debhelper(7)

NAME

debhelper - the debhelper tool suite

SYNOPSIS

dh_* [-v] [-a] [-i] [-s] [--no-act] [-ppackage] [-Npackage] [-Ptmpdir]

DESCRIPTION

Debhelper is used to help you build a debian package. The philosophy
behind debhelper is to provide a collection of small, simple, and
easily understood tools that are used in debian/rules to automate
various common aspects of building a package. This means less work for you, the packager. It also, to some degree means that these tools can be changed if debian policy changes, and packages that use them will
require only a rebuild to comply with the new policy.

A typical debian/rules file that uses debhelper will call several
debhelper commands in sequence, or use dh(1) to automate this process. Examples of rules files that use debhelper are in
/usr/share/doc/debhelper/examples/

To create a new debian package using debhelper, you can just copy one
of the sample rules files and edit it by hand. Or you can try the dhmake package, which contains a dh_make command that partially automates the process. For a more gentle introduction, the maint-guide debian
package contains a tutorial about making your first package using
debhelper.

DEBHELPER COMMANDS

Here is the list of debhelper commands you can use. See their man pages for additional documentation.

dh_auto_build(1): automatically builds a package
dh_auto_clean(1): automatically cleans up after a build
dh_auto_configure(1): automatically configure a package prior to building
dh_auto_install(1): automatically runs make install or similar
dh_auto_test(1): automatically runs a package's test suites
dh_bugfiles(1): install bug reporting customization files into package build
directories
dh_builddeb(1): build debian binary packages
dh_clean(1): clean up package build directories
dh_compress(1): compress files and fix symlinks in package build directories
dh_fixperms(1): fix permissions of files in package build directories
dh_gconf(1): install GConf defaults files and register schemas
dh_gencontrol(1): generate and install control file
dh_icons(1): Update Freedesktop icon caches
dh_install(1): install files into package build directories
dh_installcatalogs(1): install and register SGML Catalogs
dh_installchangelogs(1): install changelogs into package build directories
dh_installcron(1): install cron scripts into etc/cron.*
dh_installdeb(1): install files into the DEBIAN directory
dh_installdebconf(1): install files used by debconf in package build directories
dh_installdirs(1): create subdirectories in package build directories
dh_installdocs(1): install documentation into package build directories
dh_installemacsen(1): register an emacs add on package
dh_installexamples(1): install example files into package build directories
dh_installifupdown(1): install if-up and if-down hooks
dh_installinfo(1): install info files
dh_installinit(1): install upstart jobs or init scripts into package build directories
dh_installlogcheck(1): install logcheck rulefiles into etc/logcheck/
dh_installlogrotate(1): install logrotate config files
dh_installman(1): install man pages into package build directories
dh_installmenu(1): install debian menu files into package build directories
dh_installmime(1): install mime files into package build directories
dh_installmodules(1): register modules with modutils
dh_installpam(1): install pam support files
dh_installppp(1): install ppp ip-up and ip-down files
dh_installudev(1): install udev rules files
dh_installwm(1): register a window manager
dh_installxfonts(1): register X fonts
dh_link(1): create symlinks in package build directories
dh_lintian(1): install lintian override files into package build directories
dh_listpackages(1): list binary packages debhelper will act on
dh_makeshlibs(1): automatically create shlibs file and call dpkg-gensymbols
dh_md5sums(1): generate DEBIAN/md5sums file
dh_movefiles(1): move files out of debian/tmp into subpackages
dh_perl(1): calculates perl dependencies and cleans up after MakeMaker
dh_prep(1): perform cleanups in preparation for building a binary package
dh_shlibdeps(1): calculate shared library dependencies
dh_strip(1): strip executables, shared libraries, and some static libraries
dh_testdir(1): test directory before building debian package
dh_testroot(1): ensure that a package is built as root
dh_usrlocal(1): migrate usr/local directories to maintainer scripts
Deprecated Commands: A few debhelper commands are deprecated and should not be used.; dh_desktop(1)
deprecated no-op; dh_installmanpages(1)
old-style man page installer (deprecated); dh_python(1)
calculates python dependencies and adds postinst and prerm python
scripts (deprecated); dh_scrollkeeper(1)
deprecated no-op; dh_suidregister(1)
suid registration program (deprecated); dh_undocumented(1)
undocumented.7 symlink program (deprecated no-op)
Other Commands: If a program's name starts with "dh_", and the program is not on the
above lists, then it is not part of the debhelper package, but it
should still work like the other programs described on this page.

DEBHELPER CONFIG FILES

Many debhelper commands make use of files in debian/ to control what they do. Besides the common debian/changelog and debian/control, which are in all packages, not just those using debhelper, some additional
files can be used to configure the behavior of specific debhelper
commands. These files are typically named debian/package.foo (where
"package" of course, is replaced with the package that is being acted
on).

