How To Fix ‘package is in a very bad inconsistent state’ Error In Debian, Ubuntu Linux

Ever encountered the "package is in a very bad inconsistent state" error in Linux? Don't panic! This message simply means a software installation on your system is corrupted. I just got this issue fixed in one of my Debian 11 systems. It's a common error in Debian and Ubuntu-based systems. This guide will walk you through the steps to repair the package and get your system running smoothly again.

Package is in a very bad inconsistent state

It is been several months since I updated one of my Debian VMs. When I tried to update the system with commands:

$ sudo apt update

$ sudo apt full-upgrade

I got the following error:

[...]
dpkg: error processing package python3-py7zr (--configure):
 package is in a very bad inconsistent state; you should
 reinstall it before attempting configuration
Errors were encountered while processing:
 python3-py7zr
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)

As you may noticed in the output above, there is an error installing package named python3-py7zr.

This issue doesn't let me to perform any apt operations. I can't install, remove, update any packages.

If you encounter with a similar issue, you can fix it by forcibly uninstalling the package along with its dependencies and reinstall it again as described below.

First, run the following command to forcibly remove python3-py7zr package with its dependencies:

$ sudo dpkg --remove --force-remove-reinstreq --force-depends python3-py7zr

Allow me to explain what each part of this command does:

1. sudo: This command is typically used to run the following command with administrative or root privileges.
2. dpkg: This is the command-line tool for installing, removing, and managing Debian-based software packages (such as those used in Ubuntu and other Debian-derived Linux distributions).
3. --remove: This option tells dpkg to remove the specified package from the system.
4. --force-remove-reinstreq: This option forces the removal of the package even if it breaks dependencies or removes packages that are marked as requiring reinstallation.
5. --force-depends: This option forces the removal of the package along with any packages that depend on it.
6. python3-py7zr: This is the name of the package that you want to remove from the system. python3-py7zr is a Python library that provides an interface to the 7-zip file archiver.

In summary, this command forcibly removes the python3-py7zr package from the system, along with any packages that depend on it, and ignores any reinstallation requirements or broken dependencies that may result from the removal.

Warning:
Using force options like --force-remove-reinstreq and --force-depends can potentially break other packages or system components that rely on the removed package. It's generally recommended to use these options with caution and only when necessary, as they can lead to an unstable or inconsistent system state.

And then try to install the problematic package with command:

$ sudo apt install python3-py7zr

Now you should be able to install other packages.

Reference: https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=308488