DH_GERMINATE_METAPACKAGE(1)

📦
version 2.50.2+willsync2 · 7 versions
, in ubuntu stonking

💖 DH_GERMINATE_METAPACKAGE(1) 💖

okay bestie, so this is a page from the Debhelper manual set — specifically dh_germinate_metapackage(1) — and it's literally about making metapackages out of seeds. no, not gardening seeds, we'll get there 🌱✨

✨ NAME ✨

dh_germinate_metapackage — create metapackages based on seeds 🫶

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

dh_germinate_metapackage [debhelper options]

🎀 DESCRIPTION 🎀

so dh_germinate_metapackage is a debhelper program that generates ${germinate:Depends} substitutions and then drops them into substvars files. that's the whole vibe. 💅

it reads the metapackage-map file, which should have been made by a previous run of germinate-update-metapackage for your package. for each seed listed in there, it generates dependencies and recommendations based on the previous results of germinate-update-metapackage.

where do those go? glad you asked bestie:

  • dependencies get substituted into your package's control file wherever you place the token ${germinate:Depends} ✨
  • recommendations get substituted wherever you place the token ${germinate:Recommends} 💖
⚠️ you must run germinate-update-metapackage before building the source package. no skipping, no shortcuts. normally, source packages that use this program will include an update script that calls it with appropriate arguments. that's the move 👑

🦋 EXAMPLES 🦋

so usually you don't even call dh_germinate_metapackage directly — it gets called indirectly in a rules file via the dh command. main character energy, honestly:

%:
    dh $@ --with germinate
🚨 you must build-depend on at least debhelper (>= 7.0.8) to use this form, and in any case you must build-depend on at least germinate (>= 1.18) to use this program at all. fr fr, don't skip the build-deps.

you can also call it directly any time between dh_prep and dh_installdeb, like:

install: build
    dh_testdir
    dh_testroot
    dh_prep
    dh_installdirs
    dh_germinate_metapackage

binary-arch: build install
    ...

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

this program is a part of germinate. 🍓

👑 AUTHOR 👑

Colin Watson <cjwatson@ubuntu.com>

Copyright (C) 2009 Canonical Ltd., licensed under the GNU GPL v2 or later. 📜

okay and that's the whole page, periodt 💅 this is version 2.50.2+willsync2, dated 2026-09-25 — and it's a Debhelper manual page. now go build something iconic bestie 🧚💜

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