doc/apt-ftparchive.1.xml

   1 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="no"?>
   2 <!DOCTYPE refentry PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.5//EN"
   3   "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.5/docbookx.dtd" [
   4 <!ENTITY % aptent SYSTEM "apt.ent"> %aptent;
   5 <!ENTITY % aptverbatiment SYSTEM "apt-verbatim.ent"> %aptverbatiment;
   6 <!ENTITY % aptvendor SYSTEM "apt-vendor.ent"> %aptvendor;
   7 ]>
   8
   9 <refentry>
  10
  11  <refentryinfo>
  12    &apt-author.jgunthorpe;
  13    &apt-author.team;
  14    &apt-email;
  15    &apt-product;
  16    <!-- The last update date -->
  17    <date>2016-11-25T00:00:00Z</date>
  18  </refentryinfo>
  19
  20  <refmeta>
  21    <refentrytitle>apt-ftparchive</refentrytitle>
  22    <manvolnum>1</manvolnum>
  23    <refmiscinfo class="manual">APT</refmiscinfo>
  24  </refmeta>
  25
  26  <!-- Man page title -->
  27  <refnamediv>
  28     <refname>apt-ftparchive</refname>
  29     <refpurpose>Utility to generate index files</refpurpose>
  30  </refnamediv>
  31
  32  &synopsis-command-apt-ftparchive;
  33
  34  <refsect1><title>Description</title>
  35    <para><command>apt-ftparchive</command> is the command line tool that generates the index
  36    files that APT uses to access a distribution source. The index files should
  37    be generated on the origin site based on the content of that site.</para>
  38
  39    <para><command>apt-ftparchive</command> is a superset of the &dpkg-scanpackages; program,
  40    incorporating its entire functionality via the <literal>packages</literal> command.
  41    It also contains a contents file generator, <literal>contents</literal>, and an
  42    elaborate means to 'script' the generation process for a complete
  43    archive.</para>
  44
  45    <para>Internally <command>apt-ftparchive</command> can make use of binary databases to
  46    cache the contents of a .deb file and it does not rely on any external
  47    programs aside from &gzip;. When doing a full generate it automatically
  48    performs file-change checks and builds the desired compressed output files.</para>
  49
  50    <para>Unless the <option>-h</option>, or <option>--help</option> option is given,
  51    one of the commands below must be present.</para>
  52
  53    <variablelist>
  54      <varlistentry><term><option>packages</option></term>
  55      <listitem><para>
  56      The packages command generates a package file from a directory tree. It
  57      takes the given directory and recursively searches it for .deb files,
  58      emitting a package record to stdout for each. This command is
  59      approximately equivalent to &dpkg-scanpackages;.</para>
  60
  61      <para>The option <option>--db</option> can be used to specify a binary caching DB.</para></listitem>
  62      </varlistentry>
  63
  64      <varlistentry><term><option>sources</option></term>
  65      <listitem><para>
  66      The <literal>sources</literal> command generates a source index file from a directory tree.
  67      It takes the given directory and recursively searches it for .dsc files,
  68      emitting a source record to stdout for each. This command is approximately
  69      equivalent to &dpkg-scansources;.</para>
  70      <para>
  71      If an override file is specified then a source override file will be
  72      looked for with an extension of .src. The --source-override option can be
  73      used to change the source override file that will be used.</para></listitem>
  74      </varlistentry>
  75
  76      <varlistentry><term><option>contents</option></term>
  77      <listitem><para>
  78      The <literal>contents</literal> command generates a contents file from a directory tree. It
  79      takes the given directory and recursively searches it for .deb files,
  80      and reads the file list from each file. It then sorts and writes to stdout
  81      the list of files matched to packages. Directories are not written to
  82      the output. If multiple packages own the same file then each package is
  83      separated by a comma in the output.</para>
  84      <para>
  85      The option <option>--db</option> can be used to specify a binary caching DB.</para></listitem>
  86      </varlistentry>
  87
  88      <varlistentry><term><option>release</option></term>
  89      <listitem><para>
  90      The <literal>release</literal> command generates a Release file from a
  91      directory tree. It recursively searches the given directory for
  92      uncompressed and compressed <filename>Packages</filename>,
  93      <filename>Sources</filename>, <filename>Contents</filename>,
  94      <filename>Components</filename> and <filename>icons</filename> files as
  95      well as <filename>Release</filename>, <filename>Index</filename> and
  96      <filename>md5sum.txt</filename> files by default
  97      (<literal>APT::FTPArchive::Release::Default-Patterns</literal>).
