1DH_INSTALL(1) Debhelper DH_INSTALL(1)
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6 dh_install - install files into package build directories
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9 dh_install [-Xitem] [--autodest] [--sourcedir=dir] [debhelper options]
10 [file|dir ... destdir]
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13 dh_install is a debhelper program that handles installing files into
14 package build directories. There are many dh_install* commands that
15 handle installing specific types of files such as documentation,
16 examples, man pages, and so on, and they should be used when possible
17 as they often have extra intelligence for those particular tasks.
18 dh_install, then, is useful for installing everything else, for which
19 no particular intelligence is needed. It is a replacement for the old
20 dh_movefiles command.
21 This program may be used in one of two ways. If you just have a file or
23 two that the upstream Makefile does not install for you, you can run
24 dh_install on them to move them into place. On the other hand, maybe
25 you have a large package that builds multiple binary packages. You can
26 use the upstream Makefile to install it all into debian/tmp, and then
27 use dh_install to copy directories and files from there into the proper
28 package build directories.
29 From debhelper compatibility level 7 on, dh_install will fall back to
31 looking in debian/tmp for files, if it does not find them in the
32 current directory (or wherever you've told it to look using
33 --sourcedir).
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36 debian/package.install
37 List the files to install into each package and the directory they
38 should be installed to. The format is a set of lines, where each
39 line lists a file or files to install, and at the end of the line
40 tells the directory it should be installed in. The name of the
41 files (or directories) to install should be given relative to the
42 current directory, while the installation directory is given
43 relative to the package build directory. You may use wildcards in
44 the names of the files to install.
45 Note that if you list exactly one filename or wildcard-pattern on a
47 line by itself, with no explicit destination, then dh_install will
48 automatically guess the destination to use, the same as if the
49 --autodest option were used.
50 Supports substitution variables in compat 13 and later as
52 documented in debhelper(7).
53 debian/not-installed
55 Used with the deprecated --list-missing and --fail-missing options.
56 Please refer to dh_missing(1) for the documentation of this file.
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59 --list-missing
60 Deprecated: Please use dh_missing --list-missing instead. If you
61 use this option, dh_install will call dh_missing with that option
62 after it has processed all the files. Please see dh_missing(1) for
63 the documentation of this option.
64 This option is removed in compat 12.
66 --fail-missing
68 Deprecated: Please use dh_missing --fail-missing instead. If you
69 use this option, dh_install will call dh_missing with that option
70 after it has processed all the files. Please see dh_missing(1) for
71 the documentation of this option.
72 This option is removed in compat 12.
74 --sourcedir=dir
76 Look in the specified directory for files to be installed.
77 Note that this is not the same as the --sourcedirectory option used
79 by the dh_auto_* commands. You rarely need to use this option,
80 since dh_install automatically looks for files in debian/tmp in
81 debhelper compatibility level 7 and above.
82 --autodest
84 Guess as the destination directory to install things to. If this is
85 specified, you should not list destination directories in
86 debian/package.install files or on the command line. Instead,
87 dh_install will guess as follows:
88 Strip off debian/tmp (or the sourcedir if one is given) from the
90 front of the filename, if it is present, and install into the
91 dirname of the filename. So if the filename is debian/tmp/usr/bin,
92 then that directory will be copied to debian/package/usr/. If the
93 filename is debian/tmp/etc/passwd, it will be copied to
94 debian/package/etc/.
95 file|dir ... destdir
97 Lists files (or directories) to install and where to install them
98 to. The files will be installed into the first package dh_install
99 acts on.
100
102 Here are some small examples of configuration files for dh_install.
103 # Install my-prog into usr/bin (as "usr/bin/my-prog")
105 my-prog usr/bin
106 # Install a plugins directory into usr/share/my-prog
108 # (as "usr/share/my-prog/plugins/")
109 plugins usr/share/my-prog
110 # Install a file with spaces in into usr/share/my-prog/data
112 # (as "usr/share/my-prog/data/my datafile with spaces.txt")
113 # ASSUMES COMPAT 13, where substitution patterns are available
114 my${Space}datafile${Space}with${Space}spaces.txt usr/share/my-prog/data
115 # Install a library into the multi-arch lib directory
117 # ASSUMES COMPAT 13, where substitution patterns are available
118 build/output/libfrop*.so.* usr/lib/${DEB_HOST_MULTIARCH}
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121 dh_install cannot rename files or directories, it can only install them
122 with the names they already have into wherever you want in the package
123 build tree.
124 However, renaming can be achieved by using dh-exec with compatibility
126 level 9 or later. An example debian/package.install file using dh-exec
127 could look like:
128 #!/usr/bin/dh-exec
130 debian/default.conf => /etc/my-package/start.conf
131 Please remember the following three things:
133 • The package must be using compatibility level 9 or later (see
135 debhelper(7))
136 • The package will need a build-dependency on dh-exec.
138 • The install file must be marked as executable.
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142 debhelper(7)
143 This program is a part of debhelper.
145
147 Joey Hess <joeyh@debian.org>
14813.7.1 2022-04-22 DH_INSTALL(1)