Merge remote-tracking branch 'upstream/debian/sid' into debian/sid
[ntk/apt.git] / doc / apt-ftparchive.1.xml
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24f6490f 1<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="no"?>
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2<!DOCTYPE refentry PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.5//EN"
3 "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.5/docbookx.dtd" [
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4
5<!ENTITY % aptent SYSTEM "apt.ent">
6%aptent;
7
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8<!ENTITY % aptverbatiment SYSTEM "apt-verbatim.ent">
9%aptverbatiment;
10
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11<!ENTITY % aptvendor SYSTEM "apt-vendor.ent">
12%aptvendor;
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13]>
14
15<refentry>
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16
17 <refentryinfo>
18 &apt-author.jgunthorpe;
19 &apt-author.team;
20 &apt-email;
21 &apt-product;
22 <!-- The last update date -->
dabb215c 23 <date>2012-06-09T00:00:00Z</date>
5e80de29 24 </refentryinfo>
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25
26 <refmeta>
27 <refentrytitle>apt-ftparchive</refentrytitle>
28 <manvolnum>1</manvolnum>
f0599b9c 29 <refmiscinfo class="manual">APT</refmiscinfo>
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30 </refmeta>
31
32 <!-- Man page title -->
33 <refnamediv>
34 <refname>apt-ftparchive</refname>
35 <refpurpose>Utility to generate index files</refpurpose>
36 </refnamediv>
37
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38 &synopsis-command-apt-ftparchive;
39
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40 <refsect1><title>Description</title>
41 <para><command>apt-ftparchive</command> is the command line tool that generates the index
42 files that APT uses to access a distribution source. The index files should
43 be generated on the origin site based on the content of that site.</para>
44
45 <para><command>apt-ftparchive</command> is a superset of the &dpkg-scanpackages; program,
46 incorporating its entire functionality via the <literal>packages</literal> command.
47 It also contains a contents file generator, <literal>contents</literal>, and an
48 elaborate means to 'script' the generation process for a complete
49 archive.</para>
50
51 <para>Internally <command>apt-ftparchive</command> can make use of binary databases to
52 cache the contents of a .deb file and it does not rely on any external
53 programs aside from &gzip;. When doing a full generate it automatically
54 performs file-change checks and builds the desired compressed output files.</para>
55
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56 <para>Unless the <option>-h</option>, or <option>--help</option> option is given,
57 one of the commands below must be present.</para>
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58
59 <variablelist>
2b9b27c3 60 <varlistentry><term><option>packages</option></term>
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61 <listitem><para>
62 The packages command generates a package file from a directory tree. It
63 takes the given directory and recursively searches it for .deb files,
64 emitting a package record to stdout for each. This command is
65 approximately equivalent to &dpkg-scanpackages;.</para>
66
67 <para>The option <option>--db</option> can be used to specify a binary caching DB.</para></listitem>
68 </varlistentry>
69
2b9b27c3 70 <varlistentry><term><option>sources</option></term>
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71 <listitem><para>
72 The <literal>sources</literal> command generates a source index file from a directory tree.
73 It takes the given directory and recursively searches it for .dsc files,
74 emitting a source record to stdout for each. This command is approximately
75 equivalent to &dpkg-scansources;.</para>
76 <para>
77 If an override file is specified then a source override file will be
78 looked for with an extension of .src. The --source-override option can be
79 used to change the source override file that will be used.</para></listitem>
80 </varlistentry>
81
2b9b27c3 82 <varlistentry><term><option>contents</option></term>
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83 <listitem><para>
84 The <literal>contents</literal> command generates a contents file from a directory tree. It
85 takes the given directory and recursively searches it for .deb files,
86 and reads the file list from each file. It then sorts and writes to stdout
87 the list of files matched to packages. Directories are not written to
88 the output. If multiple packages own the same file then each package is
89 separated by a comma in the output.</para>
90 <para>
91 The option <option>--db</option> can be used to specify a binary caching DB.</para></listitem>
92 </varlistentry>
93
2b9b27c3 94 <varlistentry><term><option>release</option></term>
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95 <listitem><para>
96 The <literal>release</literal> command generates a Release file from a
3cb3fe76 97 directory tree. It recursively searches the given directory for uncompressed
a4396982 98 <filename>Packages</filename> and <filename>Sources</filename> files and ones
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99 compressed with <command>gzip</command>, <command>bzip2</command> or <command>lzma</command>
100 as well as <filename>Release</filename> and <filename>md5sum.txt</filename> files by default
101 (<literal>APT::FTPArchive::Release::Default-Patterns</literal>). Additional filename patterns
102 can be added by listing them in <literal>APT::FTPArchive::Release::Patterns</literal>.