  98      Additional filename patterns can be added by listing them in
  99      <literal>APT::FTPArchive::Release::Patterns</literal>.  It then writes to
 100      stdout a <filename>Release</filename> file containing (by default) an MD5,
 101      SHA1, SHA256 and SHA512 digest for each file.</para>
 102      <para>
 103      Values for the additional metadata fields in the Release file are
 104      taken from the corresponding variables under
 105      <literal>APT::FTPArchive::Release</literal>,
 106      e.g. <literal>APT::FTPArchive::Release::Origin</literal>. The supported fields
 107      are <literal>Origin</literal>, <literal>Label</literal>, <literal>Suite</literal>,
 108      <literal>Version</literal>, <literal>Codename</literal>, <literal>Date</literal>,
 109      <literal>NotAutomatic</literal>, <literal>ButAutomaticUpgrades</literal>,
 110      <literal>Acquire-By-Hash</literal>, <literal>Valid-Until</literal>,
 111      <literal>Signed-By</literal>, <literal>Architectures</literal>,
 112      <literal>Components</literal> and <literal>Description</literal>.</para></listitem>
 113
 114      </varlistentry>
 115
 116      <varlistentry><term><option>generate</option></term>
 117      <listitem><para>
 118      The <literal>generate</literal> command is designed to be runnable from a cron script and
 119      builds indexes according to the given config file. The config language
 120      provides a flexible means of specifying which index files are built from
 121      which directories, as well as providing a simple means of maintaining the
 122      required settings.</para></listitem>
 123      </varlistentry>
 124
 125      <varlistentry><term><option>clean</option></term>
 126      <listitem><para>
 127      The <literal>clean</literal> command tidies the databases used by the given
 128      configuration file by removing any records that are no longer necessary.</para></listitem>
 129      </varlistentry>
 130    </variablelist>
 131  </refsect1>
 132
 133  <refsect1><title>The Generate Configuration</title>
 134    <para>
 135    The <literal>generate</literal> command uses a configuration file to describe the
 136    archives that are going to be generated. It follows the typical ISC
 137    configuration format as seen in ISC tools like bind 8 and dhcpd.
 138    &apt-conf; contains a description of the syntax. Note that the generate
 139    configuration is parsed in sectional manner, but &apt-conf; is parsed in a
 140    tree manner. This only effects how the scope tag is handled.</para>
 141
 142    <para>
 143    The generate configuration has four separate sections, each described below.</para>
 144
 145      <refsect2><title><literal>Dir</literal> Section</title>
 146      <para>
 147      The <literal>Dir</literal> section defines the standard directories needed to
 148      locate the files required during the generation process. These
 149      directories are prepended certain relative paths defined in later
 150      sections to produce a complete an absolute path.</para>
 151      <variablelist>
 152       <varlistentry><term><option>ArchiveDir</option></term>
 153       <listitem><para>
 154       Specifies the root of the FTP archive, in a standard
 155       Debian configuration this is the directory that contains the
 156       <filename>ls-LR</filename> and dist nodes.</para></listitem>
 157       </varlistentry>
 158
 159       <varlistentry><term><option>OverrideDir</option></term>
 160       <listitem><para>
 161       Specifies the location of the override files.</para></listitem>
 162       </varlistentry>
 163
 164       <varlistentry><term><option>CacheDir</option></term>
 165       <listitem><para>
 166       Specifies the location of the cache files.</para></listitem>
 167       </varlistentry>
 168
 169       <varlistentry><term><option>FileListDir</option></term>
 170       <listitem><para>
 171       Specifies the location of the file list files,
 172       if the <literal>FileList</literal> setting is used below.</para></listitem>
 173       </varlistentry>
 174      </variablelist>
 175    </refsect2>
 176
 177    <refsect2><title><literal>Default</literal> Section</title>
 178      <para>
 179      The <literal>Default</literal> section specifies default values, and settings
 180      that control the operation of the generator. Other sections may override
 181      these defaults with a per-section setting.</para>
 182      <variablelist>
 183       <varlistentry><term><option>Packages::Compress</option></term>
 184       <listitem><para>
 185       Sets the default compression schemes to use
 186       for the package index files. It is a string that contains a space
 187       separated list of at least one of the compressors configured via the
 188       <option>APT::Compressor</option> configuration scope.
