DEBSIGS(1)

📦 version 0.2.2, in nixos 26.05, nixpkgs unstable

💅 DEBSIGS(1) — like, the whole manual page, bestie

okay so real talk: this is debsigs, a Perl script from the User Contributed Perl Documentation collection, and it's the one that puts signatures into .deb files. Sit down, hydrate, and let's go 🫶

🌸 NAME 🌸

debsigs — the girl who processes signatures in .deb packages. that's it, that's the whole job description ✨

🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

Like, here's exactly how you call her. verbatim, no notes:

debsigs --list|-l [-v] file [file...]

debsigs --sign=type [--default-key=keyID] [-v] file [file...]

debsigs --verify|--check|-c file [file...]

debsigs --delete=type file [file...]

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

So debsigs is the tool you use to manipulate the cryptographic signatures stored inside a .deb file. Manipulate. not verify. huge difference, iykyk 💅

She is not the one who checks whether those signatures are valid — that is literally somebody else's whole personality. For that, go see debsig-verify(1). periodt.

✨ OPTIONS ✨

every single flag, present and accounted for. no gatekeeping here 💖

  • --list, -l or -t — lists the signatures found in the specified file. a little signature show-and-tell 🎀
  • --sign=type — creates a new signature of the type you specify in the given file. it gets created using the default key for your GPG keyring. for the possible values of type, scroll down to "SIGNATURE TYPES" 🌟
  • --default-key=keyID — uses a key other than the default for signing the package. main character key energy 👑
  • --secret-keyring=file or -K file — uses a keyring other than the default for signing the package. this option gets passed along to GPG verbatim — like, she doesn't touch it, she just hands it over — so check the discussion in the gpg(1) manpage for how to specify the keyring file 🗝️
  • -v — displays verbose output. she will tell you everything 💬
  • --verify or --check or -c — invokes debsig-verify to check the validity of the signature on this package. yes, this is the one that calls the other girl 📞
  • --delete=type — deletes the signature of the specified type from the package. gone. blocked. unfollowed 💀

🌈 SIGNATURE TYPES 🌈

A Debian package can carry different types of signatures — she contains multitudes. the most commonly-used ones are:

  • origin — the official signature of the organization which distributes the package, usually the Debian Project or a GNU/Linux distribution derived from it. this signature may be added automatically ✨
  • maint — the signature of the maintainer of the Debian package. this signature should be added by the maintainer before uploading the package. do your homework, bestie 🍓
  • archive — an automatically-added signature renewed periodically to ensure that a package downloaded from an online archive is indeed the latest version distributed by the organization. keeping it fresh 🧚
also, like, go read the /usr/share/doc/debsigs/signing-policy.txt file for more info and the rationale behind the different signature types. it's giving lore 📖

⭐ FUTURE DIRECTIONS ⭐

ngl it would be nice to have a command-line option to change the command used for signing, instead of hard-coding gpg. like... imagine the flexibility. one day 🌸

💜 AUTHOR 💜

John Goerzen <jgoerzen@progenylinux.com> — the icon, the legend, the actual author 🫶

🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

debsig-verify(1), gpg(1) — go read those too, they're in the group chat 💬

okay that's the whole page!! mwah 💋

and for the credits scroll, since you know I'd never leave her hanging: this beauty is perl v5.42.3, dated 1980-01-01. vintage. iconic. no cap 🎀✨🌈

📦 where this page comes from