a4396982 103 It then writes to stdout a <filename>Release</filename> file containing an MD5, SHA1 and SHA256 digest
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104 for each file.</para>
105 <para>
106 Values for the additional metadata fields in the Release file are
107 taken from the corresponding variables under
108 <literal>APT::FTPArchive::Release</literal>,
109 e.g. <literal>APT::FTPArchive::Release::Origin</literal>. The supported fields
110 are: <literal>Origin</literal>, <literal>Label</literal>, <literal>Suite</literal>,
111 <literal>Version</literal>, <literal>Codename</literal>, <literal>Date</literal>,
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112 <literal>Valid-Until</literal>, <literal>Architectures</literal>,
113 <literal>Components</literal>, <literal>Description</literal>.</para></listitem>
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114
115 </varlistentry>
116
2b9b27c3 117 <varlistentry><term><option>generate</option></term>
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118 <listitem><para>
119 The <literal>generate</literal> command is designed to be runnable from a cron script and
120 builds indexes according to the given config file. The config language
121 provides a flexible means of specifying which index files are built from
122 which directories, as well as providing a simple means of maintaining the
123 required settings.</para></listitem>
124 </varlistentry>
125
2b9b27c3 126 <varlistentry><term><option>clean</option></term>
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127 <listitem><para>
128 The <literal>clean</literal> command tidies the databases used by the given
129 configuration file by removing any records that are no longer necessary.</para></listitem>
130 </varlistentry>
131 </variablelist>
132 </refsect1>
133
134 <refsect1><title>The Generate Configuration</title>
135 <para>
136 The <literal>generate</literal> command uses a configuration file to describe the
137 archives that are going to be generated. It follows the typical ISC
138 configuration format as seen in ISC tools like bind 8 and dhcpd.
139 &apt-conf; contains a description of the syntax. Note that the generate
140 configuration is parsed in sectional manner, but &apt-conf; is parsed in a
141 tree manner. This only effects how the scope tag is handled.</para>
142
143 <para>
a4396982 144 The generate configuration has four separate sections, each described below.</para>
24f6490f 145
aec22160 146 <refsect2><title><literal>Dir</literal> Section</title>
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147 <para>
148 The <literal>Dir</literal> section defines the standard directories needed to
149 locate the files required during the generation process. These
5f4331c4 150 directories are prepended certain relative paths defined in later
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151 sections to produce a complete an absolute path.</para>
152 <variablelist>
2b9b27c3 153 <varlistentry><term><option>ArchiveDir</option></term>
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154 <listitem><para>
155 Specifies the root of the FTP archive, in a standard
156 Debian configuration this is the directory that contains the
157 <filename>ls-LR</filename> and dist nodes.</para></listitem>
158 </varlistentry>
159
2b9b27c3 160 <varlistentry><term><option>OverrideDir</option></term>
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161 <listitem><para>
162 Specifies the location of the override files.</para></listitem>
163 </varlistentry>
164
2b9b27c3 165 <varlistentry><term><option>CacheDir</option></term>
24f6490f 166 <listitem><para>
a4396982 167 Specifies the location of the cache files.</para></listitem>
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168 </varlistentry>
169
2b9b27c3 170 <varlistentry><term><option>FileListDir</option></term>
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171 <listitem><para>
172 Specifies the location of the file list files,
173 if the <literal>FileList</literal> setting is used below.</para></listitem>
174 </varlistentry>
175 </variablelist>
176 </refsect2>
177
aec22160 178 <refsect2><title><literal>Default</literal> Section</title>
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179 <para>
180 The <literal>Default</literal> section specifies default values, and settings
181 that control the operation of the generator. Other sections may override
182 these defaults with a per-section setting.</para>
183 <variablelist>
2b9b27c3 184 <varlistentry><term><option>Packages::Compress</option></term>
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185 <listitem><para>
186 Sets the default compression schemes to use
14301cf3 187 for the package index files. It is a string that contains a space
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188 separated list of at least one of: '.' (no compression), 'gzip' and
189 'bzip2'. The default for all compression schemes is '. gzip'.</para></listitem>