 189       The default for all compression schemes is '. gzip'.</para></listitem>
 190       </varlistentry>
 191
 192       <varlistentry><term><option>Packages::Extensions</option></term>
 193       <listitem><para>
 194       Sets the default list of file extensions that are package files.
 195       This defaults to '.deb'.</para></listitem>
 196       </varlistentry>
 197
 198       <varlistentry><term><option>Sources::Compress</option></term>
 199       <listitem><para>
 200       This is similar to <literal>Packages::Compress</literal>
 201       except that it controls the compression for the Sources files.</para></listitem>
 202       </varlistentry>
 203
 204       <varlistentry><term><option>Sources::Extensions</option></term>
 205       <listitem><para>
 206       Sets the default list of file extensions that are source files.
 207       This defaults to '.dsc'.</para></listitem>
 208       </varlistentry>
 209
 210       <varlistentry><term><option>Contents::Compress</option></term>
 211       <listitem><para>
 212       This is similar to <literal>Packages::Compress</literal>
 213       except that it controls the compression for the Contents files.</para></listitem>
 214       </varlistentry>
 215
 216       <varlistentry><term><option>Translation::Compress</option></term>
 217       <listitem><para>
 218       This is similar to <literal>Packages::Compress</literal>
 219       except that it controls the compression for the Translation-en master file.</para></listitem>
 220       </varlistentry>
 221
 222       <varlistentry><term><option>DeLinkLimit</option></term>
 223       <listitem><para>
 224       Specifies the number of kilobytes to delink (and
 225       replace with hard links) per run. This is used in conjunction with the
 226       per-section <literal>External-Links</literal> setting.</para></listitem>
 227       </varlistentry>
 228
 229       <varlistentry><term><option>FileMode</option></term>
 230       <listitem><para>
 231       Specifies the mode of all created index files. It
 232       defaults to 0644. All index files are set to this mode with no regard
 233       to the umask.</para></listitem>
 234       </varlistentry>
 235
 236       <varlistentry><term><option>LongDescription</option></term>
 237       <listitem><para>
 238       Specifies whether long descriptions should be included in the <filename>Packages</filename> file or split
 239       out into a master <filename>Translation-en</filename> file.</para></listitem>
 240       </varlistentry>
 241      </variablelist>
 242    </refsect2>
 243
 244    <refsect2><title><literal>TreeDefault</literal> Section</title>
 245      <para>
 246      Sets defaults specific to <literal>Tree</literal> sections. All of these
 247      variables are substitution variables and have the strings $(DIST),
 248      $(SECTION) and $(ARCH) replaced with their respective values.</para>
 249
 250      <variablelist>
 251       <varlistentry><term><option>MaxContentsChange</option></term>
 252       <listitem><para>
 253       Sets  the number of kilobytes of contents
 254       files that are generated each day. The contents files are round-robined
 255       so that over several days they will all be rebuilt.</para></listitem>
 256       </varlistentry>
 257
 258       <varlistentry><term><option>ContentsAge</option></term>
 259       <listitem><para>
 260       Controls the number of days a contents file is allowed
 261       to be checked without changing. If this limit is passed the mtime of the
 262       contents file is updated. This case can occur if the package file is
 263       changed in such a way that does not result in a new contents file
 264       [override edit for instance]. A hold off is allowed in hopes that new
 265       .debs will be installed, requiring a new file anyhow. The default is 10,
 266       the units are in days.</para></listitem>
 267       </varlistentry>
 268
 269       <varlistentry><term><option>Directory</option></term>
 270       <listitem><para>
 271       Sets the top of the .deb directory tree. Defaults to
