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<title>Debian Policy Manual - Control files and their fields</title>

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<link href="ch-scope.html" rel="chapter" title="1 About this manual">
<link href="ch-archive.html" rel="chapter" title="2 The Debian Archive">
<link href="ch-binary.html" rel="chapter" title="3 Binary packages">
<link href="ch-source.html" rel="chapter" title="4 Source packages">
<link href="ch-controlfields.html" rel="chapter" title="5 Control files and their fields">
<link href="ch-maintainerscripts.html" rel="chapter" title="6 Package maintainer scripts and installation procedure">
<link href="ch-relationships.html" rel="chapter" title="7 Declaring relationships between packages">
<link href="ch-sharedlibs.html" rel="chapter" title="8 Shared libraries">
<link href="ch-opersys.html" rel="chapter" title="9 The Operating System">
<link href="ch-files.html" rel="chapter" title="10 Files">
<link href="ch-customized-programs.html" rel="chapter" title="11 Customized programs">
<link href="ch-docs.html" rel="chapter" title="12 Documentation">
<link href="ap-pkg-scope.html" rel="appendix" title="A Introduction and scope of these appendices">
<link href="ap-pkg-binarypkg.html" rel="appendix" title="B Binary packages (from old Packaging Manual)">
<link href="ap-pkg-sourcepkg.html" rel="appendix" title="C Source packages (from old Packaging Manual)">
<link href="ap-pkg-controlfields.html" rel="appendix" title="D Control files and their fields (from old Packaging Manual)">
<link href="ap-pkg-conffiles.html" rel="appendix" title="E Configuration file handling (from old Packaging Manual)">
<link href="ap-pkg-alternatives.html" rel="appendix" title="F Alternative versions of an interface - update-alternatives (from old Packaging Manual)">
<link href="ap-pkg-diversions.html" rel="appendix" title="G Diversions - overriding a package's version of a file (from old Packaging Manual)">
<link href="ch-scope.html#s1.1" rel="section" title="1.1 Scope">
<link href="ch-scope.html#s1.2" rel="section" title="1.2 New versions of this document">
<link href="ch-scope.html#s-authors" rel="section" title="1.3 Authors and Maintainers">
<link href="ch-scope.html#s-related" rel="section" title="1.4 Related documents">
<link href="ch-scope.html#s-definitions" rel="section" title="1.5 Definitions">
<link href="ch-archive.html#s-dfsg" rel="section" title="2.1 The Debian Free Software Guidelines">
<link href="ch-archive.html#s-sections" rel="section" title="2.2 Archive areas">
<link href="ch-archive.html#s-pkgcopyright" rel="section" title="2.3 Copyright considerations">
<link href="ch-archive.html#s-subsections" rel="section" title="2.4 Sections">
<link href="ch-archive.html#s-priorities" rel="section" title="2.5 Priorities">
<link href="ch-binary.html#s3.1" rel="section" title="3.1 The package name">
<link href="ch-binary.html#s-versions" rel="section" title="3.2 The version of a package">
<link href="ch-binary.html#s-maintainer" rel="section" title="3.3 The maintainer of a package">
<link href="ch-binary.html#s-descriptions" rel="section" title="3.4 The description of a package">
<link href="ch-binary.html#s-dependencies" rel="section" title="3.5 Dependencies">
<link href="ch-binary.html#s-virtual_pkg" rel="section" title="3.6 Virtual packages">
<link href="ch-binary.html#s3.7" rel="section" title="3.7 Base system">
<link href="ch-binary.html#s3.8" rel="section" title="3.8 Essential packages">
<link href="ch-binary.html#s-maintscripts" rel="section" title="3.9 Maintainer Scripts">
<link href="ch-source.html#s-standardsversion" rel="section" title="4.1 Standards conformance">
<link href="ch-source.html#s-pkg-relations" rel="section" title="4.2 Package relationships">
<link href="ch-source.html#s4.3" rel="section" title="4.3 Changes to the upstream sources">
<link href="ch-source.html#s-dpkgchangelog" rel="section" title="4.4 Debian changelog: debian/changelog">
<link href="ch-source.html#s-dpkgcopyright" rel="section" title="4.5 Copyright: debian/copyright">
<link href="ch-source.html#s4.6" rel="section" title="4.6 Error trapping in makefiles">
<link href="ch-source.html#s-timestamps" rel="section" title="4.7 Time Stamps">
<link href="ch-source.html#s-restrictions" rel="section" title="4.8 Restrictions on objects in source packages">
<link href="ch-source.html#s-debianrules" rel="section" title="4.9 Main building script: debian/rules">
<link href="ch-source.html#s-substvars" rel="section" title="4.10 Variable substitutions: debian/substvars">
<link href="ch-source.html#s-debianwatch" rel="section" title="4.11 Optional upstream source location: debian/watch">
<link href="ch-source.html#s-debianfiles" rel="section" title="4.12 Generated files list: debian/files">
<link href="ch-source.html#s-embeddedfiles" rel="section" title="4.13 Convenience copies of code">
<link href="ch-source.html#s-readmesource" rel="section" title="4.14 Source package handling: debian/README.source">
<link href="ch-controlfields.html#s-controlsyntax" rel="section" title="5.1 Syntax of control files">
<link href="ch-controlfields.html#s-sourcecontrolfiles" rel="section" title="5.2 Source package control files -- debian/control">
<link href="ch-controlfields.html#s-binarycontrolfiles" rel="section" title="5.3 Binary package control files -- DEBIAN/control">
<link href="ch-controlfields.html#s-debiansourcecontrolfiles" rel="section" title="5.4 Debian source control files -- .dsc">
<link href="ch-controlfields.html#s-debianchangesfiles" rel="section" title="5.5 Debian changes files -- .changes">
<link href="ch-controlfields.html#s-controlfieldslist" rel="section" title="5.6 List of fields">
<link href="ch-controlfields.html#s5.7" rel="section" title="5.7 User-defined fields">
<link href="ch-maintainerscripts.html#s6.1" rel="section" title="6.1 Introduction to package maintainer scripts">
<link href="ch-maintainerscripts.html#s-idempotency" rel="section" title="6.2 Maintainer scripts idempotency">
<link href="ch-maintainerscripts.html#s-controllingterminal" rel="section" title="6.3 Controlling terminal for maintainer scripts">
<link href="ch-maintainerscripts.html#s-exitstatus" rel="section" title="6.4 Exit status">
<link href="ch-maintainerscripts.html#s-mscriptsinstact" rel="section" title="6.5 Summary of ways maintainer scripts are called">
<link href="ch-maintainerscripts.html#s-unpackphase" rel="section" title="6.6 Details of unpack phase of installation or upgrade">
<link href="ch-maintainerscripts.html#s-configdetails" rel="section" title="6.7 Details of configuration">
<link href="ch-maintainerscripts.html#s-removedetails" rel="section" title="6.8 Details of removal and/or configuration purging">
<link href="ch-relationships.html#s-depsyntax" rel="section" title="7.1 Syntax of relationship fields">
<link href="ch-relationships.html#s-binarydeps" rel="section" title="7.2 Binary Dependencies - Depends, Recommends, Suggests, Enhances, Pre-Depends">
<link href="ch-relationships.html#s-breaks" rel="section" title="7.3 Packages which break other packages - Breaks">
<link href="ch-relationships.html#s-conflicts" rel="section" title="7.4 Conflicting binary packages - Conflicts">
<link href="ch-relationships.html#s-virtual" rel="section" title="7.5 Virtual packages - Provides">
