it:

sudo dpkg-divert --remove /usr/bin/ack-grep

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

[Expired for ack-grep (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]

[Brian Dobby (p-brian-8)]

Comment #3 fixed the issue for me. Thanks.

[Jean-Christophe Hoelt (jchoelt)]

Comment #3 fixes it for me as well. Thanks.

[Maxwell Dreytser (admik)]

This is great and all, but it would be nice for the package to actually fix this...

[Maxwell Dreytser (admik)]

The fix does work, but it would be great to actually implement in the package.

[Axel Beckert (xtaran)]

Comment #3 only works if you added a diversion _manually_.

I consider comments #5 to #7 being a confirmation that this is not a bug in the package, but caused by the local administrators having added local diversions themselves.

[Maxwell Dreytser (admik)]

Normally I would agree with you, but there is also the fact that they actually told you to do this on their website. I actually did this long ago (relatively) and didn't know the repercussions. Isn't it possible to remove any existing diversion during upgrade?