1DH_INSTALLDOCS(1) Debhelper DH_INSTALLDOCS(1)
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6 dh_installdocs - install documentation into package build directories
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9 dh_installdocs [debhelper options] [-A] [-Xitem] [file ...]
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12 dh_installdocs is a debhelper program that is responsible for
13 installing documentation into usr/share/doc/package in package build
14 directories.
15 In compat 10 and earlier, dh_install(1) may be a better tool for
17 handling the upstream documentation, when upstream's own build system
18 installs all the desired documentation correctly. In this case,
19 dh_installdocs is still useful for installing packaging related
20 documentation (e.g. the debian/copyright file).
21 From debhelper compatibility level 11 on, dh_install will fall back to
23 looking in debian/tmp for files, if it does not find them in the
24 current directory (or wherever you've told it to look using
25 --sourcedir).
26 In compat 11 and later, dh_installdocs offers many of the features that
28 dh_install(1) also has. Furthermore, dh_installdocs also supports the
29 nodoc build profile to exclude documentation (regardless of compat
30 level).
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33 debian/package.docs
34 List documentation files to be installed into package.
35 debian/copyright
37 The copyright file is installed into all packages, unless a more
38 specific copyright file is available.
39 debian/package.copyright
41 debian/package.README.Debian
42 debian/package.TODO
43 Each of these files is automatically installed if present for a
44 package.
45 debian/README.Debian
47 debian/TODO
48 These files are installed into the first binary package listed in
49 debian/control.
50 Note that README.debian files are also installed as README.Debian,
52 and TODO files will be installed as TODO.Debian in non-native
53 packages.
54 debian/package.doc-base
56 Installed as doc-base control files. Note that the doc-id will be
57 determined from the Document: entry in the doc-base control file in
58 question. In the event that multiple doc-base files in a single
59 source package share the same doc-id, they will be installed to
60 usr/share/doc-base/package instead of usr/share/doc-base/doc-id.
61 debian/package.doc-base.*
63 If your package needs to register more than one document, you need
64 multiple doc-base files, and can name them like this. In the event
65 that multiple doc-base files of this style in a single source
66 package share the same doc-id, they will be installed to
67 usr/share/doc-base/package-* instead of usr/share/doc-base/doc-id.
68
70 -A, --all
71 Install all files specified by command line parameters in ALL
72 packages acted on.
73 -Xitem, --exclude=item
75 Exclude files that contain item anywhere in their filename from
76 being installed. Note that this includes doc-base files.
77 --sourcedir=dir
79 Look in the specified directory for files to be installed. This
80 option requires compat 11 or later (it is silently ignored in
81 compat 10 or earlier).
82 Note that this is not the same as the --sourcedirectory option used
84 by the dh_auto_* commands. You rarely need to use this option,
85 since dh_installman automatically looks for files in debian/tmp in
86 debhelper compatibility level 11 and above.
87 --doc-main-package=main-package
89 Set the main package for a documentation package. This is used to
90 install the documentation of the documentation package in
91 /usr/share/doc/main-package as recommended by the Debian policy
92 manual 3.9.7 in §12.3.
93 In compat 11 (or later), this option is only useful if debhelper's
95 auto-detection of the main package is wrong. The option can also
96 be used to silence a warning from debhelper when the auto-detection
97 fails but the default happens to be correct.
98 This option cannot be used when dh_installdocs is instructed to act
100 on multiple packages. If you need this option, you will generally
101 need to combine it with -p to ensure exactly one package is acted
102 on.
103 Please keep in mind that some documentation (the copyright file,
105 README.Debian, etc.) will be unaffected by this option.
106 --link-doc=package
108 Make the documentation directory of all packages acted on be a
109 symlink to the documentation directory of package. This has no
110 effect when acting on package itself, or if the documentation
111 directory to be created already exists when dh_installdocs is run.
112 To comply with policy, package must be a binary package that comes
113 from the same source package.
114 debhelper will try to avoid installing files into linked
116 documentation directories that would cause conflicts with the
117 linked package. The -A option will have no effect on packages with
118 linked documentation directories, and copyright, changelog,
119 README.Debian, and TODO files will not be installed.
120 (An older method to accomplish the same thing, which is still
122 supported, is to make the documentation directory of a package be a
123 dangling symlink, before calling dh_installdocs.)
124 Please note that this option only applies to the documentation
126 directory for the package itself. When the package ships
127 documentation for another package (e.g. see --doc-main-package), it
128 will not use a symlink for the documentation of the other package.
129 CAVEAT 1: If a previous version of the package was built without
131 this option and is now built with it (or vice-versa), it requires a
132 "dir to symlink" (or "symlink to dir") migration. Since debhelper
133 has no knowledge of previous versions, you have to enable this
134 migration itself.
135 This can be done by providing a "debian/package.maintscript" file
137 and using dh_installdeb(1) to provide the relevant maintainer
138 script snippets.
139 CAVEAT 2: The use of --link-doc should only be done when the
141 packages have same "architecture" type. A link from an
142 architecture independent package to an architecture dependent
143 package (or vice versa) will not work. Since compat 10, debhelper
144 will actively reject unsupported combinations.
145 file ...
147 Install these files as documentation into the first package acted
148 on. (Or in all packages if -A is specified).
149
151 This is an example of a debian/package.docs file:
152 README
154 TODO
155 debian/notes-for-maintainers.txt
156 docs/manual.txt
157 docs/manual.pdf
158 docs/manual-html/
159
161 Note that dh_installdocs will happily copy entire directory hierarchies
162 if you ask it to (similar to cp -a). If it is asked to install a
163 directory, it will install the complete contents of the directory.
164
166 debhelper(7)
167 This program is a part of debhelper.
169
171 Joey Hess <joeyh@debian.org>
17212.7.3 2020-07-27 DH_INSTALLDOCS(1)