190 </varlistentry>
191
2b9b27c3 192 <varlistentry><term><option>Packages::Extensions</option></term>
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193 <listitem><para>
194 Sets the default list of file extensions that are package files.
195 This defaults to '.deb'.</para></listitem>
196 </varlistentry>
197
2b9b27c3 198 <varlistentry><term><option>Sources::Compress</option></term>
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199 <listitem><para>
200 This is similar to <literal>Packages::Compress</literal>
201 except that it controls the compression for the Sources files.</para></listitem>
202 </varlistentry>
203
2b9b27c3 204 <varlistentry><term><option>Sources::Extensions</option></term>
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205 <listitem><para>
206 Sets the default list of file extensions that are source files.
207 This defaults to '.dsc'.</para></listitem>
208 </varlistentry>
209
2b9b27c3 210 <varlistentry><term><option>Contents::Compress</option></term>
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211 <listitem><para>
212 This is similar to <literal>Packages::Compress</literal>
213 except that it controls the compression for the Contents files.</para></listitem>
214 </varlistentry>
34f1d96c 215
2b9b27c3 216 <varlistentry><term><option>Translation::Compress</option></term>
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217 <listitem><para>
218 This is similar to <literal>Packages::Compress</literal>
219 except that it controls the compression for the Translation-en master file.</para></listitem>
220 </varlistentry>
221
2b9b27c3 222 <varlistentry><term><option>DeLinkLimit</option></term>
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223 <listitem><para>
224 Specifies the number of kilobytes to delink (and
225 replace with hard links) per run. This is used in conjunction with the
226 per-section <literal>External-Links</literal> setting.</para></listitem>
227 </varlistentry>
228
2b9b27c3 229 <varlistentry><term><option>FileMode</option></term>
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230 <listitem><para>
231 Specifies the mode of all created index files. It
232 defaults to 0644. All index files are set to this mode with no regard
233 to the umask.</para></listitem>
234 </varlistentry>
34f1d96c 235
2b9b27c3 236 <varlistentry><term><option>LongDescription</option></term>
34f1d96c 237 <listitem><para>
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238 Specifies whether long descriptions should be included in the <filename>Packages</filename> file or split
239 out into a master <filename>Translation-en</filename> file.</para></listitem>
34f1d96c 240 </varlistentry>
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241 </variablelist>
242 </refsect2>
243
aec22160 244 <refsect2><title><literal>TreeDefault</literal> Section</title>
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245 <para>
246 Sets defaults specific to <literal>Tree</literal> sections. All of these
247 variables are substitution variables and have the strings $(DIST),
248 $(SECTION) and $(ARCH) replaced with their respective values.</para>
249
250 <variablelist>
2b9b27c3 251 <varlistentry><term><option>MaxContentsChange</option></term>
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252 <listitem><para>
253 Sets the number of kilobytes of contents
254 files that are generated each day. The contents files are round-robined
255 so that over several days they will all be rebuilt.</para></listitem>
256 </varlistentry>
257
2b9b27c3 258 <varlistentry><term><option>ContentsAge</option></term>
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259 <listitem><para>
260 Controls the number of days a contents file is allowed
261 to be checked without changing. If this limit is passed the mtime of the
262 contents file is updated. This case can occur if the package file is
263 changed in such a way that does not result in a new contents file
264 [override edit for instance]. A hold off is allowed in hopes that new
265 .debs will be installed, requiring a new file anyhow. The default is 10,
266 the units are in days.</para></listitem>
267 </varlistentry>
268
2b9b27c3 269 <varlistentry><term><option>Directory</option></term>
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270 <listitem><para>
271 Sets the top of the .deb directory tree. Defaults to
272 <filename>$(DIST)/$(SECTION)/binary-$(ARCH)/</filename></para></listitem>
273 </varlistentry>
274
