The dpkg-divert command
File diversions are a way of forcing dpkg not to install a file into its default location, but to a diverted
location. Diversions can be used through the Debian package scripts to move a file away when it causes a conflict. System administrators can also use a diversion to override a package's configuration file, or whenever some files (which aren't marked as conffiles) need to be preserved by dpkg, when installing a newer version of a package which contains those files (see Сохранение текущей конфигурации, раздел 2.2.4).
# dpkg-divert [--add] filename # add "diversion" # dpkg-divert --remove filename # remove "diversion"
It's usually a good idea not to use dpkg-divert unless it is absolutely necessary.