APT-FTPARCHIVE(1)					     APT-FTPARCHIVE(1)



NAME
       apt-ftparchive - Utility to generate index files

SYNOPSIS
       apt-ftparchive [-hvdsq] [--md5] [--delink] [--readonly] [--contents]
		      [-o=config string] [-c=file]
		      {[packages path... [override [pathprefix]]] |
		      [sources path... [override [pathprefix]]] |
		      [contents path] | [release path] |
		      [generate config-file section...] | [clean config-file]}

DESCRIPTION
       apt-ftparchive is the command line tool that generates the index files
       that APT uses to access a distribution source. The index files should
       be generated on the origin site based on the content of that site.

       apt-ftparchive is a superset of the dpkg-scanpackages(8) program,
       incorporating its entire functionality via the packages command. It
       also contains a contents file generator, contents, and an elaborate
       means to script the generation process for a complete archive.

       Internally apt-ftparchive can make use of binary databases to cache the
       contents of a .deb file and it does not rely on any external programs
       aside from gzip(1). When doing a full generate it automatically
       performs file-change checks and builds the desired compressed output
       files.

       Unless the -h, or --help option is given one of the commands below must
       be present.

       packages
	  The packages command generates a package file from a directory tree.
	  It takes the given directory and recursively searches it for .deb
	  files, emitting a package record to stdout for each. This command is
	  approximately equivalent to dpkg-scanpackages(8).

	  The option --db can be used to specify a binary caching DB.

       sources
	  The sources command generates a source index file from a directory
	  tree. It takes the given directory and recursively searches it for
	  .dsc files, emitting a source record to stdout for each. This
	  command is approximately equivalent to dpkg-scansources(8).

	  If an override file is specified then a source override file will be
	  looked for with an extension of .src. The --source-override option
	  can be used to change the source override file that will be used.

       contents
	  The contents command generates a contents file from a directory
	  tree. It takes the given directory and recursively searches it for
	  .deb files, and reads the file list from each file. It then sorts
	  and writes to stdout the list of files matched to packages.
	  Directories are not written to the output. If multiple packages own
	  the same file then each package is separated by a comma in the
	  output.

	  The option --db can be used to specify a binary caching DB.

       release
	  The release command generates a Release file from a directory tree.
	  It recursively searches the given directory for Packages,
	  Packages.gz, Packages.bz2, Sources, Sources.gz, Sources.bz2, Release
	  and md5sum.txt files. It then writes to stdout a Release file
	  containing an MD5 digest and SHA1 digest for each file.

	  Values for the additional metadata fields in the Release file are
	  taken from the corresponding variables under
	  APT::FTPArchive::Release, e.g.  APT::FTPArchive::Release::Origin.
	  The supported fields are: Origin, Label, Suite, Version, Codename,
	  Date, Architectures, Components, Description.

       generate
	  The generate command is designed to be runnable from a cron script
	  and builds indexes according to the given config file. The config
	  language provides a flexible means of specifying which index files
	  are built from which directories, as well as providing a simple
	  means of maintaining the required settings.

       clean
	  The clean command tidies the databases used by the given
	  configuration file by removing any records that are no longer
	  necessary.

THE GENERATE CONFIGURATION
       The generate command uses a configuration file to describe the archives
       that are going to be generated. It follows the typical ISC
       configuration format as seen in ISC tools like bind 8 and dhcpd.
       apt.conf(5) contains a description of the syntax. Note that the
       generate configuration is parsed in sectional manner, but apt.conf(5)
       is parsed in a tree manner. This only effects how the scope tag is
       handled.

       The generate configuration has 4 separate sections, each described
       below.

   Dir Section
       The Dir section defines the standard directories needed to locate the
       files required during the generation process. These directories are
       prepended to certain relative paths defined in later sections to
       produce a complete an absolute path.

       ArchiveDir
	  Specifies the root of the FTP archive, in a standard Debian
	  configuration this is the directory that contains the ls-LR and dist
	  nodes.

       OverrideDir
	  Specifies the location of the override files.

       CacheDir
	  Specifies the location of the cache files

       FileListDir
	  Specifies the location of the file list files, if the FileList
	  setting is used below.

   Default Section
       The Default section specifies default values, and settings that control
       the operation of the generator. Other sections may override these
       defaults with a per-section setting.