2b9b27c3 275 <varlistentry><term><option>SrcDirectory</option></term>
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276 <listitem><para>
277 Sets the top of the source package directory tree. Defaults to
278 <filename>$(DIST)/$(SECTION)/source/</filename></para></listitem>
279 </varlistentry>
280
2b9b27c3 281 <varlistentry><term><option>Packages</option></term>
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282 <listitem><para>
283 Sets the output Packages file. Defaults to
284 <filename>$(DIST)/$(SECTION)/binary-$(ARCH)/Packages</filename></para></listitem>
285 </varlistentry>
286
2b9b27c3 287 <varlistentry><term><option>Sources</option></term>
24f6490f 288 <listitem><para>
c6474fb6 289 Sets the output Sources file. Defaults to
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290 <filename>$(DIST)/$(SECTION)/source/Sources</filename></para></listitem>
291 </varlistentry>
4e794c50 292
2b9b27c3 293 <varlistentry><term><option>Translation</option></term>
4e794c50 294 <listitem><para>
a4396982 295 Sets the output Translation-en master file with the long descriptions if they
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296 should be not included in the Packages file. Defaults to
297 <filename>$(DIST)/$(SECTION)/i18n/Translation-en</filename></para></listitem>
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298 </varlistentry>
299
2b9b27c3 300 <varlistentry><term><option>InternalPrefix</option></term>
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301 <listitem><para>
302 Sets the path prefix that causes a symlink to be
303 considered an internal link instead of an external link. Defaults to
304 <filename>$(DIST)/$(SECTION)/</filename></para></listitem>
305 </varlistentry>
306
2b9b27c3 307 <varlistentry><term><option>Contents</option></term>
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308 <listitem><para>
309 Sets the output Contents file. Defaults to
3adddfa8 310 <filename>$(DIST)/$(SECTION)/Contents-$(ARCH)</filename>. If this setting causes multiple
a4396982 311 Packages files to map onto a single Contents file (as is the default)
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312 then <command>apt-ftparchive</command> will integrate those package files
313 together automatically.</para></listitem>
314 </varlistentry>
315
2b9b27c3 316 <varlistentry><term><option>Contents::Header</option></term>
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317 <listitem><para>
318 Sets header file to prepend to the contents output.</para></listitem>
319 </varlistentry>
320
2b9b27c3 321 <varlistentry><term><option>BinCacheDB</option></term>
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322 <listitem><para>
323 Sets the binary cache database to use for this
324 section. Multiple sections can share the same database.</para></listitem>
325 </varlistentry>
326
2b9b27c3 327 <varlistentry><term><option>FileList</option></term>
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328 <listitem><para>
329 Specifies that instead of walking the directory tree,
330 <command>apt-ftparchive</command> should read the list of files from the given
331 file. Relative files names are prefixed with the archive directory.</para></listitem>
332 </varlistentry>
333
2b9b27c3 334 <varlistentry><term><option>SourceFileList</option></term>
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335 <listitem><para>
336 Specifies that instead of walking the directory tree,
337 <command>apt-ftparchive</command> should read the list of files from the given
338 file. Relative files names are prefixed with the archive directory.
e3a1f08d 339 This is used when processing source indexes.</para></listitem>
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340 </varlistentry>
341 </variablelist>
342 </refsect2>
343
aec22160 344 <refsect2><title><literal>Tree</literal> Section</title>
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345 <para>
346 The <literal>Tree</literal> section defines a standard Debian file tree which
347 consists of a base directory, then multiple sections in that base
348 directory and finally multiple Architectures in each section. The exact
349 pathing used is defined by the <literal>Directory</literal> substitution variable.</para>
350 <para>
351 The <literal>Tree</literal> section takes a scope tag which sets the
352 <literal>$(DIST)</literal> variable and defines the root of the tree
353 (the path is prefixed by <literal>ArchiveDir</literal>).
