dpkg-split(1)

1dpkg-split(1)                     dpkg suite                     dpkg-split(1)
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NAME

6       dpkg-split - Debian package archive split/join tool
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SYNOPSIS

9       dpkg-split [option...] command
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DESCRIPTION

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.
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16       It can be operated manually using the --split, --join and --info
17       options.
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19       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.
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24       All splitting, joining and queueing operations produce informative
25       messages on standard output; these may safely be ignored.
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COMMANDS

28       -s, --split complete-archive [prefix]
29           Splits a single Debian binary package into several parts.
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31           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).
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35           If no prefix is supplied then the complete-archive filename is
36           taken, including directory, with any trailing .deb removed.
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38       -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
42           The part files given as arguments must be all the parts of exactly
43           the same original binary file. Each part must occur exactly once in
44           the argument list, though the parts to not need to be listed in
45           order.
46
47           The parts must of course all have been generated with the same part
48           size specified at split time, which means that they must usually
49           have been generated by the same invocation of dpkg-split --split.
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51           The parts' filenames are not significant for the reassembly
52           process.
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54           By default the output file is called package_version_arch.deb.
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56       -I, --info part...
57           Prints information, in a human-readable format, about the part
58           file(s) specified. Arguments which are not binary package parts
59           produce a message saying so instead (but still on standard output).
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61       -a, --auto -o complete-output part
62           Automatically queue parts and reassemble a package if possible.
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64           The part specified is examined, and compared with other parts of
65           the same package (if any) in the queue of packages file parts.
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67           If all parts of the package file of which part is a part are
68           available then the package is reassembled and written to complete-
69           output (which should not usually already exist, though this is not
70           an error).
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72           If not then the part is copied into the queue and complete-output
73           is not created.
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75           If part is not a split binary package part then dpkg-split will
76           exit with status 1; if some other trouble occurs then it will exit
77           with status 2.
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79           The --output or -o option must be supplied when using --auto.  (If
80           this were not mandatory the calling program would not know what
81           output file to expect.)
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83       -l, --listq
84           Lists the contents of the queue of packages to be reassembled.
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86           For each package file of which parts are in the queue the output
87           gives the name of the package, the parts in the queue, and the
88           total number of bytes stored in the queue.
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90       -d, --discard [package...]
91           This discards parts from the queue of those waiting for the
92           remaining parts of their packages.
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94           If no package is specified then the queue is cleared completely; if
95           any are specified then only parts of the relevant package(s) are
96           deleted.
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98       -?, --help
99           Show the usage message and exit.
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101       --version
102           Show the version and exit.
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OPTIONS

105       --depotdir directory
106           Specifies an alternative directory for the queue of parts awaiting
107           automatic reassembly. The default is /var/lib/dpkg.
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109       -S, --partsize kibibytes
110           Specifies the maximum part size when splitting, in kibibytes (1024
111           bytes). The default is 450 KiB.
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113       -o, --output complete-output
114           Specifies the output file name for a reassembly.
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116           This overrides the default for a manual reassembly (--join) and is
117           mandatory for an automatic queue-or-reassemble (--auto).
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119       -Q, --npquiet
120           When doing automatic queue-or-reassembly dpkg-split usually prints
121           a message if it is given a part that is not a binary package part.
122           This option suppresses this message, to allow programs such as dpkg
123           to cope with both split and unsplit packages without producing
124           spurious messages.
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126       --msdos
127           Forces the output filenames generated by --split to be MSDOS-
128           compatible.
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130           This mangles the prefix - either the default derived from the input
131           filename or the one supplied as an argument: alphanumerics are
132           lowercased, plus signs are replaced by x's and all other characters
133           are discarded.
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135           The result is then truncated as much as is necessary, and filenames
136           of the form prefixNofM.deb are generated.
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EXIT STATUS

139       0   The requested split, merge, or other command succeeded.  --info
140           commands count as successful even if the files are not binary
141           package parts.
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143       1   Only occurs with --auto and indicates that the part file was not a
144           binary package part.
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146       2   Fatal or unrecoverable error due to invalid command-line usage, a
147           file that looked like a package part file but was corrupted, or
148           interactions with the system, such as accesses to the database,
149           memory allocations, etc.
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ENVIRONMENT

152       DPKG_COLORS
153           Sets the color mode (since dpkg 1.18.5).  The currently accepted
154           values are: auto (default), always and never.
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156       SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH
157           If set, it will be used as the timestamp (as seconds since the
158           epoch) in the deb-split(5)'s ar(5) container.
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FILES

161       /var/lib/dpkg/parts
162           The default queue directory for part files awaiting automatic
163           reassembly.
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165           The filenames used in this directory are in a format internal to
166           dpkg-split and are unlikely to be useful to other programs, and in
167           any case the filename format should not be relied upon.
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BUGS

170       Full details of the packages in the queue are impossible to get without
171       digging into the queue directory yourself.
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173       There is no easy way to test whether a file that may be a binary
174       package part is one.
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