<link href="ch-relationships.html#s-replaces" rel="section" title="7.6 Overwriting files and replacing packages - Replaces">
<link href="ch-relationships.html#s-sourcebinarydeps" rel="section" title="7.7 Relationships between source and binary packages - Build-Depends, Build-Depends-Indep, Build-Conflicts, Build-Conflicts-Indep">
<link href="ch-sharedlibs.html#s-sharedlibs-runtime" rel="section" title="8.1 Run-time shared libraries">
<link href="ch-sharedlibs.html#s-sharedlibs-support-files" rel="section" title="8.2 Shared library support files">
<link href="ch-sharedlibs.html#s-sharedlibs-static" rel="section" title="8.3 Static libraries">
<link href="ch-sharedlibs.html#s-sharedlibs-dev" rel="section" title="8.4 Development files">
<link href="ch-sharedlibs.html#s-sharedlibs-intradeps" rel="section" title="8.5 Dependencies between the packages of the same library">
<link href="ch-sharedlibs.html#s-sharedlibs-shlibdeps" rel="section" title="8.6 Dependencies between the library and other packages - the shlibs system">
<link href="ch-opersys.html#s9.1" rel="section" title="9.1 File system hierarchy">
<link href="ch-opersys.html#s9.2" rel="section" title="9.2 Users and groups">
<link href="ch-opersys.html#s-sysvinit" rel="section" title="9.3 System run levels and init.d scripts">
<link href="ch-opersys.html#s9.4" rel="section" title="9.4 Console messages from init.d scripts">
<link href="ch-opersys.html#s-cron-jobs" rel="section" title="9.5 Cron jobs">
<link href="ch-opersys.html#s-menus" rel="section" title="9.6 Menus">
<link href="ch-opersys.html#s-mime" rel="section" title="9.7 Multimedia handlers">
<link href="ch-opersys.html#s9.8" rel="section" title="9.8 Keyboard configuration">
<link href="ch-opersys.html#s9.9" rel="section" title="9.9 Environment variables">
<link href="ch-opersys.html#s-doc-base" rel="section" title="9.10 Registering Documents using doc-base">
<link href="ch-files.html#s-binaries" rel="section" title="10.1 Binaries">
<link href="ch-files.html#s-libraries" rel="section" title="10.2 Libraries">
<link href="ch-files.html#s10.3" rel="section" title="10.3 Shared libraries">
<link href="ch-files.html#s-scripts" rel="section" title="10.4 Scripts">
<link href="ch-files.html#s10.5" rel="section" title="10.5 Symbolic links">
<link href="ch-files.html#s10.6" rel="section" title="10.6 Device files">
<link href="ch-files.html#s-config-files" rel="section" title="10.7 Configuration files">
<link href="ch-files.html#s10.8" rel="section" title="10.8 Log files">
<link href="ch-files.html#s-permissions-owners" rel="section" title="10.9 Permissions and owners">
<link href="ch-customized-programs.html#s-arch-spec" rel="section" title="11.1 Architecture specification strings">
<link href="ch-customized-programs.html#s11.2" rel="section" title="11.2 Daemons">
<link href="ch-customized-programs.html#s11.3" rel="section" title="11.3 Using pseudo-ttys and modifying wtmp, utmp and lastlog">
<link href="ch-customized-programs.html#s11.4" rel="section" title="11.4 Editors and pagers">
<link href="ch-customized-programs.html#s-web-appl" rel="section" title="11.5 Web servers and applications">
<link href="ch-customized-programs.html#s-mail-transport-agents" rel="section" title="11.6 Mail transport, delivery and user agents">
<link href="ch-customized-programs.html#s11.7" rel="section" title="11.7 News system configuration">
<link href="ch-customized-programs.html#s11.8" rel="section" title="11.8 Programs for the X Window System">
<link href="ch-customized-programs.html#s-perl" rel="section" title="11.9 Perl programs and modules">
<link href="ch-customized-programs.html#s-emacs" rel="section" title="11.10 Emacs lisp programs">
<link href="ch-customized-programs.html#s11.11" rel="section" title="11.11 Games">
<link href="ch-docs.html#s12.1" rel="section" title="12.1 Manual pages">
<link href="ch-docs.html#s12.2" rel="section" title="12.2 Info documents">
<link href="ch-docs.html#s12.3" rel="section" title="12.3 Additional documentation">
<link href="ch-docs.html#s12.4" rel="section" title="12.4 Preferred documentation formats">
<link href="ch-docs.html#s-copyrightfile" rel="section" title="12.5 Copyright information">
<link href="ch-docs.html#s12.6" rel="section" title="12.6 Examples">
<link href="ch-docs.html#s-changelogs" rel="section" title="12.7 Changelog files">
<link href="ap-pkg-binarypkg.html#s-pkg-bincreating" rel="section" title="B.1 Creating package files - dpkg-deb">
<link href="ap-pkg-binarypkg.html#s-pkg-controlarea" rel="section" title="B.2 Package control information files">
<link href="ap-pkg-binarypkg.html#s-pkg-controlfile" rel="section" title="B.3 The main control information file: control">
<link href="ap-pkg-binarypkg.html#sB.4" rel="section" title="B.4 Time Stamps">
<link href="ap-pkg-sourcepkg.html#s-pkg-sourcetools" rel="section" title="C.1 Tools for processing source packages">
<link href="ap-pkg-sourcepkg.html#s-pkg-sourcetree" rel="section" title="C.2 The Debian package source tree">
<link href="ap-pkg-sourcepkg.html#s-pkg-sourcearchives" rel="section" title="C.3 Source packages as archives">
<link href="ap-pkg-sourcepkg.html#sC.4" rel="section" title="C.4 Unpacking a Debian source package without dpkg-source">
<link href="ap-pkg-controlfields.html#sD.1" rel="section" title="D.1 Syntax of control files">
<link href="ap-pkg-controlfields.html#sD.2" rel="section" title="D.2 List of fields">
<link href="ap-pkg-conffiles.html#sE.1" rel="section" title="E.1 Automatic handling of configuration files by dpkg">
<link href="ap-pkg-conffiles.html#sE.2" rel="section" title="E.2 Fully-featured maintainer script configuration handling">
<link href="ch-archive.html#s-main" rel="subsection" title="2.2.1 The main archive area">
<link href="ch-archive.html#s-contrib" rel="subsection" title="2.2.2 The contrib archive area">
<link href="ch-archive.html#s-non-free" rel="subsection" title="2.2.3 The non-free archive area">
<link href="ch-binary.html#s3.2.1" rel="subsection" title="3.2.1 Version numbers based on dates">
<link href="ch-binary.html#s-synopsis" rel="subsection" title="3.4.1 The single line synopsis">
<link href="ch-binary.html#s-extendeddesc" rel="subsection" title="3.4.2 The extended description">
<link href="ch-binary.html#s-maintscriptprompt" rel="subsection" title="3.9.1 Prompting in maintainer scripts">
<link href="ch-source.html#s-debianrules-options" rel="subsection" title="4.9.1 debian/rules and DEB_BUILD_OPTIONS">
<link href="ch-controlfields.html#s-f-Source" rel="subsection" title="5.6.1 Source">
<link href="ch-controlfields.html#s-f-Maintainer" rel="subsection" title="5.6.2 Maintainer">
<link href="ch-controlfields.html#s-f-Uploaders" rel="subsection" title="5.6.3 Uploaders">
<link href="ch-controlfields.html#s-f-Changed-By" rel="subsection" title="5.6.4 Changed-By">
<link href="ch-controlfields.html#s-f-Section" rel="subsection" title="5.6.5 Section">
<link href="ch-controlfields.html#s-f-Priority" rel="subsection" title="5.6.6 Priority">
<link href="ch-controlfields.html#s-f-Package" rel="subsection" title="5.6.7 Package">
<link href="ch-controlfields.html#s-f-Architecture" rel="subsection" title="5.6.8 Architecture">
<link href="ch-controlfields.html#s-f-Essential" rel="subsection" title="5.6.9 Essential">
<link href="ch-controlfields.html#s5.6.10" rel="subsection" title="5.6.10 Package interrelationship fields: Depends, Pre-Depends, Recommends, Suggests, Breaks, Conflicts, Provides, Replaces, Enhances">