e1dd65c9 354 Typically this is a setting such as <filename>dists/&stable-codename;</filename>.</para>
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355 <para>
356 All of the settings defined in the <literal>TreeDefault</literal> section can be
a4396982 357 used in a <literal>Tree</literal> section as well as three new variables.</para>
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358 <para>
359 When processing a <literal>Tree</literal> section <command>apt-ftparchive</command>
360 performs an operation similar to:
f8b832bd 361 <programlisting>
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362for i in Sections do
363 for j in Architectures do
364 Generate for DIST=scope SECTION=i ARCH=j
f8b832bd 365 </programlisting></para>
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366
367 <variablelist>
2b9b27c3 368 <varlistentry><term><option>Sections</option></term>
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369 <listitem><para>
370 This is a space separated list of sections which appear
a4396982 371 under the distribution; typically this is something like
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372 <literal>main contrib non-free</literal></para></listitem>
373 </varlistentry>
374
2b9b27c3 375 <varlistentry><term><option>Architectures</option></term>
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376 <listitem><para>
377 This is a space separated list of all the
378 architectures that appear under search section. The special architecture
379 'source' is used to indicate that this tree has a source archive.</para></listitem>
380 </varlistentry>
4e794c50 381
2b9b27c3 382 <varlistentry><term><option>LongDescription</option></term>
4e794c50 383 <listitem><para>
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384 Specifies whether long descriptions should be included in the <filename>Packages</filename> file or split
385 out into a master <filename>Translation-en</filename> file.</para></listitem>
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386 </varlistentry>
387
2b9b27c3 388 <varlistentry><term><option>BinOverride</option></term>
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389 <listitem><para>
390 Sets the binary override file. The override file
391 contains section, priority and maintainer address information.</para></listitem>
392 </varlistentry>
393
2b9b27c3 394 <varlistentry><term><option>SrcOverride</option></term>
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395 <listitem><para>
396 Sets the source override file. The override file
397 contains section information.</para></listitem>
398 </varlistentry>
399
2b9b27c3 400 <varlistentry><term><option>ExtraOverride</option></term>
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401 <listitem><para>
402 Sets the binary extra override file.</para></listitem>
403 </varlistentry>
404
2b9b27c3 405 <varlistentry><term><option>SrcExtraOverride</option></term>
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406 <listitem><para>
407 Sets the source extra override file.</para></listitem>
408 </varlistentry>
409 </variablelist>
410 </refsect2>
411
aec22160 412 <refsect2><title><literal>BinDirectory</literal> Section</title>
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413 <para>
414 The <literal>bindirectory</literal> section defines a binary directory tree
415 with no special structure. The scope tag specifies the location of
416 the binary directory and the settings are similar to the <literal>Tree</literal>
417 section with no substitution variables or
418 <literal>Section</literal><literal>Architecture</literal> settings.</para>
419 <variablelist>
2b9b27c3 420 <varlistentry><term><option>Packages</option></term>
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421 <listitem><para>
422 Sets the Packages file output.</para></listitem>
423 </varlistentry>
424
2b9b27c3 425 <varlistentry><term><option>Sources</option></term>
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426 <listitem><para>
427 Sets the Sources file output. At least one of
168e1e4e 428 <literal>Packages</literal> or <literal>Sources</literal> is required.</para></listitem>
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429 </varlistentry>
430
2b9b27c3 431 <varlistentry><term><option>Contents</option></term>
24f6490f 432 <listitem><para>
a4396982 433 Sets the Contents file output (optional).</para></listitem>
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434 </varlistentry>
435
2b9b27c3 436 <varlistentry><term><option>BinOverride</option></term>
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437 <listitem><para>
438 Sets the binary override file.</para></listitem>
439 </varlistentry>
440
2b9b27c3 441 <varlistentry><term><option>SrcOverride</option></term>