 272       <filename>$(DIST)/$(SECTION)/binary-$(ARCH)/</filename></para></listitem>
 273       </varlistentry>
 274
 275       <varlistentry><term><option>SrcDirectory</option></term>
 276       <listitem><para>
 277       Sets the top of the source package directory tree. Defaults to
 278       <filename>$(DIST)/$(SECTION)/source/</filename></para></listitem>
 279       </varlistentry>
 280
 281       <varlistentry><term><option>Packages</option></term>
 282       <listitem><para>
 283       Sets the output Packages file. Defaults to
 284       <filename>$(DIST)/$(SECTION)/binary-$(ARCH)/Packages</filename></para></listitem>
 285       </varlistentry>
 286
 287       <varlistentry><term><option>Sources</option></term>
 288       <listitem><para>
 289       Sets the output Sources file. Defaults to
 290       <filename>$(DIST)/$(SECTION)/source/Sources</filename></para></listitem>
 291       </varlistentry>
 292
 293       <varlistentry><term><option>Translation</option></term>
 294       <listitem><para>
 295       Sets the output Translation-en master file with the long descriptions if they
 296       should be not included in the Packages file. Defaults to
 297       <filename>$(DIST)/$(SECTION)/i18n/Translation-en</filename></para></listitem>
 298       </varlistentry>
 299
 300       <varlistentry><term><option>InternalPrefix</option></term>
 301       <listitem><para>
 302       Sets the path prefix that causes a symlink to be
 303       considered an internal link instead of an external link. Defaults to
 304       <filename>$(DIST)/$(SECTION)/</filename></para></listitem>
 305       </varlistentry>
 306
 307       <varlistentry><term><option>Contents</option></term>
 308       <listitem><para>
 309       Sets the output Contents file. Defaults to
 310       <filename>$(DIST)/$(SECTION)/Contents-$(ARCH)</filename>. If this setting causes multiple
 311       Packages files to map onto a single Contents file (as is the default)
 312       then <command>apt-ftparchive</command> will integrate those package files
 313       together automatically.</para></listitem>
 314       </varlistentry>
 315
 316       <varlistentry><term><option>Contents::Header</option></term>
 317       <listitem><para>
 318       Sets header file to prepend to the contents output.</para></listitem>
 319       </varlistentry>
 320
 321       <varlistentry><term><option>BinCacheDB</option></term>
 322       <listitem><para>
 323       Sets the binary cache database to use for this
 324       section. Multiple sections can share the same database.</para></listitem>
 325       </varlistentry>
 326
 327       <varlistentry><term><option>FileList</option></term>
 328       <listitem><para>
 329       Specifies that instead of walking the directory tree,
 330       <command>apt-ftparchive</command> should read the list of files from the given
 331       file. Relative files names are prefixed with the archive directory.</para></listitem>
 332       </varlistentry>
 333
 334       <varlistentry><term><option>SourceFileList</option></term>
 335       <listitem><para>
 336       Specifies that instead of walking the directory tree,
 337       <command>apt-ftparchive</command> should read the list of files from the given
 338       file. Relative files names are prefixed with the archive directory.
 339       This is used when processing source indexes.</para></listitem>
 340       </varlistentry>
 341      </variablelist>
 342    </refsect2>
 343
 344    <refsect2><title><literal>Tree</literal> Section</title>
 345      <para>
 346      The <literal>Tree</literal> section defines a standard Debian file tree which
 347      consists of a base directory, then multiple sections in that base
 348      directory and finally multiple Architectures in each section. The exact
 349      pathing used is defined by the <literal>Directory</literal> substitution variable.</para>
 350      <para>
 351      The <literal>Tree</literal> section takes a scope tag which sets the
 352      <literal>$(DIST)</literal> variable and defines the root of the tree
 353      (the path is prefixed by <literal>ArchiveDir</literal>).
