picax(1)

NAME

picax -- apt repository media creator

SYNOPSIS

picax  [options]   [repository-path]   [distribution-name]
[component-name]

DESCRIPTION

This manual page documents briefly the picax command.

picax is a program that takes apt repositories and splits

them apart, usually for the purpose of writing the repositories

onto media such as a CD or DVD. It does not create media itself;

instead, it sets up paths that are ready to be fed to a tool such

as mkisofs.

Optionally, picax can write an installer on the media.

This is done by passing a module name to the --installer option.

This module is loaded, and code from this module is called at the

appropriate times to write the installer.

OPTIONS

These programs follow the usual GNU command line syntax,

with long options starting with two dashes (`-'). A summary of

options is included below.

In addition, if an installer is selected with --installer,

options starting with --inst will be accepted. The exact options

vary between installers; consult your installer documentation for

a full list of options.

--read-config=file
Read configuration items from the named file.

Options on the command line override options in the file.

--write-config=file
Write the configuration used in this run to the

named file. The file is written in the same XML-based format

used by --read-config. Since --read-config is overriden by the

command line, the two options can be used to modify the configu

ration file via the command line.

--help
Show summary of options.

--version
Show version of program.

--debug
Run in debug mode. Some more information is

provided when there are problems, and the debugger is invoked im

mediately after the options are parsed.

--order=order-file
When packing packages onto media, place the

packages mentioned in the order file first (as well as their de

pendencies).

--arch=architecture-name Build media for a different architecture. This

defaults to the current system architecture.

--num-parts=number
Split the repository into the requested number

of parts, sizing the parts appropriately. Either this option or

the --part-size option are required.

--part-size=size
Split the repository into enough parts so each

is the requested number of bytes in size. Either this option or

the --num-parts option are required.

--cd-label=string
Set the label, as recognized by apt, to the re

quested string. It may be necessary to enclose this option in

quotes, or quote all whitespace in the string.

--installer=component-name Set the installer to write to the media. This

name is used as the name of the installer module to load.

--source=source-type Create source media as well as binary media.

There are four possible settings: none (don't create source me

dia), separate (put source on completely separate media), immedi

ate (put source on media immediately after putting binaries on,

so one of the media has both binary and source on it), or mixed

(each of the media has the source for its binaries on the same

medium). The default value, if not specified, is "separate".

--media=component-name Set the media type to use (CD, DVD, etc.). The

component name corresponds to a module which, when loaded, pro

vides information about the media size, and also allows the cre

ation of images. The --part-size and --num-parts should not be

used with this option.

--apt-repo-path=apt-repository Specify an apt repository that can override the

main one. Useful to fix temporary bugs in packages or provide

missing ones.

--short-package-list Only include packages on the media that are ref

erenced by either the manual order list or the installer's order

list.

--no-debootstrap
Do not ask debootstrap for its list of important

packages to prioritize in the package order.

repository-path
The path to the apt repository we're going to

pack.

distribution-name
The name of the distribution we're going to

pack.

component-name
The component of the distribution we're going to

pack.

AUTHOR

This manual page was written by Jeff Licquia <lic

quia@progeny.com> for the Debian system (but may be used by oth

ers). Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify

this document under the terms of the GNU General Public License,

Version 2 any later version published by the Free Software Foun

dation.

On Debian systems, the complete text of the GNU General

Public License can be found in /usr/share/common-licenses/GPL.

PI

CAX(1)