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442 <listitem><para>
443 Sets the source override file.</para></listitem>
444 </varlistentry>
445
2b9b27c3 446 <varlistentry><term><option>ExtraOverride</option></term>
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447 <listitem><para>
448 Sets the binary extra override file.</para></listitem>
449 </varlistentry>
450
2b9b27c3 451 <varlistentry><term><option>SrcExtraOverride</option></term>
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452 <listitem><para>
453 Sets the source extra override file.</para></listitem>
454 </varlistentry>
455
2b9b27c3 456 <varlistentry><term><option>BinCacheDB</option></term>
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457 <listitem><para>
458 Sets the cache DB.</para></listitem>
459 </varlistentry>
460
2b9b27c3 461 <varlistentry><term><option>PathPrefix</option></term>
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462 <listitem><para>
463 Appends a path to all the output paths.</para></listitem>
464 </varlistentry>
465
2b9b27c3 466 <varlistentry><term><option>FileList</option></term><term><option>SourceFileList</option></term>
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467 <listitem><para>
468 Specifies the file list file.</para></listitem>
469 </varlistentry>
470 </variablelist>
471 </refsect2>
472 </refsect1>
473
474
475 <refsect1><title>The Binary Override File</title>
476 <para>The binary override file is fully compatible with &dpkg-scanpackages;. It
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477 contains four fields separated by spaces. The first field is the package name,
478 the second is the priority to force that package to, the third is
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479 the section to force that package to and the final field is the maintainer
480 permutation field.</para>
481 <para>The general form of the maintainer field is:
482 <literallayout>old [// oldn]* => new</literallayout>
483 or simply,
484 <literallayout>new</literallayout>
485 The first form allows a double-slash separated list of old email addresses
486 to be specified. If any of those are found then new is substituted for the
487 maintainer field. The second form unconditionally substitutes the
488 maintainer field.</para>
489 </refsect1>
490
491
492 <refsect1><title>The Source Override File</title>
493 <para>
494 The source override file is fully compatible with &dpkg-scansources;. It
a4396982 495 contains two fields separated by spaces. The first field is the source
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496 package name, the second is the section to assign it.</para>
497 </refsect1>
498
499 <refsect1><title>The Extra Override File</title>
500 <para>
501 The extra override file allows any arbitrary tag to be added or replaced
a4396982 502 in the output. It has three columns, the first is the package, the second is
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503 the tag and the remainder of the line is the new value.</para>
504 </refsect1>
505
506 <refsect1><title>options</title>
507 &apt-cmdblurb;
508
509 <variablelist>
2b9b27c3 510 <varlistentry><term><option>--md5</option></term><term><option>--sha1</option></term><term><option>--sha256</option></term>
24f6490f 511 <listitem><para>
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512 Generate the given checksum. These options default to on, when turned off the generated
513 index files will not have the checksum fields where possible.
514 Configuration Items: <literal>APT::FTPArchive::<replaceable>Checksum</replaceable></literal> and
515 <literal>APT::FTPArchive::<replaceable>Index</replaceable>::<replaceable>Checksum</replaceable></literal> where
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516 <literal><replaceable>Index</replaceable></literal> can be <literal>Packages</literal>, <literal>Sources</literal> or
517 <literal>Release</literal> and <literal><replaceable>Checksum</replaceable></literal> can be <literal>MD5</literal>,
518 <literal>SHA1</literal> or <literal>SHA256</literal>.</para></listitem>
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519 </varlistentry>
520
521 <varlistentry><term><option>-d</option></term><term><option>--db</option></term>
522 <listitem><para>
523 Use a binary caching DB. This has no effect on the generate command.
524 Configuration Item: <literal>APT::FTPArchive::DB</literal>.</para></listitem>
525 </varlistentry>
526
527 <varlistentry><term><option>-q</option></term><term><option>--quiet</option></term>
528 <listitem><para>
529 Quiet; produces output suitable for logging, omitting progress indicators.
530 More q's will produce more quiet up to a maximum of 2. You can also use
531 <option>-q=#</option> to set the quiet level, overriding the configuration file.