 354      Typically this is a setting such as <filename>dists/&debian-stable-codename;</filename>.</para>
 355      <para>
 356      All of the settings defined in the <literal>TreeDefault</literal> section can be
 357      used in a <literal>Tree</literal> section as well as three new variables.</para>
 358      <para>
 359      When processing a <literal>Tree</literal> section <command>apt-ftparchive</command>
 360      performs an operation similar to:
 361      <programlisting>
 362 for i in Sections do
 363    for j in Architectures do
 364       Generate for DIST=scope SECTION=i ARCH=j
 365      </programlisting></para>
 366
 367      <variablelist>
 368       <varlistentry><term><option>Sections</option></term>
 369       <listitem><para>
 370       This is a space separated list of sections which appear
 371       under the distribution; typically this is something like
 372       <literal>main contrib non-free</literal></para></listitem>
 373       </varlistentry>
 374
 375       <varlistentry><term><option>Architectures</option></term>
 376       <listitem><para>
 377       This is a space separated list of all the architectures that appear under
 378       search section. The special architecture 'source' is used to indicate
 379       that this tree has a source archive.  The architecture 'all' signals that
 380       architecture specific files like <filename>Packages</filename> should not
 381       include information about architecture <literal>all</literal> packages in
 382       all files as they will be available in a dedicated file.
 383       </para></listitem>
 384       </varlistentry>
 385
 386       <varlistentry><term><option>LongDescription</option></term>
 387       <listitem><para>
 388       Specifies whether long descriptions should be included in the <filename>Packages</filename> file or split
 389       out into a master <filename>Translation-en</filename> file.</para></listitem>
 390       </varlistentry>
 391
 392       <varlistentry><term><option>BinOverride</option></term>
 393       <listitem><para>
 394       Sets the binary override file. The override file
 395       contains section, priority and maintainer address information.</para></listitem>
 396       </varlistentry>
 397
 398       <varlistentry><term><option>SrcOverride</option></term>
 399       <listitem><para>
 400       Sets the source override file. The override file
 401       contains section information.</para></listitem>
 402       </varlistentry>
 403
 404       <varlistentry><term><option>ExtraOverride</option></term>
 405       <listitem><para>
 406       Sets the binary extra override file.</para></listitem>
 407       </varlistentry>
 408
 409       <varlistentry><term><option>SrcExtraOverride</option></term>
 410       <listitem><para>
 411       Sets the source extra override file.</para></listitem>
 412       </varlistentry>
 413      </variablelist>
 414    </refsect2>
 415
 416    <refsect2><title><literal>BinDirectory</literal> Section</title>
 417      <para>
 418      The <literal>bindirectory</literal> section defines a binary directory tree
 419      with no special structure. The scope tag specifies the location of
 420      the binary directory and the settings are similar to the <literal>Tree</literal>
 421      section with no substitution variables or
 422      <literal>Section</literal><literal>Architecture</literal> settings.</para>
 423      <variablelist>
 424       <varlistentry><term><option>Packages</option></term>
 425       <listitem><para>
 426       Sets the Packages file output.</para></listitem>
 427       </varlistentry>
 428
 429       <varlistentry><term><option>Sources</option></term>
 430       <listitem><para>
 431       Sets the Sources file output. At least one of
 432       <literal>Packages</literal> or <literal>Sources</literal> is required.</para></listitem>
 433       </varlistentry>
 434
 435       <varlistentry><term><option>Contents</option></term>
 436       <listitem><para>
 437       Sets the Contents file output (optional).</para></listitem>
 438       </varlistentry>
 439
 440       <varlistentry><term><option>BinOverride</option></term>
 441       <listitem><para>
 442       Sets the binary override file.</para></listitem>
 443       </varlistentry>
 444
 445       <varlistentry><term><option>SrcOverride</option></term>
 446       <listitem><para>
 447       Sets the source override file.</para></listitem>
 448       </varlistentry>
