Lintian::Debian::Control(3)

💖 Lintian::Debian::Control ✨

okay bestie, welcome to Lintian::Debian::Control, a little corner of the Lintian manual (the Debian Package Checker one, section 3, iykyk) that is literally just the ✨interface to d/control fields✨. think of it as the friend who knows where every single field lives in debian/control and will tell you if you ask nicely. 🎀

---

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

use Lintian::Debian::Control;

that's it. that's the whole vibe. one line and you're in. 💅

---

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

Lintian::Debian::Control provides access to fields in d/control.

no cap. it hands you the fields, you do your thing. periodt. ✨

---

👑 INSTANCE METHODS 👑

so the page lists the methods out like this — and yes, the original literally writes them as item =item source_fields =item installable_fields_by_name, which is giving stray-item typo energy and we are keeping it, because the rule is we keep everything. 🙈 anyway, the methods go a lil something like this:

• source_fields — one of the methods in the house, straight from the source's own quirky list.
• installable_fields_by_name — also on that list, same deal.
• load
• installables — Returns a list of the binary and udeb packages listed in the debian/control.
• installable_package_type (NAME) — Returns package type based on value of the Package-Type (or if absent, X-Package-Type) field. If the field is omitted, the default value "deb" is used.

If NAME is not an installable listed in the source packages debian/control file, this method return "undef".

bestie this one is doing a whole two-step: check Package-Type, and if that's not there, go look at X-Package-Type. if neither shows up, you get "deb" by default. and if the name you passed isn't even an installable in that debian/control, you get "undef" back — not an error, just vibes. 💀

• installable_fields (PACKAGE) — Returns the Deb822::Section object for the installable. Returns an empty object if the installable does not exist.

you ask for a package's fields, you get a whole Deb822::Section object. ✨ if that installable doesn't exist? you get an empty object. no drama, just a sad little nothing object. 🫶

---

🧚 AUTHOR 🧚

Originally written by Russ Allbery <rra@debian.org> for Lintian. Amended by Felix Lechner <felix.lechner@lease-up.com> for Lintian.

giving credit where credit is due, always. 👑

---

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

• lintian(1)

---

okay and finally, the lil signature at the bottom of the page: this is from Lintian v2.139.0ubuntu2, dated 2026-10-08, and it's the Lintian::Debian::Control(3) page. mwah. 💖 go read your d/control fields and slay, bestie. 🎀✨🦋