For example, dh_installdocs uses files named debian/package.docs to
list the documentation files it will install. See the man pages of
individual commands for details about the names and formats of the
files they use. Generally, these files will list files to act on, one file per line. Some programs in debhelper use pairs of files and
destinations or slightly more complicated formats.

Note that if a package is the first (or only) binary package listed in debian/control, debhelper will use debian/foo if no debian/package.foo file can be found.

In some rare cases, you may want to have different versions of these
files for different architectures or OSes. If files named
debian/package.foo.ARCH or debian/package.foo.OS exist, where "ARCH"
and "OS" are the same as the output of "dpkg-architecture
-qDEB_HOST_ARCH" / "dpkg-architecture -qDEB_HOST_ARCH_OS", then they
will be used in preference to other, more general files.

In many cases, these config files are used to specify various types of files. Documentation or example files to install, files to move, and so on. When appropriate, in cases like these, you can use standard shell wildcard characters ('?' and '*' and '[..]' character classes) in the
files.

You can also put comments in these files; lines beginning with "#" are ignored.

SHARED DEBHELPER OPTIONS

The following command line options are supported by all debhelper
programs.

-v, --verbose: Verbose mode: show all commands that modify the package build
directory.
--no-act: Do not really do anything. If used with -v, the result is that the command will output what it would have done.
-a, --arch: Act on architecture dependent packages that should be built for the build architecture.
-i, --indep: Act on all architecture independent packages.
-ppackage, --package=package: Act on the package named "package". This option may be specified
multiple times to make debhelper operate on a given set of
packages.
-s, --same-arch: This used to be a smarter version of the -a flag, but the -a flag
is now equally smart.
-Npackage, --no-package=package: Do not act on the specified package even if an -a, -i, or -p option lists the package as one that should be acted on.
--remaining-packages: Do not act on the packages which have already been acted on by this debhelper command earlier (i.e. if the command is present in the
package debhelper log). For example, if you need to call the
command with special options only for a couple of binary packages, pass this option to the last call of the command to process the
rest of packages with default settings.
--ignore=file: Ignore the specified file. This can be used if debian/ contains a
debhelper config file that a debhelper command should not act on.
Note that debian/compat, debian/control, and debian/changelog can't be ignored, but then, there should never be a reason to ignore
those files.; For example, if upstream ships a debian/init that you don't want
dh_installinit to install, use --ignore=debian/init
-Ptmpdir, --tmpdir=tmpdir: Use "tmpdir" for package build directory. The default is
debian/<package>
--mainpackage=package: This little-used option changes the package which debhelper
considers the "main package", that is, the first one listed in
debian/control, and the one for which debian/foo files can be used instead of the usual debian/package.foo files.
-O=option|bundle: This is used by dh(1) when passing user-specified options to all the commands it runs. If the command supports the specified option or option bundle, it will take effect. If the command does not
support the option (or any part of an option bundle), it will be
ignored.

COMMON DEBHELPER OPTIONS

The following command line options are supported by some debhelper
programs. See the man page of each program for a complete explanation of what each option does.

-n Do not modify postinst/postrm/etc scripts.

-Xitem, --exclude=item: Exclude an item from processing. This option may be used multiple
times, to exclude more than one thing.
-A, --all: Makes files or other items that are specified on the command line
take effect in ALL packages acted on, not just the first.

BUILD SYSTEM OPTIONS

The following command line options are supported by all of the
dh_auto_* debhelper programs. These programs support a variety of build systems, and normally heuristically determine which to use, and how to use them. You can use these command line options to override the
default behavior.

-Sbuildsystem, --buildsystem=buildsystem: Force use of the specified buildsystem, instead of trying to autoselect one which might be applicable for the package.
-Ddirectory, --sourcedirectory=directory: Assume that the original package source tree is at the specified
directory rather than the top level directory of the Debian source package tree.
-B[directory], --builddirectory=[directory]: Enable out of source building and use the specified directory as the build directory. If directory parameter is omitted, a default build directory will chosen.; If this option is not specified, building will be done in source by default unless the build system requires or prefers out of source
tree building. In such a case, the default build directory will be used even if --builddirectory is not specified.; If the build system prefers out of source tree building but still
allows in source building, the latter can be re-enabled by passing a build directory path that is the same as the source directory
path.
--parallel: Enable parallel builds if underlying build system supports them.
The number of parallel jobs is controlled by the DEB_BUILD_OPTIONS environment variable ("Debian Policy, section 4.9.1") at build
time. It might also be subject to a build system specific limit.; If this option is not specified, debhelper currently defaults to
not allowing parallel package builds.
--max-parallel=maximum: This option implies --parallel and allows further limiting the
number of jobs that can be used in a parallel build. If the package build is known to only work with certain levels of concurrency, you can set this to the maximum level that is known to work, or that
you wish to support.
--list, -l: List all build systems supported by debhelper on this system. The
list includes both default and third party build systems (marked as such). Also shows which build system would be automatically
selected, or which one is manually specified with the --buildsystem option.