 449
 450       <varlistentry><term><option>ExtraOverride</option></term>
 451       <listitem><para>
 452       Sets the binary extra override file.</para></listitem>
 453       </varlistentry>
 454
 455       <varlistentry><term><option>SrcExtraOverride</option></term>
 456       <listitem><para>
 457       Sets the source extra override file.</para></listitem>
 458       </varlistentry>
 459
 460       <varlistentry><term><option>BinCacheDB</option></term>
 461       <listitem><para>
 462       Sets the cache DB.</para></listitem>
 463       </varlistentry>
 464
 465       <varlistentry><term><option>PathPrefix</option></term>
 466       <listitem><para>
 467       Appends a path to all the output paths.</para></listitem>
 468       </varlistentry>
 469
 470       <varlistentry><term><option>FileList</option></term><term><option>SourceFileList</option></term>
 471       <listitem><para>
 472       Specifies the file list file.</para></listitem>
 473       </varlistentry>
 474      </variablelist>
 475    </refsect2>
 476  </refsect1>
 477
 478
 479  <refsect1><title>The Binary Override File</title>
 480    <para>The binary override file is fully compatible with &dpkg-scanpackages;. It
 481    contains four fields separated by spaces. The first field is the package name,
 482    the second is the priority to force that package to, the third is
 483    the section to force that package to and the final field is the maintainer
 484    permutation field.</para>
 485    <para>The general form of the maintainer field is:
 486    <literallayout>old [// oldn]* => new</literallayout>
 487    or simply,
 488    <literallayout>new</literallayout>
 489    The first form allows a double-slash separated list of old email addresses
 490    to be specified. If any of those are found then new is substituted for the
 491    maintainer field. The second form unconditionally substitutes the
 492    maintainer field.</para>
 493  </refsect1>
 494
 495
 496  <refsect1><title>The Source Override File</title>
 497    <para>
 498    The source override file is fully compatible with &dpkg-scansources;. It
 499    contains two fields separated by spaces. The first field is the source
 500    package name, the second is the section to assign it.</para>
 501  </refsect1>
 502
 503  <refsect1><title>The Extra Override File</title>
 504    <para>
 505    The extra override file allows any arbitrary tag to be added or replaced
 506    in the output. It has three columns, the first is the package, the second is
 507    the tag and the remainder of the line is the new value.</para>
 508  </refsect1>
 509
 510  <refsect1><title>options</title>
 511    &apt-cmdblurb;
 512
 513    <variablelist>
 514       <varlistentry>
 515          <term><option>--md5</option></term>
 516          <term><option>--sha1</option></term>
 517          <term><option>--sha256</option></term>
 518          <term><option>--sha512</option></term>
 519      <listitem><para>
 520      Generate the given checksum. These options default to on, when turned off the generated
 521      index files will not have the checksum fields where possible.
 522      Configuration Items: <literal>APT::FTPArchive::<replaceable>Checksum</replaceable></literal> and
 523      <literal>APT::FTPArchive::<replaceable>Index</replaceable>::<replaceable>Checksum</replaceable></literal> where
 524      <literal><replaceable>Index</replaceable></literal> can be <literal>Packages</literal>, <literal>Sources</literal> or
 525      <literal>Release</literal> and <literal><replaceable>Checksum</replaceable></literal> can be <literal>MD5</literal>,
 526      <literal>SHA1</literal>, <literal>SHA256</literal> or <literal>SHA512</literal>.</para></listitem>
 527      </varlistentry>
 528
 529      <varlistentry><term><option>-d</option></term><term><option>--db</option></term>
 530      <listitem><para>
 531      Use a binary caching DB. This has no effect on the generate command.
 532      Configuration Item: <literal>APT::FTPArchive::DB</literal>.</para></listitem>
 533      </varlistentry>
 534
 535      <varlistentry><term><option>-q</option></term><term><option>--quiet</option></term>
 536      <listitem><para>
 537      Quiet; produces output suitable for logging, omitting progress indicators.
 538      More q's will produce more quiet up to a maximum of 2. You can also use
 539      <option>-q=#</option> to set the quiet level, overriding the configuration file.
