GREP-EXCUSES(1)

📦
version 2.26.11ubuntu1 · 2 versions
, in debian bookworm, debian trixie, epel 10, epel 9, fedora 43, fedora 44, ubuntu noble, ubuntu questing, ubuntu resolute, ubuntu stonking

✨ GREP-EXCUSES ✨

okay bestie, this is grep-excuses(1) from the Debian Utilities corner of the manual-verse, and it's literally the tool you want when you're stalking—sorry, *checking up on*—your packages 💅

🌸 NAME 🌸

grep-excuses — go searching through the testing excuses files for one specific maintainer, no cap

🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

grep-excuses [options] [maintainer|package]

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so here's the vibe: grep-excuses downloads the autoremovals and update_excuses.html files and then greps through them for whatever maintainer or package name you asked about. iconic behavior, honestly.

heads up though — you need the wget package installed for this script to work. it's giving "mandatory friendship bracelet", it's not optional.

and if you don't give a name on the command line? no stress, the script goes looking. First it checks the environment variable DEBFULLNAME, and only if that one is defined does it use it. If that's not happening either, then it falls back to the configuration variable described down below 👇

💖 OPTIONS 💖

  • --no-conf, --noconf — don't read any configuration files at all, we're going rogue. ⚠️ this can only be used as the first option given on the command-line, so don't get cute with the ordering.
  • --wipnity, -w — pull the info from <https://qa.debian.org/excuses.php> instead. and listen, when you use this one you must give one or more package names, like it's non-negotiable.
  • --help — shows a brief usage message. the little "here's how u use me" moment.
  • --version — shows version and copyright info. the receipts, basically.
  • --autopkgtests — investigates and shows you autopkgtest (ci.debian.net) failures in your packages that are apparently being caused by new versions of other packages trying to migrate. not your fault, bestie, it's giving collateral damage. (and psst — --no-autopkgtests can be used to override GREP_EXCUSES_AUTOPKGTESTS.)
  • --no-autoremovals — investigates and shows only testing propagation excuses, and skips the autoremovals entirely.
  • --experimental, -e — prints pseudo-excuses for manual migration from experimental to unstable. the experimental-to-unstable pipeline gets its own lil spotlight ✨
  • --debug — prints debugging output to stderr, including the url(s) it fetched. nosy in the best way.

🌈 CONFIGURATION VARIABLES 🌈

the two configuration files /etc/devscripts.conf and ~/.devscripts are sourced in that order to set configuration variables. command line options can be used to override whatever the config file said, because the command line is the main character here 👑

important: environment variable settings are ignored for this purpose. they don't count, they don't get a vote.

the currently recognised variable is:

  • GREP_EXCUSES_MAINTAINER — the default maintainer, email or package to grep for if none is specified on the command line. your fallback bestie.
  • GREP_EXCUSES_AUTOPKGTESTS — boolean: whether to show autopkgtest failures in other packages. see --autopkgtests for the whole story.

🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

👑 AUTHOR 👑

Joey Hess <joeyh@debian.org>; modifications by Julian Gilbey <jdg@debian.org>.

and that's the whole page, bestie — this one shipped under the <strong>DEBIAN</strong> banner in the <strong>Debian Utilities</strong> collection, and you're reading the <strong>GREP-EXCUSES(1)</strong> edition. mwah, go check ur excuses 💋🦋

📦 where this page comes from