NOTES

Multiple binary package support: If your source package generates more than one binary package,
debhelper programs will default to acting on all binary packages when
run. If your source package happens to generate one architecture
dependent package, and another architecture independent package, this
is not the correct behavior, because you need to generate the
architecture dependent packages in the binary-arch debian/rules target, and the architecture independent packages in the binary-indep
debian/rules target.; To facilitate this, as well as give you more control over which
packages are acted on by debhelper programs, all debhelper programs
accept the -a, -i, -p, and -s parameters. These parameters are cumulative. If none are given, debhelper programs default to acting on all packages listed in the control file.
Automatic generation of debian install scripts: Some debhelper commands will automatically generate parts of debian
maintainer scripts. If you want these automatically generated things
included in your existing debian maintainer scripts, then you need to
add "#DEBHELPER#" to your scripts, in the place the code should be
added. "#DEBHELPER#" will be replaced by any auto-generated code when you run dh_installdeb.; If a script does not exist at all and debhelper needs to add something to it, then debhelper will create the complete script.; All debhelper commands that automatically generate code in this way let it be disabled by the -n parameter (see above).; Note that the inserted code will be shell code, so you cannot directly use it in a perl script. If you would like to embed it into a perl
script, here is one way to do that (note that I made sure that $1, $2, etc are set with the set command):

my $temp="set -e\nset -- @ARGV\n" . << 'EOF';
#DEBHELPER#
EOF
system ($temp) / 256 == 0
or die "Problem with debhelper scripts: $!";
Automatic generation of miscellaneous dependencies.: Some debhelper commands may make the generated package need to depend
on some other packages. For example, if you use dh_installdebconf(1), your package will generally need to depend on debconf. Or if you use
dh_installxfonts(1), your package will generally need to depend on a particular version of xutils. Keeping track of these miscellaneous
dependencies can be annoying since they are dependant on how debhelper does things, so debhelper offers a way to automate it.; All commands of this type, besides documenting what dependencies may be needed on their man pages, will automatically generate a substvar
called ${misc:Depends}. If you put that token into your debian/control file, it will be expanded to the dependencies debhelper figures you
need.; This is entirely independent of the standard ${shlibs:Depends}
generated by dh_makeshlibs(1), and the ${perl:Depends} generated by dh_perl(1). You can choose not to use any of these, if debhelper's guesses don't match reality.
Package build directories: By default, all debhelper programs assume that the temporary directory used for assembling the tree of files in a package is debian/<package>.; Sometimes, you might want to use some other temporary directory. This
is supported by the -P flag. For example, "dh_installdocs
-Pdebian/tmp", will use debian/tmp as the temporary directory. Note
that if you use -P, the debhelper programs can only be acting on a
single package at a time. So if you have a package that builds many
binary packages, you will need to also use the -p flag to specify which binary package the debhelper program will act on.
Debhelper compatibility levels: From time to time, major non-backwards-compatible changes need to be
made to debhelper, to keep it clean and well-designed as needs change
and its author gains more experience. To prevent such major changes
from breaking existing packages, the concept of debhelper compatibility levels was introduced. You tell debhelper which compatibility level it should use, and it modifies its behavior in various ways.; Tell debhelper what compatibility level to use by writing a number to
debian/compat. For example, to turn on v8 mode:

% echo 8 > debian/compat; Unless otherwise indicated, all debhelper documentation assumes that
you are using the most recent compatibility level, and in most cases
does not indicate if the behavior is different in an earlier
compatibility level, so if you are not using the most recent
compatibility level, you're advised to read below for notes about what is different in earlier compatibility levels.; These are the available compatibility levels:; v1 This is the original debhelper compatibility level, and so it is
the default one. In this mode, debhelper will use debian/tmp as the package tree directory for the first binary package listed in the
control file, while using debian/<package> for all other packages
listed in the control file.

This mode is deprecated.; v2 In this mode, debhelper will consistently use debian/<package> as
the package tree directory for every package that is built.