       Packages::Compress
	  Sets the default compression schemes to use for the Package index
	  files. It is a string that contains a space separated list of at
	  least one of: . (no compression), gzip and bzip2. The default
	  for all compression schemes is . gzip.

       Packages::Extensions
	  Sets the default list of file extensions that are package files.
	  This defaults to .deb.

       Sources::Compress
	  This is similar to Packages::Compress except that it controls the
	  compression for the Sources files.

       Sources::Extensions
	  Sets the default list of file extensions that are source files. This
	  defaults to .dsc.

       Contents::Compress
	  This is similar to Packages::Compress except that it controls the
	  compression for the Contents files.

       DeLinkLimit
	  Specifies the number of kilobytes to delink (and replace with hard
	  links) per run. This is used in conjunction with the per-section
	  External-Links setting.

       FileMode
	  Specifies the mode of all created index files. It defaults to 0644.
	  All index files are set to this mode with no regard to the umask.

   TreeDefault Section
       Sets defaults specific to Tree sections. All of these variables are
       substitution variables and have the strings $(DIST), $(SECTION) and
       $(ARCH) replaced with their respective values.

       MaxContentsChange
	  Sets the number of kilobytes of contents files that are generated
	  each day. The contents files are round-robined so that over several
	  days they will all be rebuilt.

       ContentsAge
	  Controls the number of days a contents file is allowed to be checked
	  without changing. If this limit is passed the mtime of the contents
	  file is updated. This case can occur if the package file is changed
	  in such a way that does not result in a new contents file [override
	  edit for instance]. A hold off is allowed in hopes that new .debs
	  will be installed, requiring a new file anyhow. The default is 10,
	  the units are in days.

       Directory
	  Sets the top of the .deb directory tree. Defaults to
	  $(DIST)/$(SECTION)/binary-$(ARCH)/

       SrcDirectory
	  Sets the top of the source package directory tree. Defaults to
	  $(DIST)/$(SECTION)/source/

       Packages
	  Sets the output Packages file. Defaults to
	  $(DIST)/$(SECTION)/binary-$(ARCH)/Packages

       Sources
	  Sets the output Packages file. Defaults to
	  $(DIST)/$(SECTION)/source/Sources

       InternalPrefix
	  Sets the path prefix that causes a symlink to be considered an
	  internal link instead of an external link. Defaults to
	  $(DIST)/$(SECTION)/

       Contents
	  Sets the output Contents file. Defaults to $(DIST)/Contents-$(ARCH).
	  If this setting causes multiple Packages files to map onto a single
	  Contents file (such as the default) then apt-ftparchive will
	  integrate those package files together automatically.

       Contents::Header
	  Sets header file to prepend to the contents output.

       BinCacheDB
	  Sets the binary cache database to use for this section. Multiple
	  sections can share the same database.

       FileList
	  Specifies that instead of walking the directory tree, apt-ftparchive
	  should read the list of files from the given file. Relative files
	  names are prefixed with the archive directory.

       SourceFileList
	  Specifies that instead of walking the directory tree, apt-ftparchive
	  should read the list of files from the given file. Relative files
	  names are prefixed with the archive directory. This is used when
	  processing source indexs.

   Tree Section
       The Tree section defines a standard Debian file tree which consists of
       a base directory, then multiple sections in that base directory and
       finally multiple Architectures in each section. The exact pathing used
       is defined by the Directory substitution variable.

       The Tree section takes a scope tag which sets the $(DIST) variable and
       defines the root of the tree (the path is prefixed by ArchiveDir).
       Typically this is a setting such as dists/woody.

       All of the settings defined in the TreeDefault section can be use in a
       Tree section as well as three new variables.

       When processing a Tree section apt-ftparchive performs an operation
       similar to:

       Sections
	  This is a space separated list of sections which appear under the
	  distribution, typically this is something like main contrib non-free

       Architectures
	  This is a space separated list of all the architectures that appear
	  under search section. The special architecture source is used to
	  indicate that this tree has a source archive.

       BinOverride
	  Sets the binary override file. The override file contains section,
	  priority and maintainer address information.

       SrcOverride
	  Sets the source override file. The override file contains section
	  information.

       ExtraOverride
	  Sets the binary extra override file.

       SrcExtraOverride
	  Sets the source extra override file.