532 Configuration Item: <literal>quiet</literal>.</para></listitem>
533 </varlistentry>
534
535 <varlistentry><term><option>--delink</option></term>
536 <listitem><para>
537 Perform Delinking. If the <literal>External-Links</literal> setting is used then
538 this option actually enables delinking of the files. It defaults to on and
539 can be turned off with <option>--no-delink</option>.
540 Configuration Item: <literal>APT::FTPArchive::DeLinkAct</literal>.</para></listitem>
541 </varlistentry>
542
543 <varlistentry><term><option>--contents</option></term>
544 <listitem><para>
545 Perform contents generation. When this option is set and package indexes
546 are being generated with a cache DB then the file listing will also be
547 extracted and stored in the DB for later use. When using the generate
548 command this option also allows the creation of any Contents files. The
549 default is on.
550 Configuration Item: <literal>APT::FTPArchive::Contents</literal>.</para></listitem>
551 </varlistentry>
552
553 <varlistentry><term><option>-s</option></term><term><option>--source-override</option></term>
554 <listitem><para>
555 Select the source override file to use with the <literal>sources</literal> command.
556 Configuration Item: <literal>APT::FTPArchive::SourceOverride</literal>.</para></listitem>
557 </varlistentry>
558
559 <varlistentry><term><option>--readonly</option></term>
560 <listitem><para>
561 Make the caching databases read only.
562 Configuration Item: <literal>APT::FTPArchive::ReadOnlyDB</literal>.</para></listitem>
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563 </varlistentry>
564
565 <varlistentry><term><option>-a</option></term><term><option>--arch</option></term>
566 <listitem><para>Accept in the <literal>packages</literal> and <literal>contents</literal>
567 commands only package files matching <literal>*_arch.deb</literal> or
568 <literal>*_all.deb</literal> instead of all package files in the given path.
569 Configuration Item: <literal>APT::FTPArchive::Architecture</literal>.</para></listitem>
570 </varlistentry>
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572 <varlistentry><term><option>APT::FTPArchive::AlwaysStat</option></term>
573 <listitem><para>
31981076 574 &apt-ftparchive; caches as much as possible of metadata in a cachedb. If packages
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575 are recompiled and/or republished with the same version again, this will lead to problems
576 as the now outdated cached metadata like size and checksums will be used. With this option
577 enabled this will no longer happen as it will be checked if the file was changed.
578 Note that this option is set to "<literal>false</literal>" by default as it is not recommend
579 to upload multiply versions/builds of a package with the same versionnumber, so in theory
580 nobody will have these problems and therefore all these extra checks are useless.
581 </para></listitem>
582 </varlistentry>
583
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584 <varlistentry><term><option>APT::FTPArchive::LongDescription</option></term>
585 <listitem><para>
586 This configuration option defaults to "<literal>true</literal>" and should only be set to
587 <literal>"false"</literal> if the Archive generated with &apt-ftparchive; also provides
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588 <filename>Translation</filename> files. Note that the <filename>Translation-en</filename>
589 master file can only be created in the generate command.
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590 </para></listitem>
591 </varlistentry>
592
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593 &apt-commonoptions;
594
595 </variablelist>
596 </refsect1>
597
598<refsect1><title>Examples</title>
599
600<para>To create a compressed Packages file for a directory containing
601binary packages (.deb):
602
603<programlisting>
604<command>apt-ftparchive</command> packages <replaceable>directory</replaceable> | <command>gzip</command> > <filename>Packages.gz</filename>
605</programlisting></para>
606
607</refsect1>
608
609 <refsect1><title>See Also</title>
610 <para>&apt-conf;</para>
611 </refsect1>
612
613 <refsect1><title>Diagnostics</title>
614 <para><command>apt-ftparchive</command> returns zero on normal operation, decimal 100 on error.</para>
615 </refsect1>
616
617 &manbugs;
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618
619</refentry>