DEBBUGS-DBHASH(8)

💖 DEBBUGS-DBHASH 💖 (that's section 8, bestie, system manager's manual energy)

okay so this one is debbugs-dbhash and it's literally the glow-up tool for your debbugs database. she takes your crusty old flat-file setup and gives it the hashed-directory makeover. it's giving main character, it's giving performance, it's giving you're welcome 🦋

✨ NAME ✨

debbugs-dbhash — migrate a debbugs database to hashed format

🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

debbugs-dbhash old-db-directory new-db-directory

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

so basically debbugs-dbhash takes an old-style flat debbugs database and converts it into a new-style hashed-directory debbugs database. this is for use with debbugs 2.4 and above, periodt. 💅

the old database? it just gets copied. otherwise it's left completely untouched, like we are NOT touching her, she's fine, she's thriving. 🙈

but the directory you pass for the new database — yeah, that one must not already exist. like, it has to be brand new, no notes, fresh face. 👑

now here's the tea on what "hashed format" even means: files with names of the form 1023.log are now stored as 23/1023.log instead. iconic, right? 🎀

why do we care? because this improves performance on many filesystems for debbugs installations with large numbers of bug reports. big directories are lowkey a nightmare for some filesystems, so we're breaking them up. slay. ✨

💀 WARNINGS 💀

debbugs-dbhash will print a warning message for each file whose name is of a form that cannot be hashed as described above. ngl it will tell you about every single one, one by one.

typical debbugs installations will have a few of these — usually index files and the like. so don't panic if you see a handful of warnings, that's just the vibe. 🫶

👑 AUTHORS 👑

Adam Heath is primarily responsible for the hashed directory support in debbugs. 💜

Colin Watson wrote debbugs-dbhash and this man page. 🌈

and that's the whole page, bestie!! this was DEBBUGS-DBHASH(8) from the System Manager's Manual, and honestly? she ate. go hash your database, you've got this 💖✨🎀