BUILDD(1)

📦
version 0.91.10ubuntu1 · 10 versions
, in ubuntu stonking

💅 BUILDD(1) — like, the whole buildd manual, but make it make sense

okay so bestie, gather round — this is the manual for buildd, living over in the Debian sbuild part of the world. She's a daemon, she's booked, she's busy, and she literally never sleeps. Let's get into it. 🎀

✨ NAME ✨

buildd — the package autobuilder daemon. That's the whole name. Short, iconic, no notes. 👑

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

buildd

That's it. No flags, no arguments, no drama. You just run her and she goes. main character energy fr fr 💅

✨ VERSION ✨

This man page is documenting the packaged version of buildd, okay? Not some random fork you found in a Discord server. This version is kept up by the buildd-tools project developers over on Alioth:

https://alioth.debian.org/projects/buildd-tools/

That's their house. That's where the lore lives. 🏠✨

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

So buildd is a daemon — meaning she runs in the background doing her thing while you live your life — and what she does is automatically build Debian packages from source. No cap. She just... builds. Constantly. Like a machine. Because she is one. 🦋

Here's the squad and how they all work together:

  • wanna-build is the one who goes out and finds packages that need building, and then claims them. She's the scout. The talent recruiter. The one sliding into DMs. 📩
  • sbuild is the one who actually does the building once a package has been claimed. She's the muscle. The one who shows up and gets it done. 💪
  • buildd-mail, buildd-uploader, and buildd-watcher are the helper programs — the little besties who handle all the various housekeeping tasks to keep the whole system running smoothly. Tidying up, sending mail, uploading, watching. The support cast that's actually carrying the show. 🧚

So like, buildd is the daemon at the center, and everyone else is running around making sure she has everything she needs. It's giving project manager with a very competent team. 🌸

✨ FILES ✨

These are the files she cares about. Know them, love them. 💖

  • /etc/buildd/buildd.conf — the configuration file, and it's maintained by the system administrator. This one can be used to override the defaults. So if you're the sysadmin, this is your throne. Sit in it. 👑
  • ~/.builddrc — user-specific configuration. Your personal little corner. Your own settings, just for you. 🎀

✨ AUTHORS ✨

Respect the architects, bestie. 🫶

  • Roman Hodek <Roman.Hodek@informatik.uni-erlangen.de> — the original. The blueprint. The origin story.

Also: sbuild is based on debbuild, which was written by James Troup <james@nocrew.org>, and it's been modified by this whole legendary lineup:

  • Ben Collins <bcollins@debian.org>
  • Ryan Murray <rmurray@debian.org>
  • Francesco Paolo Lovergine <frankie@debian.org>
  • Michael Banck <mbanck@debian.org>, and
  • Roger Leigh <rleigh@debian.org>

A whole ensemble cast. Avengers-style. Slay. 🌈

Legal stuff, but make it glamorous. 💅 Every single one, verbatim, no skipping:

  • Copyright © 1998-2000 Roman Hodek <roman@hodek.net>
  • Copyright © 1998-1999 James Troup <troup@debian.org>
  • Copyright © 2003-2006 Ryan Murray <rmurray@debian.org>
  • Copyright © 2001-2003 Rick Younie <younie@debian.org>
  • Copyright © 2003-2004 Francesco Paolo Lovergine <frankie@debian.org>
  • Copyright © 2005 Michael Banck <mbanck@debian.org>
  • Copyright © 2005-2008 Roger Leigh <rleigh@debian.org>

✨ SEE ALSO ✨

Go read these next, bestie. The lore goes deep. 📚✨

yes, buildd-mail(1) is listed twice in the original and I am not fixing it — that's canon, that's her little quirk, we love her for it 🥰

and that's the whole page, babe! 🌸 This was Version 0.91.10ubuntu1, dated 29 June 2026, and it came to you from the Debian sbuild corner of the universe. Now go build something, you gorgeous nerd. 💖✨👑

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