DH_PREP(1)

📦
version 14.5ubuntu1 · 12 versions
, in ubuntu stonking

💖 DH_PREP — bestie edition ✨

okay so this is dh_prep, a Debhelper program, and it lives in section 1 of the manual. buckle up, it's short but she's important. 🎀

🌸 NAME 🌸

dh_prep — perform cleanups in preparation for building a binary package

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

dh_prep [debhelper options] [-Xitem]

🧹 DESCRIPTION 🧹

so bestie, dh_prep is a debhelper program and her whole job is doing some file cleanups in preparation for building a binary package. this is literally what dh_clean -k used to do — so if you ever see that old thing floating around in ancient docs, it's giving retired, and this is her glow-up. 💅

here's what she yeets into the void:

  • the package build directories
  • debian/tmp
  • some temp files that get generated when you're building a binary package

and like, where does she go? typically she's run at the top of the binary-arch and binary-indep targets — OR at the top of a target such as install that those two depend on. main character placement, honestly. she goes first. 👑

🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

  • -Xitem, --exclude=item — exclude files that contain item anywhere in their filename from being deleted, even if they would normally be deleted. and yes, you can use this option multiple times to build up a whole lil list of things to protect. stacking exclusions like accessories, we love to see it. 💖

👀 SEE ALSO 👀

this program is a part of debhelper. 💜

🦋 AUTHOR 🦋

Joey Hess <joeyh@debian.org> — thank you for your service king 🫶

k that's the whole page bestie, no cap. every flag, every path, every vibe, preserved. 🌈

sign-off time — this gorgeous lil page comes to you from version 14.5ubuntu1, dated 2026-09-21, and that's the tea. go forth and clean up your build dirs, you absolute legend. 💅✨🌸

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