DEB-CONTROL(5)

NAME
deb-control - Debian GNU/Linux packages' master control file format

SYNOPSIS
control

DESCRIPTION
Master control file format:

The `control' file contains a number of fields. Each field begins with a tag, such as `PACKAGE' or `VERSION' (case insensitive), followed by a colon, and the body of the field. Fields are delimited only by field tags. In other words, field text may be multiple lines in length, but the installation tools will generally join lines when processing the body of the field.

REQUIRED FIELDS

PACKAGE: <Short name of package>
    The value of this field is used to generate file names by some installation tools.

VERSION: <Original version number>
    typically, this is the original portable package's version number in whatever form the program's author uses.

PACKAGE_REVISION: <Debian package revision number>
    this should usually be a plain number, or perhaps two numbers separated by a full stop.

MAINTAINER: <Name and e-mail address of package maintainer>
    should be in the format Joe Bloggs <jbloggs@foo.com>.

DESCRIPTION: <Description of package>

OPTIONAL FIELDS

DEPENDS: <Short names of prerequisite packages>
    list of packages that are required for this package to provide a non-trivial amount of functionality. The package maintenance software will not allow a package to be installed without also installing packages listed in its DEPENDS field, and will rin the postinst scripts of packages listed in DEPENDS fields before those of the packages which depend on them, and run prerm scripts before.

RECOMMENDED: <Short names of related, recommended packages>
    lists packages that would be found together with this one in all but unusual installations. The package maintenance software will warn the user if they install a package without those listed in its RECOMMENDED field.

The syntax of DEPENDS and RECOMMENDED is a list of groups of alternative packages. Each group is a list of packages separated by vertical bar (or `pipe') symbols, `|'. The groups are separated by commas. Each package is a package name optionally followed by a version number specification in parentheses. A version number may start with a `>', in which case any later version will match, and may specify or omit the Debian packaging revision (separated by a hyphen). Commas are to be read as `AND', and pipes as `OR', with pipes binding more tightly.

OPTIONAL: <Short names of related, optional packages>
    lists packages that are related to this one and can perhaps enhance its usefulness, but without which installing this package is perfectly reasonable. The package maintenance software will not moan at the user for not selecting OPTIONAL related packages, but may use the information in the OPTIONAL field to assist the user during package selection.

CONFLICTS: <Short names of packages which conflict with this one>
    lists packages that conflict with this one, for example by containing files with the same names (an example would be Smail vs. Sendmail). The package maintenance software will not allow conflicting packages to be installed. Two conflicting packages should each include a CONFLICTS line mentioning the other.

The syntax of OPTIONAL and CONFLICTS is a list of package names, separated by commas (and optional whitespace). In the CONFLICTS field, the comma should be read as `OR'.

BUGS
This manpage is seriously out of date.

SEE ALSO
deb(5), dpkg(5), dpkg(8), dpkg-dep(8), dselect(8).