dpkg-gencontrol(1)

🎀 dpkg-gencontrol(1) 🎀

okay bestie, welcome to the dpkg suite manual for dpkg-gencontrol(1) — the little build-tool icon that generates Debian control files and lowkey keeps your packaging vibe check passing. 💅✨

🌸 NAME 🌸

• dpkg-gencontrol - generate Debian control files. periodt, that's the whole elevator pitch. 🛗💖

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

dpkg-gencontrol [option...]

literally just the command and as many options as your heart desires, bestie. 🫶

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

Okay so dpkg-gencontrol reads information from an unpacked Debian source tree and generates a binary package control file (which defaults to debian/tmp/DEBIAN/control); during this process it will simplify the relation fields. slay.

Thus: Pre-Depends, Depends, Recommends and Suggests are simplified in this order by removing dependencies which are known to be true according to the stronger dependencies already parsed. It will also remove any self-dependency (it will remove any dependency which evaluates to true given the current version of the package as installed). Logically it keeps the intersection of multiple dependencies on the same package. The order of dependencies is preserved as best as possible: if any dependency must be discarded due to another dependency appearing further in the field, the superseding dependency will take the place of the discarded one.

The other relation fields (Enhances, Conflicts, Breaks, Replaces and Provides) are also simplified individually by computing the union of the various dependencies when a package is listed multiple times in the field. iykyk.

dpkg-gencontrol also adds an entry for the binary package to debian/files. that's it, that's the tea 🍵.

🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

okay bestie, options time. no cap, every flag is here:

• -vversion — Sets the version number of the binary package which will be generated. version slay.
• -Vname=value — Set an output substitution variable. See deb-substvars(5) for discussion of output substitution. variable queen.
• -Tsubstvars-file — Read substitution variables in substvars-file; the default is debian/substvars. This option can be used multiple times to read substitution variables from multiple files (since dpkg 1.15.6). multi-file main character energy.
• -Dfield=value — Override or add an output control file field. field flex.
• -Ufield — Remove an output control file field. bye field.
• -ccontrol-file — Specifies the main source control file to read information from. The default is debian/control. file selection realness.
• -lchangelog-file — Specifies the changelog file to read information from. The default is debian/changelog. changelog baddie.
• -ffiles-list-file — Read or write the list of files to be uploaded here, rather than using debian/files. upload list energy.
• -Fchangelog-format — Specifies the format of the changelog. See dpkg-parsechangelog(1) for information about alternative formats. format vibe check.
• -ppackage — Generate information for the binary package package. If the source control file lists only one binary package then this option may be omitted; otherwise it is essential to select which binary package's information to generate. pick your fighter.
• -nfilename — Assume the filename of the package will be filename instead of the normal package_version_arch.deb filename. renaming moment.
• -is, -ip, -isp — These options are ignored for compatibility with older versions of the dpkg build scripts but are now deprecated. Previously they were used to tell dpkg-gencontrol to include the Section and Priority fields in the control file. This is now the default behavior. If you want to get the old behavior you can use the -U option to delete the fields from the control file. deprecated, bestie: do not come for them ⚠️.
• -Ppackage-build-dir — Scan package-build-dir instead of debian/tmp. This value is used to find the default value of the Installed-Size substitution variable and control file field, and for the default location of the output file. directory glow-up.
• -O[filename] — Print the control file to standard output (or filename if specified), rather than to debian/tmp/DEBIAN/control (or package-build-dir/DEBIAN/control if -P was used). Support for optional argument since dpkg 1.17.2. stdout slay.
• -?, --help — Show the usage message and exit. helpful icon.
• --version — Show the version and exit. version check.

🦋 ENVIRONMENT 🦋

env vars, bestie. vibe check:

• DEB_HOST_ARCH — Sets the host architecture. arch queen.
• DPKG_COLORS — Sets the color mode. The currently accepted values are: auto (default), always and never. Supported since dpkg 1.18.5. colors, obviously.
• DPKG_NLS — If set, it will be used to decide whether to activate Native Language Support, also known as internationalization (or i18n) support. The accepted values are: 0 and 1 (default). Supported since dpkg 1.19.0. i18n icon.

🍓 FILES 🍓

• debian/control — The source package template control file, giving version-independent information about the source package and the binary packages it can produce. template realness.
• debian/files — The list of generated files which are part of the upload being prepared. dpkg-gencontrol adds the presumed filenames of binary packages whose control files it generates here. upload list, periodt.

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

deb-substvars(5), deb-src-control(5), deb-changelog(5), deb-control(5). go read them, bestie 📚💖

xoxo, bestie 💖 — this page is from the dpkg suite manual for dpkg-gencontrol(1), source/version 1.23.11-dirty, dated 2026-09-09. no cap, that's the whole manual 🎀