<link href="ch-controlfields.html#s-f-Standards-Version" rel="subsection" title="5.6.11 Standards-Version">
<link href="ch-controlfields.html#s-f-Version" rel="subsection" title="5.6.12 Version">
<link href="ch-controlfields.html#s-f-Description" rel="subsection" title="5.6.13 Description">
<link href="ch-controlfields.html#s-f-Distribution" rel="subsection" title="5.6.14 Distribution">
<link href="ch-controlfields.html#s-f-Date" rel="subsection" title="5.6.15 Date">
<link href="ch-controlfields.html#s-f-Format" rel="subsection" title="5.6.16 Format">
<link href="ch-controlfields.html#s-f-Urgency" rel="subsection" title="5.6.17 Urgency">
<link href="ch-controlfields.html#s-f-Changes" rel="subsection" title="5.6.18 Changes">
<link href="ch-controlfields.html#s-f-Binary" rel="subsection" title="5.6.19 Binary">
<link href="ch-controlfields.html#s-f-Installed-Size" rel="subsection" title="5.6.20 Installed-Size">
<link href="ch-controlfields.html#s-f-Files" rel="subsection" title="5.6.21 Files">
<link href="ch-controlfields.html#s-f-Closes" rel="subsection" title="5.6.22 Closes">
<link href="ch-controlfields.html#s-f-Homepage" rel="subsection" title="5.6.23 Homepage">
<link href="ch-controlfields.html#s-f-Checksums" rel="subsection" title="5.6.24 Checksums-Sha1 and Checksums-Sha256">
<link href="ch-controlfields.html#s-f-DM-Upload-Allowed" rel="subsection" title="5.6.25 DM-Upload-Allowed">
<link href="ch-relationships.html#s7.6.1" rel="subsection" title="7.6.1 Overwriting files in other packages">
<link href="ch-relationships.html#s7.6.2" rel="subsection" title="7.6.2 Replacing whole packages, forcing their removal">
<link href="ch-sharedlibs.html#s-ldconfig" rel="subsection" title="8.1.1 ldconfig">
<link href="ch-sharedlibs.html#s8.6.1" rel="subsection" title="8.6.1 The shlibs files present on the system">
<link href="ch-sharedlibs.html#s8.6.2" rel="subsection" title="8.6.2 How to use dpkg-shlibdeps and the shlibs files">
<link href="ch-sharedlibs.html#s-shlibs" rel="subsection" title="8.6.3 The shlibs File Format">
<link href="ch-sharedlibs.html#s8.6.4" rel="subsection" title="8.6.4 Providing a shlibs file">
<link href="ch-opersys.html#s-fhs" rel="subsection" title="9.1.1 File System Structure">
<link href="ch-opersys.html#s9.1.2" rel="subsection" title="9.1.2 Site-specific programs">
<link href="ch-opersys.html#s9.1.3" rel="subsection" title="9.1.3 The system-wide mail directory">
<link href="ch-opersys.html#s-fhs-run" rel="subsection" title="9.1.4 /run and /run/lock">
<link href="ch-opersys.html#s9.2.1" rel="subsection" title="9.2.1 Introduction">
<link href="ch-opersys.html#s9.2.2" rel="subsection" title="9.2.2 UID and GID classes">
<link href="ch-opersys.html#s-/etc/init.d" rel="subsection" title="9.3.1 Introduction">
<link href="ch-opersys.html#s-writing-init" rel="subsection" title="9.3.2 Writing the scripts">
<link href="ch-opersys.html#s9.3.3" rel="subsection" title="9.3.3 Interfacing with the initscript system">
<link href="ch-opersys.html#s9.3.3.1" rel="subsection" title="9.3.3.1 Managing the links">
<link href="ch-opersys.html#s9.3.3.2" rel="subsection" title="9.3.3.2 Running initscripts">
<link href="ch-opersys.html#s9.3.4" rel="subsection" title="9.3.4 Boot-time initialization">
<link href="ch-opersys.html#s9.3.5" rel="subsection" title="9.3.5 Example">
<link href="ch-opersys.html#s-cron-files" rel="subsection" title="9.5.1 Cron job file names">
<link href="ch-files.html#s10.7.1" rel="subsection" title="10.7.1 Definitions">
<link href="ch-files.html#s10.7.2" rel="subsection" title="10.7.2 Location">
<link href="ch-files.html#s10.7.3" rel="subsection" title="10.7.3 Behavior">
<link href="ch-files.html#s10.7.4" rel="subsection" title="10.7.4 Sharing configuration files">
<link href="ch-files.html#s10.7.5" rel="subsection" title="10.7.5 User configuration files (&quot;dotfiles&quot;)">
<link href="ch-files.html#s10.9.1" rel="subsection" title="10.9.1 The use of dpkg-statoverride">
<link href="ch-customized-programs.html#s-arch-wildcard-spec" rel="subsection" title="11.1.1 Architecture wildcards">
<link href="ch-customized-programs.html#s11.8.1" rel="subsection" title="11.8.1 Providing X support and package priorities">
<link href="ch-customized-programs.html#s11.8.2" rel="subsection" title="11.8.2 Packages providing an X server">
<link href="ch-customized-programs.html#s11.8.3" rel="subsection" title="11.8.3 Packages providing a terminal emulator">
<link href="ch-customized-programs.html#s11.8.4" rel="subsection" title="11.8.4 Packages providing a window manager">
<link href="ch-customized-programs.html#s11.8.5" rel="subsection" title="11.8.5 Packages providing fonts">
<link href="ch-customized-programs.html#s-appdefaults" rel="subsection" title="11.8.6 Application defaults files">
<link href="ch-customized-programs.html#s11.8.7" rel="subsection" title="11.8.7 Installation directory issues">
<link href="ch-docs.html#s-copyrightformat" rel="subsection" title="12.5.1 Machine-readable copyright information">
<link href="ap-pkg-sourcepkg.html#s-pkg-dpkg-source" rel="subsection" title="C.1.1 dpkg-source - packs and unpacks Debian source packages">
<link href="ap-pkg-sourcepkg.html#s-pkg-dpkg-buildpackage" rel="subsection" title="C.1.2 dpkg-buildpackage - overall package-building control script">
<link href="ap-pkg-sourcepkg.html#s-pkg-dpkg-gencontrol" rel="subsection" title="C.1.3 dpkg-gencontrol - generates binary package control files">
<link href="ap-pkg-sourcepkg.html#s-pkg-dpkg-shlibdeps" rel="subsection" title="C.1.4 dpkg-shlibdeps - calculates shared library dependencies">
<link href="ap-pkg-sourcepkg.html#s-pkg-dpkg-distaddfile" rel="subsection" title="C.1.5 dpkg-distaddfile - adds a file to debian/files">
<link href="ap-pkg-sourcepkg.html#s-pkg-dpkg-genchanges" rel="subsection" title="C.1.6 dpkg-genchanges - generates a .changes upload control file">
<link href="ap-pkg-sourcepkg.html#s-pkg-dpkg-parsechangelog" rel="subsection" title="C.1.7 dpkg-parsechangelog - produces parsed representation of a changelog">
<link href="ap-pkg-sourcepkg.html#s-pkg-dpkg-architecture" rel="subsection" title="C.1.8 dpkg-architecture - information about the build and host system">
<link href="ap-pkg-sourcepkg.html#s-pkg-debianrules" rel="subsection" title="C.2.1 debian/rules - the main building script">
<link href="ap-pkg-sourcepkg.html#s-pkg-srcsubstvars" rel="subsection" title="C.2.2 debian/substvars and variable substitutions">
<link href="ap-pkg-sourcepkg.html#sC.2.3" rel="subsection" title="C.2.3 debian/files">
<link href="ap-pkg-sourcepkg.html#sC.2.4" rel="subsection" title="C.2.4 debian/tmp">
<link href="ap-pkg-sourcepkg.html#sC.4.1" rel="subsection" title="C.4.1 Restrictions on objects in source packages">
<link href="ap-pkg-controlfields.html#s-pkg-f-Filename" rel="subsection" title="D.2.1 Filename and MSDOS-Filename">
<link href="ap-pkg-controlfields.html#s-pkg-f-Size" rel="subsection" title="D.2.2 Size and MD5sum">
<link href="ap-pkg-controlfields.html#s-pkg-f-Status" rel="subsection" title="D.2.3 Status">
<link href="ap-pkg-controlfields.html#s-pkg-f-Config-Version" rel="subsection" title="D.2.4 Config-Version">
<link href="ap-pkg-controlfields.html#s-pkg-f-Conffiles" rel="subsection" title="D.2.5 Conffiles">
<link href="ap-pkg-controlfields.html#sD.2.6" rel="subsection" title="D.2.6 Obsolete fields">