   BinDirectory Section
       The bindirectory section defines a binary directory tree with no
       special structure. The scope tag specifies the location of the binary
       directory and the settings are similar to the Tree section with no
       substitution variables or SectionArchitecture settings.

       Packages
	  Sets the Packages file output.

       Sources
	  Sets the Sources file output. At least one of Packages or Sources is
	  required.

       Contents
	  Sets the Contents file output. (optional)

       BinOverride
	  Sets the binary override file.

       SrcOverride
	  Sets the source override file.

       ExtraOverride
	  Sets the binary extra override file.

       SrcExtraOverride
	  Sets the source extra override file.

       BinCacheDB
	  Sets the cache DB.

       PathPrefix
	  Appends a path to all the output paths.

       FileList, SourceFileList
	  Specifies the file list file.

THE BINARY OVERRIDE FILE
       The binary override file is fully compatible with dpkg-scanpackages(8).
       It contains 4 fields separated by spaces. The first field is the
       package name, the second is the priority to force that package to, the
       third is the the section to force that package to and the final field
       is the maintainer permutation field.

       The general form of the maintainer field is:

	  old [// oldn]* => new

       or simply,

	  new

       The first form allows a double-slash separated list of old email
       addresses to be specified. If any of those are found then new is
       substituted for the maintainer field. The second form unconditionally
       substitutes the maintainer field.

THE SOURCE OVERRIDE FILE
       The source override file is fully compatible with dpkg-scansources(8).
       It contains 2 fields separated by spaces. The first fields is the
       source package name, the second is the section to assign it.

THE EXTRA OVERRIDE FILE
       The extra override file allows any arbitrary tag to be added or
       replaced in the output. It has 3 columns, the first is the package, the
       second is the tag and the remainder of the line is the new value.

OPTIONS
       All command line options may be set using the configuration file, the
       descriptions indicate the configuration option to set. For boolean
       options you can override the config file by using something like
       -f-,--no-f, -f=no or several other variations.

       --md5
	  Generate MD5 sums. This defaults to on, when turned off the
	  generated index files will not have MD5Sum fields where possible.
	  Configuration Item: APT::FTPArchive::MD5

       -d, --db
	  Use a binary caching DB. This has no effect on the generate command.
	  Configuration Item: APT::FTPArchive::DB.

       -q, --quiet
	  Quiet; produces output suitable for logging, omitting progress
	  indicators. More qs will produce more quiet up to a maximum of 2.
	  You can also use -q=# to set the quiet level, overriding the
	  configuration file. Configuration Item: quiet.

       --delink
	  Perform Delinking. If the External-Links setting is used then this
	  option actually enables delinking of the files. It defaults to on
	  and can be turned off with --no-delink. Configuration Item:
	  APT::FTPArchive::DeLinkAct.

       --contents
	  Perform contents generation. When this option is set and package
	  indexes are being generated with a cache DB then the file listing
	  will also be extracted and stored in the DB for later use. When
	  using the generate command this option also allows the creation of
	  any Contents files. The default is on. Configuration Item:
	  APT::FTPArchive::Contents.

       -s, --source-override
	  Select the source override file to use with the sources command.
	  Configuration Item: APT::FTPArchive::SourceOverride.

       --readonly
	  Make the caching databases read only. Configuration Item:
	  APT::FTPArchive::ReadOnlyDB.

       -h, --help
	  Show a short usage summary.

       -v, --version
	  Show the program version.

       -c, --config-file
	  Configuration File; Specify a configuration file to use. The program
	  will read the default configuration file and then this configuration
	  file. See apt.conf(5) for syntax information.

       -o, --option
	  Set a Configuration Option; This will set an arbitary configuration
	  option. The syntax is -o Foo::Bar=bar.

EXAMPLES
       To create a compressed Packages file for a directory containing binary
       packages (.deb):

	  apt-ftparchive packages directory | gzip > Packages.gz

SEE ALSO
       apt.conf(5)

DIAGNOSTICS
       apt-ftparchive returns zero on normal operation, decimal 100 on error.

BUGS
       [1]APT bug page. If you wish to report a bug in APT, please see
       /usr/share/doc/debian/bug-reporting.txt or the reportbug(1) command.

AUTHORS
       Jason Gunthorpe
	  Author.

       APT team
	  Author.

REFERENCES
       1. APT bug page
	  http://bugs.debian.org/src:apt



Linux			       29 February 2004 	     APT-FTPARCHIVE(1)