1dpkg-split(1) dpkg suite dpkg-split(1)
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6 dpkg-split - Debian package archive split/join tool
7
9 dpkg-split [option...] command
10
12 dpkg-split splits Debian binary package files into smaller parts and
13 reassembles them again, to support the storage of large package files
14 on small media such as floppy disks.
15 It can be operated manually using the --split, --join and --info
17 options.
18 It also has an automatic mode, invoked using the --auto option, where
20 it maintains a queue of parts seen but not yet reassembled and
21 reassembles a package file when it has seen all of its parts. The
22 --listq and --discard options allow the management of the queue.
23 All splitting, joining and queueing operations produce informative
25 messages on standard output; these may safely be ignored.
26
28 -s, --split complete-archive [prefix]
29 Splits a single Debian binary package into several parts.
30 The parts are named prefix.NofM.deb where N is the part number,
32 starting at 1, and M is the total number of parts (both in
33 decimal).
34 If no prefix is supplied then the complete-archive filename is
36 taken, including directory, with any trailing .deb removed.
37 -j, --join part...
39 Joins the parts of a package file together, reassembling the
40 original file as it was before it was split.
41 The part files given as arguments must be all the parts of
43 exactly the same original binary file. Each part must occur
44 exactly once in the argument list, though the parts to not need
45 to be listed in order.
46 The parts must of course all have been generated with the same
48 part size specified at split time, which means that they must
49 usually have been generated by the same invocation of dpkg-split
50 --split.
51 The parts' filenames are not significant for the reassembly
53 process.
54 By default the output file is called package_version_arch.deb.
56 -I, --info part...
59 Prints information, in a human-readable format, about the part
60 file(s) specified. Arguments which are not binary package parts
61 produce a message saying so instead (but still on standard
62 output).
63 -a, --auto -o complete-output part
65 Automatically queue parts and reassemble a package if possible.
66 The part specified is examined, and compared with other parts of
68 the same package (if any) in the queue of packages file parts.
69 If all parts of the package file of which part is a part are
71 available then the package is reassembled and written to
72 complete-output (which should not usually already exist, though
73 this is not an error).
74 If not then the part is copied into the queue and complete-
76 output is not created.
77 If part is not a split binary package part then dpkg-split will
79 exit with status 1; if some other trouble occurs then it will
80 exit with status 2.
81 The --output or -o option must be supplied when using --auto.
83 (If this were not mandatory the calling program would not know
84 what output file to expect.)
85 -l, --listq
87 Lists the contents of the queue of packages to be reassembled.
88 For each package file of which parts are in the queue the output
90 gives the name of the package, the parts in the queue, and the
91 total number of bytes stored in the queue.
92 -d, --discard [package...]
94 This discards parts from the queue of those waiting for the
95 remaining parts of their packages.
96 If no package is specified then the queue is cleared completely;
98 if any are specified then only parts of the relevant package(s)
99 are deleted.
100 -?, --help
102 Show the usage message and exit.
103 --version
105 Show the version and exit.
106
108 --depotdir directory
109 Specifies an alternative directory for the queue of parts
110 awaiting automatic reassembly. The default is /var/lib/dpkg.
111 -S, --partsize kibibytes
113 Specifies the maximum part size when splitting, in kibibytes
114 (1024 bytes). The default is 450 KiB.
115 -o, --output complete-output
117 Specifies the output file name for a reassembly.
118 This overrides the default for a manual reassembly (--join) and
120 is mandatory for an automatic queue-or-reassemble (--auto).
121 -Q, --npquiet
123 When doing automatic queue-or-reassembly dpkg-split usually
124 prints a message if it is given a part that is not a binary
125 package part. This option suppresses this message, to allow
126 programs such as dpkg to cope with both split and unsplit
127 packages without producing spurious messages.
128 --msdos
130 Forces the output filenames generated by --split to be msdos-
131 compatible.
132 This mangles the prefix - either the default derived from the
134 input filename or the one supplied as an argument: alphanumerics
135 are lowercased, plus signs are replaced by x's and all other
136 characters are discarded.
137 The result is then truncated as much as is necessary, and
139 filenames of the form prefixNofM.deb are generated.
140
142 0 The requested split, merge, or other command succeeded. --info
143 commands count as successful even if the files are not binary
144 package parts.
145 1 Only occurs with --auto and indicates that the part file was not
147 a binary package part.
148 2 Fatal or unrecoverable error due to invalid command-line usage,
150 a file that looked like a package part file but was corrupted,
151 or interactions with the system, such as accesses to the
152 database, memory allocations, etc.
153
155 SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH
156 If set, it will be used as the timestamp (as seconds since the
157 epoch) in the deb-split(5)'s ar(5) container.
158
160 /var/lib/dpkg/parts
161 The default queue directory for part files awaiting automatic
162 reassembly.
163 The filenames used in this directory are in a format internal to
165 dpkg-split and are unlikely to be useful to other programs, and
166 in any case the filename format should not be relied upon.
167
169 Full details of the packages in the queue are impossible to get without
170 digging into the queue directory yourself.
171 There is no easy way to test whether a file that may be a binary
173 package part is one.
174
176 deb(5), deb-control(5), dpkg-deb(1), dpkg(1).
1771.18.25 2018-06-26 dpkg-split(1)