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</p>

<hr>

<h1>
Debian Policy Manual
<br>Chapter 5 - Control files and their fields
</h1>

<p>
The package management system manipulates data represented in a common format,
known as <em>control data</em>, stored in <em>control files</em>.  Control
files are used for source packages, binary packages and the
<code>.changes</code> files which control the installation of uploaded files[<a
href="footnotes.html#f31" name="fr31">31</a>].
</p>

<hr>

<h2><a name="s-controlsyntax"></a>5.1 Syntax of control files</h2>

<p>
A control file consists of one or more paragraphs of fields[<a
href="footnotes.html#f32" name="fr32">32</a>].  The paragraphs are separated by
empty lines.  Parsers may accept lines consisting solely of spaces and tabs as
paragraph separators, but control files should use empty lines.  Some control
files allow only one paragraph; others allow several, in which case each
paragraph usually refers to a different package.  (For example, in source
packages, the first paragraph refers to the source package, and later
paragraphs refer to binary packages generated from the source.) The ordering of
the paragraphs in control files is significant.
</p>

<p>
Each paragraph consists of a series of data fields.  Each field consists of the
field name followed by a colon and then the data/value associated with that
field.  The field name is composed of US-ASCII characters excluding control
characters, space, and colon (i.e., characters in the ranges 33-57 and 59-126,
inclusive).  Field names must not begin with the comment character,
<samp>#</samp>.
</p>

<p>
The field ends at the end of the line or at the end of the last continuation
line (see below).  Horizontal whitespace (spaces and tabs) may occur
immediately before or after the value and is ignored there; it is conventional
to put a single space after the colon.  For example, a field might be:
</p>
<pre>
     Package: libc6
</pre>

<p>
the field name is <samp>Package</samp> and the field value <samp>libc6</samp>.
</p>

<p>
A paragraph must not contain more than one instance of a particular field name.
</p>

<p>
There are three types of fields:
</p>
<dl>
<dt>simple</dt>
<dd>
<p>
The field, including its value, must be a single line.  Folding of the field is
not permitted.  This is the default field type if the definition of the field
does not specify a different type.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>
<dl>
<dt>folded</dt>
<dd>
<p>
The value of a folded field is a logical line that may span several lines.  The
lines after the first are called continuation lines and must start with a space
or a tab.  Whitespace, including any newlines, is not significant in the field
values of folded fields.[<a href="footnotes.html#f33" name="fr33">33</a>]
</p>
</dd>
</dl>
<dl>
<dt>multiline</dt>
<dd>
<p>
The value of a multiline field may comprise multiple continuation lines.  The
first line of the value, the part on the same line as the field name, often has
special significance or may have to be empty.  Other lines are added following
the same syntax as the continuation lines of the folded fields.  Whitespace,
including newlines, is significant in the values of multiline fields.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>

<p>
Whitespace must not appear inside names (of packages, architectures, files or
anything else) or version numbers, or between the characters of multi-character
version relationships.
</p>

<p>
The presence and purpose of a field, and the syntax of its value may differ
between types of control files.
</p>

<p>
Field names are not case-sensitive, but it is usual to capitalize the field
names using mixed case as shown below.  Field values are case-sensitive unless
the description of the field says otherwise.
</p>

<p>
Paragraph separators (empty lines) and lines consisting only of spaces and tabs
are not allowed within field values or between fields.  Empty lines in field
values are usually escaped by representing them by a space followed by a dot.
</p>

<p>
Lines starting with # without any preceding whitespace are comments lines that
are only permitted in source package control files
(<code>debian/control</code>).  These comment lines are ignored, even between
two continuation lines.  They do not end logical lines.
</p>

<p>
All control files must be encoded in UTF-8.
</p>

<hr>

<h2><a name="s-sourcecontrolfiles"></a>5.2 Source package control files -- <code>debian/control</code></h2>

<p>
The <code>debian/control</code> file contains the most vital (and
version-independent) information about the source package and about the binary
packages it creates.
</p>

<p>
The first paragraph of the control file contains information about the source
package in general.  The subsequent sets each describe a binary package that
the source tree builds.
</p>

<p>
The fields in the general paragraph (the first one, for the source package)
are:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Source"><samp>Source</samp></a> (mandatory)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Maintainer"><samp>Maintainer</samp></a> (mandatory)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Uploaders"><samp>Uploaders</samp></a>
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-DM-Upload-Allowed"><samp>DM-Upload-Allowed</samp></a>
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Section"><samp>Section</samp></a> (recommended)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Priority"><samp>Priority</samp></a> (recommended)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="ch-relationships.html#s-sourcebinarydeps"><samp>Build-Depends</samp>
et al</a>
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Standards-Version"><samp>Standards-Version</samp></a>
(recommended)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Homepage"><samp>Homepage</samp></a>
</p>
</li>
</ul>

<p>
The fields in the binary package paragraphs are:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Package"><samp>Package</samp></a> (mandatory)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Architecture"><samp>Architecture</samp></a> (mandatory)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Section"><samp>Section</samp></a> (recommended)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Priority"><samp>Priority</samp></a> (recommended)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Essential"><samp>Essential</samp></a>
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="ch-relationships.html#s-binarydeps"><samp>Depends</samp> et al</a>
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Description"><samp>Description</samp></a> (mandatory)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Homepage"><samp>Homepage</samp></a>
</p>
</li>
</ul>

<p>
The syntax and semantics of the fields are described below.
</p>

<p>
These fields are used by <code>dpkg-gencontrol</code> to generate control files
for binary packages (see below), by <code>dpkg-genchanges</code> to generate
the <code>.changes</code> file to accompany the upload, and by
<code>dpkg-source</code> when it creates the <code>.dsc</code> source control
file as part of a source archive.  Some fields are folded in
<code>debian/control</code>, but not in any other control file.  These tools
are responsible for removing the line breaks from such fields when using fields
from <code>debian/control</code> to generate other control files.
</p>

<p>
The fields here may contain variable references - their values will be
substituted by <code>dpkg-gencontrol</code>, <code>dpkg-genchanges</code> or
<code>dpkg-source</code> when they generate output control files.  See <a
href="ch-source.html#s-substvars">Variable substitutions:
<code>debian/substvars</code>, Section 4.10</a> for details.
</p>

<hr>

<h2><a name="s-binarycontrolfiles"></a>5.3 Binary package control files -- <code>DEBIAN/control</code></h2>

<p>
The <code>DEBIAN/control</code> file contains the most vital (and
version-dependent) information about a binary package.  It consists of a single
paragraph.
</p>

<p>
The fields in this file are:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Package"><samp>Package</samp></a> (mandatory)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Source"><samp>Source</samp></a>
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Version"><samp>Version</samp></a> (mandatory)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Section"><samp>Section</samp></a> (recommended)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Priority"><samp>Priority</samp></a> (recommended)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Architecture"><samp>Architecture</samp></a> (mandatory)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Essential"><samp>Essential</samp></a>
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="ch-relationships.html#s-binarydeps"><samp>Depends</samp> et al</a>
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Installed-Size"><samp>Installed-Size</samp></a>
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Maintainer"><samp>Maintainer</samp></a> (mandatory)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Description"><samp>Description</samp></a> (mandatory)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Homepage"><samp>Homepage</samp></a>
</p>
</li>
</ul>

<hr>

<h2><a name="s-debiansourcecontrolfiles"></a>5.4 Debian source control files -- <samp>.dsc</samp></h2>