 540      Configuration Item: <literal>quiet</literal>.</para></listitem>
 541      </varlistentry>
 542
 543      <varlistentry><term><option>--delink</option></term>
 544      <listitem><para>
 545      Perform Delinking. If the <literal>External-Links</literal> setting is used then
 546      this option actually enables delinking of the files. It defaults to on and
 547      can be turned off with <option>--no-delink</option>.
 548      Configuration Item: <literal>APT::FTPArchive::DeLinkAct</literal>.</para></listitem>
 549      </varlistentry>
 550
 551      <varlistentry><term><option>--contents</option></term>
 552      <listitem><para>
 553      Perform contents generation. When this option is set and package indexes
 554      are being generated with a cache DB then the file listing will also be
 555      extracted and stored in the DB for later use. When using the generate
 556      command this option also allows the creation of any Contents files. The
 557      default is on.
 558      Configuration Item: <literal>APT::FTPArchive::Contents</literal>.</para></listitem>
 559      </varlistentry>
 560
 561      <varlistentry><term><option>-s</option></term><term><option>--source-override</option></term>
 562      <listitem><para>
 563      Select the source override file to use with the <literal>sources</literal> command.
 564      Configuration Item: <literal>APT::FTPArchive::SourceOverride</literal>.</para></listitem>
 565      </varlistentry>
 566
 567      <varlistentry><term><option>--readonly</option></term>
 568      <listitem><para>
 569      Make the caching databases read only.
 570      Configuration Item: <literal>APT::FTPArchive::ReadOnlyDB</literal>.</para></listitem>
 571      </varlistentry>
 572
 573      <varlistentry><term><option>-a</option></term><term><option>--arch</option></term>
 574      <listitem><para>Accept in the <literal>packages</literal> and <literal>contents</literal>
 575      commands only package files matching <literal>*_arch.deb</literal> or
 576      <literal>*_all.deb</literal> instead of all package files in the given path.
 577      Configuration Item: <literal>APT::FTPArchive::Architecture</literal>.</para></listitem>
 578      </varlistentry>
 579
 580      <varlistentry><term><option>APT::FTPArchive::AlwaysStat</option></term>
 581      <listitem><para>
 582      &apt-ftparchive; caches as much as possible of metadata in a cachedb. If packages
 583      are recompiled and/or republished with the same version again, this will lead to problems
 584      as the now outdated cached metadata like size and checksums will be used. With this option
 585      enabled this will no longer happen as it will be checked if the file was changed.
 586      Note that this option is set to "<literal>false</literal>" by default as it is not recommend
 587      to upload multiply versions/builds of a package with the same versionnumber, so in theory
 588      nobody will have these problems and therefore all these extra checks are useless.
 589      </para></listitem>
 590      </varlistentry>
 591
 592      <varlistentry><term><option>APT::FTPArchive::LongDescription</option></term>
 593      <listitem><para>
 594      This configuration option defaults to "<literal>true</literal>" and should only be set to
 595      <literal>"false"</literal> if the Archive generated with &apt-ftparchive; also provides
 596      <filename>Translation</filename> files. Note that the <filename>Translation-en</filename>
 597      master file can only be created in the generate command.
 598      </para></listitem>
 599      </varlistentry>
 600
 601      &apt-commonoptions;
 602
 603    </variablelist>
 604  </refsect1>
 605
 606 <refsect1><title>Examples</title>
 607
 608 <para>To create a compressed Packages file for a directory containing
 609 binary packages (.deb):
 610
 611 <programlisting>
 612 <command>apt-ftparchive</command> packages <replaceable>directory</replaceable> | <command>gzip</command> > <filename>Packages.gz</filename>
 613 </programlisting></para>
 614
 615 </refsect1>
 616
 617  <refsect1><title>See Also</title>
 618    <para>&apt-conf;</para>
 619  </refsect1>
 620
 621  <refsect1><title>Diagnostics</title>
 622    <para><command>apt-ftparchive</command> returns zero on normal operation, decimal 100 on error.</para>
 623  </refsect1>
 624
 625  &manbugs;
 626
 627 </refentry>