package: postgresql-11 version: 11.5-1+deb10u1 Note: This was attempted on *fresh* Debian and Ubuntu installations.
$ sudo apt install postgresql-11 $ sudo apt purge postgresql-11 $ sudo apt autoremove leaves these packages behind: postgresql-client-11 postgresql-client-common postgresql-common I checked the dependents using "apt rdepends $package" postgresql-client-11: no dependents postgresql-client-common: postgresql-client-11, postgresql-common postgresql-common: logrotate It makes no sense that "postgresql-client-11" was not removed. It's an automatic package with no dependents. (aptitude removes it automatically). As for "postgresql-common" becoming a dependency for "logrotate", it doesn't make sense to me either, but I don't know if it's a bug or not. I contacted a Postgres package maintainer and he believes APT is to blame here.