<p>
This file consists of a single paragraph, possibly surrounded by a PGP
signature.  The fields of that paragraph are listed below.  Their syntax is
described above, in <a href="#s-controlsyntax">Syntax of control files, Section
5.1</a>.
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Format"><samp>Format</samp></a> (mandatory)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Source"><samp>Source</samp></a> (mandatory)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Binary"><samp>Binary</samp></a>
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Architecture"><samp>Architecture</samp></a>
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Version"><samp>Version</samp></a> (mandatory)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Maintainer"><samp>Maintainer</samp></a> (mandatory)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Uploaders"><samp>Uploaders</samp></a>
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-DM-Upload-Allowed"><samp>DM-Upload-Allowed</samp></a>
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Homepage"><samp>Homepage</samp></a>
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Standards-Version"><samp>Standards-Version</samp></a>
(recommended)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="ch-relationships.html#s-sourcebinarydeps"><samp>Build-Depends</samp>
et al</a>
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Checksums"><samp>Checksums-Sha1</samp> and
<samp>Checksums-Sha256</samp></a> (recommended)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Files"><samp>Files</samp></a> (mandatory)
</p>
</li>
</ul>

<p>
The Debian source control file is generated by <code>dpkg-source</code> when it
builds the source archive, from other files in the source package, described
above.  When unpacking, it is checked against the files and directories in the
other parts of the source package.
</p>

<hr>

<h2><a name="s-debianchangesfiles"></a>5.5 Debian changes files -- <code>.changes</code></h2>

<p>
The <code>.changes</code> files are used by the Debian archive maintenance
software to process updates to packages.  They consist of a single paragraph,
possibly surrounded by a PGP signature.  That paragraph contains information
from the <code>debian/control</code> file and other data about the source
package gathered via <code>debian/changelog</code> and
<code>debian/rules</code>.
</p>

<p>
<code>.changes</code> files have a format version that is incremented whenever
the documented fields or their meaning change.  This document describes format
1.8.
</p>

<p>
The fields in this file are:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Format"><samp>Format</samp></a> (mandatory)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Date"><samp>Date</samp></a> (mandatory)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Source"><samp>Source</samp></a> (mandatory)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Binary"><samp>Binary</samp></a> (mandatory)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Architecture"><samp>Architecture</samp></a> (mandatory)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Version"><samp>Version</samp></a> (mandatory)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Distribution"><samp>Distribution</samp></a> (mandatory)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Urgency"><samp>Urgency</samp></a> (recommended)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Maintainer"><samp>Maintainer</samp></a> (mandatory)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Changed-By"><samp>Changed-By</samp></a>
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Description"><samp>Description</samp></a> (mandatory)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Closes"><samp>Closes</samp></a>
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Changes"><samp>Changes</samp></a> (mandatory)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Checksums"><samp>Checksums-Sha1</samp> and
<samp>Checksums-Sha256</samp></a> (recommended)
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
<a href="#s-f-Files"><samp>Files</samp></a> (mandatory)
</p>
</li>
</ul>

<hr>

<h2><a name="s-controlfieldslist"></a>5.6 List of fields</h2>

<hr>

<h3><a name="s-f-Source"></a>5.6.1 <samp>Source</samp></h3>

<p>
This field identifies the source package name.
</p>

<p>
In <code>debian/control</code> or a <code>.dsc</code> file, this field must
contain only the name of the source package.
</p>

<p>
In a binary package control file or a <code>.changes</code> file, the source
package name may be followed by a version number in parentheses[<a
href="footnotes.html#f34" name="fr34">34</a>].  This version number may be
omitted (and is, by <code>dpkg-gencontrol</code>) if it has the same value as
the <samp>Version</samp> field of the binary package in question.  The field
itself may be omitted from a binary package control file when the source
package has the same name and version as the binary package.
</p>

<p>
Package names (both source and binary, see <a
href="#s-f-Package"><samp>Package</samp>, Section 5.6.7</a>) must consist only
of lower case letters (<samp>a-z</samp>), digits (<samp>0-9</samp>), plus
(<samp>+</samp>) and minus (<samp>-</samp>) signs, and periods
(<samp>.</samp>).  They must be at least two characters long and must start
with an alphanumeric character.
</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="s-f-Maintainer"></a>5.6.2 <samp>Maintainer</samp></h3>

<p>
The package maintainer's name and email address.  The name must come first,
then the email address inside angle brackets <samp>&lt;&gt;</samp> (in RFC822
format).
</p>

<p>
If the maintainer's name contains a full stop then the whole field will not
work directly as an email address due to a misfeature in the syntax specified
in RFC822; a program using this field as an address must check for this and
correct the problem if necessary (for example by putting the name in round
brackets and moving it to the end, and bringing the email address forward).
</p>

<p>
See <a href="ch-binary.html#s-maintainer">The maintainer of a package, Section
3.3</a> for additional requirements and information about package maintainers.
</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="s-f-Uploaders"></a>5.6.3 <samp>Uploaders</samp></h3>

<p>
List of the names and email addresses of co-maintainers of the package, if any.
If the package has other maintainers besides the one named in the <a
href="#s-f-Maintainer">Maintainer field</a>, their names and email addresses
should be listed here.  The format of each entry is the same as that of the
Maintainer field, and multiple entries must be comma separated.
</p>

<p>
This is normally an optional field, but if the <samp>Maintainer</samp> control
field names a group of people and a shared email address, the
<samp>Uploaders</samp> field must be present and must contain at least one
human with their personal email address.
</p>

<p>
The Uploaders field in <code>debian/control</code> can be folded.
</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="s-f-Changed-By"></a>5.6.4 <samp>Changed-By</samp></h3>

<p>
The name and email address of the person who prepared this version of the
package, usually a maintainer.  The syntax is the same as for the <a
href="#s-f-Maintainer">Maintainer field</a>.
</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="s-f-Section"></a>5.6.5 <samp>Section</samp></h3>

<p>
This field specifies an application area into which the package has been
classified.  See <a href="ch-archive.html#s-subsections">Sections, Section
2.4</a>.
</p>

<p>
When it appears in the <code>debian/control</code> file, it gives the value for
the subfield of the same name in the <samp>Files</samp> field of the
<code>.changes</code> file.  It also gives the default for the same field in
the binary packages.
</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="s-f-Priority"></a>5.6.6 <samp>Priority</samp></h3>

<p>
This field represents how important it is that the user have the package
installed.  See <a href="ch-archive.html#s-priorities">Priorities, Section
2.5</a>.
</p>

<p>
When it appears in the <code>debian/control</code> file, it gives the value for
the subfield of the same name in the <samp>Files</samp> field of the
<code>.changes</code> file.  It also gives the default for the same field in
the binary packages.
</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="s-f-Package"></a>5.6.7 <samp>Package</samp></h3>

<p>
The name of the binary package.
</p>

<p>
Binary package names must follow the same syntax and restrictions as source
package names.  See <a href="#s-f-Source"><samp>Source</samp>, Section
5.6.1</a> for the details.
</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="s-f-Architecture"></a>5.6.8 <samp>Architecture</samp></h3>

<p>
Depending on context and the control file used, the <samp>Architecture</samp>
field can include the following sets of values:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
A unique single word identifying a Debian machine architecture as described in
<a href="ch-customized-programs.html#s-arch-spec">Architecture specification
strings, Section 11.1</a>.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
An architecture wildcard identifying a set of Debian machine architectures, see
<a href="ch-customized-programs.html#s-arch-wildcard-spec">Architecture
wildcards, Section 11.1.1</a>.  <samp>any</samp> matches all Debian machine
architectures and is the most frequently used.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
<samp>all</samp>, which indicates an architecture-independent package.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
<samp>source</samp>, which indicates a source package.
</p>
</li>
</ul>

<p>
In the main <code>debian/control</code> file in the source package, this field
may contain the special value <samp>all</samp>, the special architecture
wildcard <samp>any</samp>, or a list of specific and wildcard architectures
separated by spaces.  If <samp>all</samp> or <samp>any</samp> appears, that
value must be the entire contents of the field.  Most packages will use either
<samp>all</samp> or <samp>any</samp>.
</p>