This mode is deprecated.; v3 This mode works like v2, with the following additions:

- Debhelper config files support globbing via * and ?, when
appropriate. To turn this off and use those characters raw, just prefix with a backslash.
- dh_makeshlibs makes the postinst and postrm scripts call: ldconfig.
- Every file in etc/ is automatically flagged as a conffile: by dh_installdeb.
This mode is deprecated.
v4 Changes from v3 are:: - dh_makeshlibs -V will not include the debian part of the
version number in the generated dependency line in the
shlibs file.
- You are encouraged to put the new ${misc:Depends} into: debian/control to supplement the ${shlibs:Depends} field.
- dh_fixperms will make all files in bin/ directories and in: etc/init.d executable.
- dh_link will correct existing links to conform with policy.
This mode is deprecated.
v5 Changes from v4 are:: - Comments are ignored in debhelper config files.; - dh_strip --dbg-package now specifies the name of a package
to put debugging symbols in, not the packages to take the
symbols from.
- dh_installdocs skips installing empty files.
- dh_install errors out if wildcards expand to nothing.
v6 Changes from v5 are:: - Commands that generate maintainer script fragments will
order the fragments in reverse order for the prerm and
postrm scripts.
- dh_installwm will install a slave manpage link for: x-window-manager.1.gz, if it sees the man page in
usr/share/man/man1 in the package build directory.
- dh_builddeb did not previously delete everything matching: DH_ALWAYS_EXCLUDE, if it was set to a list of things to
exclude, such as "CVS:.svn:.git". Now it does.
- dh_installman allows overwriting existing man pages in the: package build directory. In previous compatibility levels
it silently refuses to do this.
v7 Changes from v6 are:: - dh_install, will fall back to looking for files in
debian/tmp if it doesn't find them in the current directory (or wherever you tell it look using --sourcedir). This
allows dh_install to interoperate with dh_auto_install,
which installs to debian/tmp, without needing any special
parameters.
- dh_clean will read debian/clean and delete files listed: there.
- dh_clean will delete toplevel *-stamp files.
- dh_installchangelogs will guess at what file is the: upstream changelog if none is specified.
v8 This is the recommended mode of operation.: Changes from v7 are:; - Commands will fail rather than warning when they are passed
unknown options.
- dh_makeshlibs will run dpkg-gensymbols on all shared: libraries that it generates shlibs files for. So -X can be used to exclude libraries. Also, libraries in unusual
locations that dpkg-gensymbols would not have processed
before will be passed to it, a behavior change that can
cause some packages to fail to build.
- dh requires the sequence to run be specified as the first: parameter, and any switches come after it. Ie, use "dh $@
--foo", not "dh --foo $@"; dh_auto_* prefer to use perl's Module::Build in preference to Makefile.PL.
udebs: Debhelper includes support for udebs. To create a udeb with debhelper, add "Package-Type: udeb" to the package's stanza in debian/control, and build-depend on debhelper (>= 4.2). Debhelper will try to create udebs that comply with debian-installer policy, by making the generated
package files end in ".udeb", not installing any documentation into a
udeb, skipping over preinst, postrm, prerm, and config scripts, etc.
Other notes: In general, if any debhelper program needs a directory to exist under
debian/, it will create it. I haven't bothered to document this in all the man pages, but for example, dh_installdeb knows to make
debian/<package>/DEBIAN/ before trying to put files there,
dh_installmenu knows you need a debian/<package>/usr/share/menu/ before installing the menu files, etc.; Once your package uses debhelper to build, be sure to add debhelper to your Build-Depends line in debian/control. You should build-depend on a version of debhelper equal to (or greater than) the debhelper
compatibility level your package uses. So if your package used
compatibility level 7:

Build-Depends: debhelper (>= 7)

ENVIRONMENT

DH_VERBOSE: Set to 1 to enable verbose mode. Debhelper will output every
command it runs that modifies files on the build system.
DH_COMPAT: Temporarily specifies what compatibility level debhelper should run at, overriding any value in debian/compat.
DH_NO_ACT: Set to 1 to enable no-act mode.
DH_OPTIONS: Anything in this variable will be prepended to the command line
arguments of all debhelper commands. Command-specific options will be ignored by commands that do not support them.; This is useful in some situations, for example, if you need to pass -p to all debhelper commands that will be run. One good way to set DH_OPTIONS is by using "Target-specific Variable Values" in your
debian/rules file. See the make documentation for details on doing this.
DH_ALWAYS_EXCLUDE: If set, this adds the value the variable is set to to the -X
options of all commands that support the -X option. Moreover,
dh_builddeb will rm -rf anything that matches the value in your
package build tree.; This can be useful if you are doing a build from a CVS source tree, in which case setting DH_ALWAYS_EXCLUDE=CVS will prevent any CVS
directories from sneaking into the package you build. Or, if a
package has a source tarball that (unwisely) includes CVS
directories, you might want to export DH_ALWAYS_EXCLUDE=CVS in
debian/rules, to make it take effect wherever your package is
built.; Multiple things to exclude can be separated with colons, as in
DH_ALWAYS_EXCLUDE=CVS:.svn

AUTHOR

Joey Hess <joeyh@debian.org>

docs.sk

comprehensive documentation repository

See also