<p>
Specifying a specific list of architectures indicates that the source will
build an architecture-dependent package only on architectures included in the
list.  Specifying a list of architecture wildcards indicates that the source
will build an architecture-dependent package on only those architectures that
match any of the specified architecture wildcards.  Specifying a list of
architectures or architecture wildcards other than <samp>any</samp> is for the
minority of cases where a program is not portable or is not useful on some
architectures.  Where possible, the program should be made portable instead.
</p>

<p>
In the Debian source control file <code>.dsc</code>, this field contains a list
of architectures and architecture wildcards separated by spaces.  When the list
contains the architecture wildcard <samp>any</samp>, the only other value
allowed in the list is <samp>all</samp>.
</p>

<p>
The list may include (or consist solely of) the special value <samp>all</samp>.
In other words, in <code>.dsc</code> files unlike the
<code>debian/control</code>, <samp>all</samp> may occur in combination with
specific architectures.  The <samp>Architecture</samp> field in the Debian
source control file <code>.dsc</code> is generally constructed from the
<samp>Architecture</samp> fields in the <code>debian/control</code> in the
source package.
</p>

<p>
Specifying only <samp>any</samp> indicates that the source package isn't
dependent on any particular architecture and should compile fine on any one.
The produced binary package(s) will be specific to whatever the current build
architecture is.
</p>

<p>
Specifying only <samp>all</samp> indicates that the source package will only
build architecture-independent packages.
</p>

<p>
Specifying <samp>any all</samp> indicates that the source package isn't
dependent on any particular architecture.  The set of produced binary packages
will include at least one architecture-dependant package and one
architecture-independent package.
</p>

<p>
Specifying a list of architectures or architecture wildcards indicates that the
source will build an architecture-dependent package, and will only work
correctly on the listed or matching architectures.  If the source package also
builds at least one architecture-independent package, <samp>all</samp> will
also be included in the list.
</p>

<p>
In a <code>.changes</code> file, the <samp>Architecture</samp> field lists the
architecture(s) of the package(s) currently being uploaded.  This will be a
list; if the source for the package is also being uploaded, the special entry
<samp>source</samp> is also present.  <samp>all</samp> will be present if any
architecture-independent packages are being uploaded.  Architecture wildcards
such as <samp>any</samp> must never occur in the <samp>Architecture</samp>
field in the <code>.changes</code> file.
</p>

<p>
See <a href="ch-source.html#s-debianrules">Main building script:
<code>debian/rules</code>, Section 4.9</a> for information on how to get the
architecture for the build process.
</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="s-f-Essential"></a>5.6.9 <samp>Essential</samp></h3>

<p>
This is a boolean field which may occur only in the control file of a binary
package or in a per-package fields paragraph of a source package control file.
</p>

<p>
If set to <samp>yes</samp> then the package management system will refuse to
remove the package (upgrading and replacing it is still possible).  The other
possible value is <samp>no</samp>, which is the same as not having the field at
all.
</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="s5.6.10"></a>5.6.10 Package interrelationship fields: <samp>Depends</samp>, <samp>Pre-Depends</samp>, <samp>Recommends</samp>, <samp>Suggests</samp>, <samp>Breaks</samp>, <samp>Conflicts</samp>, <samp>Provides</samp>, <samp>Replaces</samp>, <samp>Enhances</samp></h3>

<p>
These fields describe the package's relationships with other packages.  Their
syntax and semantics are described in <a href="ch-relationships.html">Declaring
relationships between packages, Chapter 7</a>.
</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="s-f-Standards-Version"></a>5.6.11 <samp>Standards-Version</samp></h3>

<p>
The most recent version of the standards (the policy manual and associated
texts) with which the package complies.
</p>

<p>
The version number has four components: major and minor version number and
major and minor patch level.  When the standards change in a way that requires
every package to change the major number will be changed.  Significant changes
that will require work in many packages will be signaled by a change to the
minor number.  The major patch level will be changed for any change to the
meaning of the standards, however small; the minor patch level will be changed
when only cosmetic, typographical or other edits are made which neither change
the meaning of the document nor affect the contents of packages.
</p>

<p>
Thus only the first three components of the policy version are significant in
the <em>Standards-Version</em> control field, and so either these three
components or all four components may be specified.[<a
href="footnotes.html#f35" name="fr35">35</a>]
</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="s-f-Version"></a>5.6.12 <samp>Version</samp></h3>

<p>
The version number of a package.  The format is:
[<var>epoch</var><samp>:</samp>]<var>upstream_version</var>[<samp>-</samp><var>debian_revision</var>]
</p>

<p>
The three components here are:
</p>
<dl>
<dt><var>epoch</var></dt>
<dd>
<p>
This is a single (generally small) unsigned integer.  It may be omitted, in
which case zero is assumed.  If it is omitted then the
<var>upstream_version</var> may not contain any colons.
</p>

<p>
It is provided to allow mistakes in the version numbers of older versions of a
package, and also a package's previous version numbering schemes, to be left
behind.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><var>upstream_version</var></dt>
<dd>
<p>
This is the main part of the version number.  It is usually the version number
of the original (&quot;upstream&quot;) package from which the <code>.deb</code>
file has been made, if this is applicable.  Usually this will be in the same
format as that specified by the upstream author(s); however, it may need to be
reformatted to fit into the package management system's format and comparison
scheme.
</p>

<p>
The comparison behavior of the package management system with respect to the
<var>upstream_version</var> is described below.  The
<var>upstream_version</var> portion of the version number is mandatory.
</p>

<p>
The <var>upstream_version</var> may contain only alphanumerics[<a
href="footnotes.html#f36" name="fr36">36</a>] and the characters <samp>.</samp>
<samp>+</samp> <samp>-</samp> <samp>:</samp> <samp>~</samp> (full stop, plus,
hyphen, colon, tilde) and should start with a digit.  If there is no
<var>debian_revision</var> then hyphens are not allowed; if there is no
<var>epoch</var> then colons are not allowed.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><var>debian_revision</var></dt>
<dd>
<p>
This part of the version number specifies the version of the Debian package
based on the upstream version.  It may contain only alphanumerics and the
characters <samp>+</samp> <samp>.</samp> <samp>~</samp> (plus, full stop,
tilde) and is compared in the same way as the <var>upstream_version</var> is.
</p>

<p>
It is optional; if it isn't present then the <var>upstream_version</var> may
not contain a hyphen.  This format represents the case where a piece of
software was written specifically to be a Debian package, where the Debian
package source must always be identical to the pristine source and therefore no
revision indication is required.
</p>

<p>
It is conventional to restart the <var>debian_revision</var> at <samp>1</samp>
each time the <var>upstream_version</var> is increased.
</p>

<p>
The package management system will break the version number apart at the last
hyphen in the string (if there is one) to determine the
<var>upstream_version</var> and <var>debian_revision</var>.  The absence of a
<var>debian_revision</var> is equivalent to a <var>debian_revision</var> of
<samp>0</samp>.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>

<p>
When comparing two version numbers, first the <var>epoch</var> of each are
compared, then the <var>upstream_version</var> if <var>epoch</var> is equal,
and then <var>debian_revision</var> if <var>upstream_version</var> is also
equal.  <var>epoch</var> is compared numerically.  The
<var>upstream_version</var> and <var>debian_revision</var> parts are compared
by the package management system using the following algorithm:
</p>

<p>
The strings are compared from left to right.
</p>

<p>
First the initial part of each string consisting entirely of non-digit
characters is determined.  These two parts (one of which may be empty) are
compared lexically.  If a difference is found it is returned.  The lexical
comparison is a comparison of ASCII values modified so that all the letters
sort earlier than all the non-letters and so that a tilde sorts before
anything, even the end of a part.  For example, the following parts are in
sorted order from earliest to latest: <samp>~~</samp>, <samp>~~a</samp>,
<samp>~</samp>, the empty part, <samp>a</samp>.[<a href="footnotes.html#f37"
name="fr37">37</a>]
</p>

<p>
Then the initial part of the remainder of each string which consists entirely
of digit characters is determined.  The numerical values of these two parts are
compared, and any difference found is returned as the result of the comparison.
For these purposes an empty string (which can only occur at the end of one or
both version strings being compared) counts as zero.
</p>

<p>
These two steps (comparing and removing initial non-digit strings and initial
digit strings) are repeated until a difference is found or both strings are
exhausted.
</p>

<p>
Note that the purpose of epochs is to allow us to leave behind mistakes in
version numbering, and to cope with situations where the version numbering
scheme changes.  It is <em>not</em> intended to cope with version numbers
containing strings of letters which the package management system cannot
interpret (such as <samp>ALPHA</samp> or <samp>pre-</samp>), or with silly
orderings.[<a href="footnotes.html#f38" name="fr38">38</a>]
</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="s-f-Description"></a>5.6.13 <samp>Description</samp></h3>

<p>
In a source or binary control file, the <samp>Description</samp> field contains
a description of the binary package, consisting of two parts, the synopsis or
the short description, and the long description.  It is a multiline field with
the following format:
</p>

<pre>
     	Description: &lt;single line synopsis&gt;
     	 &lt;extended description over several lines&gt;
</pre>

<p>
The lines in the extended description can have these formats:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
Those starting with a single space are part of a paragraph.  Successive lines
of this form will be word-wrapped when displayed.  The leading space will
usually be stripped off.  The line must contain at least one non-whitespace
character.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
Those starting with two or more spaces.  These will be displayed verbatim.  If
the display cannot be panned horizontally, the displaying program will line
wrap them &quot;hard&quot; (i.e., without taking account of word breaks).  If
it can they will be allowed to trail off to the right.  None, one or two
initial spaces may be deleted, but the number of spaces deleted from each line
will be the same (so that you can have indenting work correctly, for example).
The line must contain at least one non-whitespace character.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
Those containing a single space followed by a single full stop character.
These are rendered as blank lines.  This is the <em>only</em> way to get a
blank line[<a href="footnotes.html#f39" name="fr39">39</a>].
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
Those containing a space, a full stop and some more characters.  These are for
future expansion.  Do not use them.
</p>
</li>
</ul>

<p>
Do not use tab characters.  Their effect is not predictable.
</p>

<p>
See <a href="ch-binary.html#s-descriptions">The description of a package,
Section 3.4</a> for further information on this.
</p>

<p>
In a <code>.changes</code> file, the <samp>Description</samp> field contains a
summary of the descriptions for the packages being uploaded.  For this case,
the first line of the field value (the part on the same line as
<samp>Description:</samp>) is always empty.  It is a multiline field, with one
line per package.  Each line is indented by one space and contains the name of
a binary package, a space, a hyphen (<samp>-</samp>), a space, and the short
description line from that package.
</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="s-f-Distribution"></a>5.6.14 <samp>Distribution</samp></h3>

<p>
In a <code>.changes</code> file or parsed changelog output this contains the
(space-separated) name(s) of the distribution(s) where this version of the
package should be installed.  Valid distributions are determined by the archive
maintainers.[<a href="footnotes.html#f40" name="fr40">40</a>] The Debian
archive software only supports listing a single distribution.  Migration of
packages to other distributions is handled outside of the upload process.
</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="s-f-Date"></a>5.6.15 <samp>Date</samp></h3>

<p>
This field includes the date the package was built or last edited.  It must be
in the same format as the <var>date</var> in a <code>debian/changelog</code>
entry.
</p>

<p>
The value of this field is usually extracted from the
<code>debian/changelog</code> file - see <a
href="ch-source.html#s-dpkgchangelog">Debian changelog:
<code>debian/changelog</code>, Section 4.4</a>).
</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="s-f-Format"></a>5.6.16 <samp>Format</samp></h3>

<p>
In <a href="#s-debianchangesfiles"><code>.changes</code></a> files, this field
declares the format version of that file.  The syntax of the field value is the
same as that of a <a href="#s-f-Version">package version number</a> except that
no epoch or Debian revision is allowed.  The format described in this document
is <samp>1.8</samp>.
</p>

<p>
In <a href="#s-debiansourcecontrolfiles"><code>.dsc</code> Debian source
control</a> files, this field declares the format of the source package.  The
field value is used by programs acting on a source package to interpret the
list of files in the source package and determine how to unpack it.  The syntax
of the field value is a numeric major revision, a period, a numeric minor
revision, and then an optional subtype after whitespace, which if specified is
an alphanumeric word in parentheses.  The subtype is optional in the syntax but
may be mandatory for particular source format revisions.  [<a
href="footnotes.html#f41" name="fr41">41</a>]
</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="s-f-Urgency"></a>5.6.17 <samp>Urgency</samp></h3>

<p>
This is a description of how important it is to upgrade to this version from
previous ones.  It consists of a single keyword taking one of the values
<samp>low</samp>, <samp>medium</samp>, <samp>high</samp>,
<samp>emergency</samp>, or <samp>critical</samp>[<a href="footnotes.html#f42"
name="fr42">42</a>] (not case-sensitive) followed by an optional commentary
(separated by a space) which is usually in parentheses.  For example:
</p>

<pre>
       Urgency: low (HIGH for users of diversions)
</pre>

<p>
The value of this field is usually extracted from the
<code>debian/changelog</code> file - see <a
href="ch-source.html#s-dpkgchangelog">Debian changelog:
<code>debian/changelog</code>, Section 4.4</a>.
</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="s-f-Changes"></a>5.6.18 <samp>Changes</samp></h3>

<p>
This multiline field contains the human-readable changes data, describing the
differences between the last version and the current one.
</p>

<p>
The first line of the field value (the part on the same line as
<samp>Changes:</samp>) is always empty.  The content of the field is expressed
as continuation lines, with each line indented by at least one space.  Blank
lines must be represented by a line consisting only of a space and a full stop
(<samp>.</samp>).
</p>

<p>
The value of this field is usually extracted from the
<code>debian/changelog</code> file - see <a
href="ch-source.html#s-dpkgchangelog">Debian changelog:
<code>debian/changelog</code>, Section 4.4</a>).
</p>

<p>
Each version's change information should be preceded by a &quot;title&quot;
line giving at least the version, distribution(s) and urgency, in a
human-readable way.
</p>

<p>
If data from several versions is being returned the entry for the most recent
version should be returned first, and entries should be separated by the
representation of a blank line (the &quot;title&quot; line may also be followed
by the representation of a blank line).
</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="s-f-Binary"></a>5.6.19 <samp>Binary</samp></h3>

<p>
This folded field is a list of binary packages.  Its syntax and meaning varies
depending on the control file in which it appears.
</p>

<p>
When it appears in the <code>.dsc</code> file, it lists binary packages which a
source package can produce, separated by commas[<a href="footnotes.html#f43"
name="fr43">43</a>].  The source package does not necessarily produce all of
these binary packages for every architecture.  The source control file doesn't
contain details of which architectures are appropriate for which of the binary
packages.
</p>

<p>
When it appears in a <code>.changes</code> file, it lists the names of the
binary packages being uploaded, separated by whitespace (not commas).
</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="s-f-Installed-Size"></a>5.6.20 <samp>Installed-Size</samp></h3>

<p>
This field appears in the control files of binary packages, and in the
<code>Packages</code> files.  It gives an estimate of the total amount of disk
space required to install the named package.  Actual installed size may vary
based on block size, file system properties, or actions taken by package
maintainer scripts.
</p>

<p>
The disk space is given as the integer value of the estimated installed size in
bytes, divided by 1024 and rounded up.
</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="s-f-Files"></a>5.6.21 <samp>Files</samp></h3>

<p>
This field contains a list of files with information about each one.  The exact
information and syntax varies with the context.
</p>

<p>
In all cases, Files is a multiline field.  The first line of the field value
(the part on the same line as <samp>Files:</samp>) is always empty.  The
content of the field is expressed as continuation lines, one line per file.
Each line must be indented by one space and contain a number of sub-fields,
separated by spaces, as described below.
</p>

<p>
In the <code>.dsc</code> file, each line contains the MD5 checksum, size and
filename of the tar file and (if applicable) diff file which make up the
remainder of the source package[<a href="footnotes.html#f44"
name="fr44">44</a>].  For example:
</p>

<pre>
     Files:
      c6f698f19f2a2aa07dbb9bbda90a2754 571925 example_1.2.orig.tar.gz
      938512f08422f3509ff36f125f5873ba 6220 example_1.2-1.diff.gz
</pre>

<p>
The exact forms of the filenames are described in <a
href="ap-pkg-sourcepkg.html#s-pkg-sourcearchives">Source packages as archives,
Section C.3</a>.
</p>

<p>
In the <code>.changes</code> file this contains one line per file being
uploaded.  Each line contains the MD5 checksum, size, section and priority and
the filename.  For example:
</p>

<pre>
     Files:
      4c31ab7bfc40d3cf49d7811987390357 1428 text extra example_1.2-1.dsc
      c6f698f19f2a2aa07dbb9bbda90a2754 571925 text extra example_1.2.orig.tar.gz
      938512f08422f3509ff36f125f5873ba 6220 text extra example_1.2-1.diff.gz
      7c98fe853b3bbb47a00e5cd129b6cb56 703542 text extra example_1.2-1_i386.deb
</pre>

<p>
The <a href="#s-f-Section">section</a> and <a href="#s-f-Priority">priority</a>
are the values of the corresponding fields in the main source control file.  If
no section or priority is specified then <samp>-</samp> should be used, though
section and priority values must be specified for new packages to be installed
properly.
</p>

<p>
The special value <samp>byhand</samp> for the section in a
<samp>.changes</samp> file indicates that the file in question is not an
ordinary package file and must by installed by hand by the distribution
maintainers.  If the section is <samp>byhand</samp> the priority should be
<samp>-</samp>.
</p>

<p>
If a new Debian revision of a package is being shipped and no new original
source archive is being distributed the <samp>.dsc</samp> must still contain
the <samp>Files</samp> field entry for the original source archive
<code><var>package</var>_<var>upstream-version</var>.orig.tar.gz</code>, but
the <code>.changes</code> file should leave it out.  In this case the original
source archive on the distribution site must match exactly, byte-for-byte, the
original source archive which was used to generate the <code>.dsc</code> file
and diff which are being uploaded.
</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="s-f-Closes"></a>5.6.22 <samp>Closes</samp></h3>

<p>
A space-separated list of bug report numbers that the upload governed by the
.changes file closes.
</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="s-f-Homepage"></a>5.6.23 <samp>Homepage</samp></h3>

<p>
The URL of the web site for this package, preferably (when applicable) the site
from which the original source can be obtained and any additional upstream
documentation or information may be found.  The content of this field is a
simple URL without any surrounding characters such as <samp>&lt;&gt;</samp>.
</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="s-f-Checksums"></a>5.6.24 <samp>Checksums-Sha1</samp> and <samp>Checksums-Sha256</samp></h3>

<p>
These multiline fields contain a list of files with a checksum and size for
each one.  Both <samp>Checksums-Sha1</samp> and <samp>Checksums-Sha256</samp>
have the same syntax and differ only in the checksum algorithm used: SHA-1 for
<samp>Checksums-Sha1</samp> and SHA-256 for <samp>Checksums-Sha256</samp>.
</p>

<p>
<samp>Checksums-Sha1</samp> and <samp>Checksums-Sha256</samp> are multiline
fields.  The first line of the field value (the part on the same line as
<samp>Checksums-Sha1:</samp> or <samp>Checksums-Sha256:</samp>) is always
empty.  The content of the field is expressed as continuation lines, one line
per file.  Each line consists of the checksum, a space, the file size, a space,
and the file name.  For example (from a <code>.changes</code> file):
</p>

<pre>
     Checksums-Sha1:
      1f418afaa01464e63cc1ee8a66a05f0848bd155c 1276 example_1.0-1.dsc
      a0ed1456fad61116f868b1855530dbe948e20f06 171602 example_1.0.orig.tar.gz
      5e86ecf0671e113b63388dac81dd8d00e00ef298 6137 example_1.0-1.debian.tar.gz
      71a0ff7da0faaf608481195f9cf30974b142c183 548402 example_1.0-1_i386.deb
     Checksums-Sha256:
      ac9d57254f7e835bed299926fd51bf6f534597cc3fcc52db01c4bffedae81272 1276 example_1.0-1.dsc
      0d123be7f51e61c4bf15e5c492b484054be7e90f3081608a5517007bfb1fd128 171602 example_1.0.orig.tar.gz
      f54ae966a5f580571ae7d9ef5e1df0bd42d63e27cb505b27957351a495bc6288 6137 example_1.0-1.debian.tar.gz
      3bec05c03974fdecd11d020fc2e8250de8404867a8a2ce865160c250eb723664 548402 example_1.0-1_i386.deb
</pre>

<p>
In the <code>.dsc</code> file, these fields should list all files that make up
the source package.  In the <code>.changes</code> file, these fields should
list all files being uploaded.  The list of files in these fields must match
the list of files in the <samp>Files</samp> field.
</p>

<hr>

<h3><a name="s-f-DM-Upload-Allowed"></a>5.6.25 <samp>DM-Upload-Allowed</samp></h3>

<p>
Indicates that Debian Maintainers may upload this package to the Debian
archive.  The only valid value is <samp>yes</samp>.  If the field
<samp>DM-Upload-Allowed: yes</samp> is present in the source section of the
source control file of the most recent version of a package in unstable or
experimental, the Debian archive will accept uploads of this package signed
with a key in the Debian Maintainer keyring.  See the General Resolution
<code><a href="http://www.debian.org/vote/2007/vote_003">Endorse the concept of
Debian Maintainers</a></code> for more details.
</p>

<hr>

<h2><a name="s5.7"></a>5.7 User-defined fields</h2>

<p>
Additional user-defined fields may be added to the source package control file.
Such fields will be ignored, and not copied to (for example) binary or Debian
source control files or upload control files.
</p>

<p>
If you wish to add additional unsupported fields to these output files you
should use the mechanism described here.
</p>

<p>
Fields in the main source control information file with names starting
<samp>X</samp>, followed by one or more of the letters <samp>BCS</samp> and a
hyphen <samp>-</samp>, will be copied to the output files.  Only the part of
the field name after the hyphen will be used in the output file.  Where the
letter <samp>B</samp> is used the field will appear in binary package control
files, where the letter <samp>S</samp> is used in Debian source control files
and where <samp>C</samp> is used in upload control (<samp>.changes</samp>)
files.
</p>

<p>
For example, if the main source information control file contains the field
</p>

<pre>
       XBS-Comment: I stand between the candle and the star.
</pre>

<p>
then the binary and Debian source control files will contain the field
</p>

<pre>
       Comment: I stand between the candle and the star.
</pre>

<hr>

<p>
[ <a href="ch-source.html">previous</a> ]
[ <a href="index.html#contents">Contents</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-scope.html">1</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-archive.html">2</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-binary.html">3</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-source.html">4</a> ]
[ 5 ]
[ <a href="ch-maintainerscripts.html">6</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-relationships.html">7</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-sharedlibs.html">8</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-opersys.html">9</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-files.html">10</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-customized-programs.html">11</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-docs.html">12</a> ]
[ <a href="ap-pkg-scope.html">A</a> ]
[ <a href="ap-pkg-binarypkg.html">B</a> ]
[ <a href="ap-pkg-sourcepkg.html">C</a> ]
[ <a href="ap-pkg-controlfields.html">D</a> ]
[ <a href="ap-pkg-conffiles.html">E</a> ]
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Debian Policy Manual
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version 3.9.3.1, 2012-03-13<br>
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<a href="ch-scope.html#s-authors">The Debian Policy Mailing List</a><br>
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