doc/apt-ftparchive.1.xml

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   2 <!DOCTYPE refentry PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.2//EN"
   3   "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.2/docbookx.dtd" [
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   5 <!ENTITY % aptent SYSTEM "apt.ent">
   6 %aptent;
   7
   8 <!ENTITY % aptverbatiment SYSTEM "apt-verbatim.ent">
   9 %aptverbatiment;
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  12
  13 <refentry>
  14
  15  <refentryinfo>
  16    &apt-author.jgunthorpe;
  17    &apt-author.team;
  18    &apt-email;
  19    &apt-product;
  20    <!-- The last update date -->
  21    <date>17 August 2009</date>
  22  </refentryinfo>
  23
  24  <refmeta>
  25    <refentrytitle>apt-ftparchive</refentrytitle>
  26    <manvolnum>1</manvolnum>
  27    <refmiscinfo class="manual">APT</refmiscinfo>
  28  </refmeta>
  29
  30  <!-- Man page title -->
  31  <refnamediv>
  32     <refname>apt-ftparchive</refname>
  33     <refpurpose>Utility to generate index files</refpurpose>
  34  </refnamediv>
  35
  36  <!-- Arguments -->
  37  <refsynopsisdiv>
  38    <cmdsynopsis>
  39       <command>apt-ftparchive</command>
  40       <arg><option>-hvdsq</option></arg>
  41       <arg><option>--md5</option></arg>
  42       <arg><option>--delink</option></arg>
  43       <arg><option>--readonly</option></arg>
  44       <arg><option>--contents</option></arg>
  45       <arg><option>--arch <replaceable>architecture</replaceable></option></arg>
  46       <arg><option>-o <replaceable>config</replaceable>=<replaceable>string</replaceable></option></arg>
  47       <arg><option>-c=<replaceable>file</replaceable></option></arg>
  48       <group choice="req">
  49          <arg>packages<arg choice="plain" rep="repeat"><replaceable>path</replaceable></arg><arg><replaceable>override</replaceable><arg><replaceable>pathprefix</replaceable></arg></arg></arg>
  50          <arg>sources<arg choice="plain" rep="repeat"><replaceable>path</replaceable></arg><arg><replaceable>override</replaceable><arg><replaceable>pathprefix</replaceable></arg></arg></arg>
  51          <arg>contents <arg choice="plain"><replaceable>path</replaceable></arg></arg>
  52          <arg>release <arg choice="plain"><replaceable>path</replaceable></arg></arg>
  53          <arg>generate <arg choice="plain"><replaceable>config-file</replaceable></arg> <arg choice="plain" rep="repeat"><replaceable>section</replaceable></arg></arg>
  54          <arg>clean <arg choice="plain"><replaceable>config-file</replaceable></arg></arg>
  55       </group>
  56    </cmdsynopsis>
  57  </refsynopsisdiv>
  58
  59  <refsect1><title>Description</title>
  60    <para><command>apt-ftparchive</command> is the command line tool that generates the index
  61    files that APT uses to access a distribution source. The index files should
  62    be generated on the origin site based on the content of that site.</para>
  63
  64    <para><command>apt-ftparchive</command> is a superset of the &dpkg-scanpackages; program,
  65    incorporating its entire functionality via the <literal>packages</literal> command.
  66    It also contains a contents file generator, <literal>contents</literal>, and an
  67    elaborate means to 'script' the generation process for a complete
  68    archive.</para>
  69
  70    <para>Internally <command>apt-ftparchive</command> can make use of binary databases to
  71    cache the contents of a .deb file and it does not rely on any external
  72    programs aside from &gzip;. When doing a full generate it automatically
  73    performs file-change checks and builds the desired compressed output files.</para>
  74
  75    <para>Unless the <option>-h</option>, or <option>--help</option> option is given one of the
  76    commands below must be present.</para>
  77
  78    <variablelist>
  79      <varlistentry><term>packages</term>
  80      <listitem><para>
  81      The packages command generates a package file from a directory tree. It
  82      takes the given directory and recursively searches it for .deb files,
  83      emitting a package record to stdout for each. This command is
  84      approximately equivalent to &dpkg-scanpackages;.</para>
  85
  86      <para>The option <option>--db</option> can be used to specify a binary caching DB.</para></listitem>
  87      </varlistentry>
  88
  89      <varlistentry><term>sources</term>
  90      <listitem><para>
  91      The <literal>sources</literal> command generates a source index file from a directory tree.
  92      It takes the given directory and recursively searches it for .dsc files,
  93      emitting a source record to stdout for each. This command is approximately
  94      equivalent to &dpkg-scansources;.</para>
  95      <para>
  96      If an override file is specified then a source override file will be
  97      looked for with an extension of .src. The --source-override option can be
  98      used to change the source override file that will be used.</para></listitem>
  99      </varlistentry>
 100
 101      <varlistentry><term>contents</term>
 102      <listitem><para>
 103      The <literal>contents</literal> command generates a contents file from a directory tree. It
 104      takes the given directory and recursively searches it for .deb files,
 105      and reads the file list from each file. It then sorts and writes to stdout
 106      the list of files matched to packages. Directories are not written to
 107      the output. If multiple packages own the same file then each package is
 108      separated by a comma in the output.</para>
 109      <para>
 110      The option <option>--db</option> can be used to specify a binary caching DB.</para></listitem>
 111      </varlistentry>
 112
 113      <varlistentry><term>release</term>
 114      <listitem><para>
 115      The <literal>release</literal> command generates a Release file from a
 116      directory tree. It recursively searches the given directory for uncompressed
 117      <filename>Packages</filename> and <filename>Sources</filename> files and the ones
 118      compressed with <command>gzip</command>, <command>bzip2</command> or <command>lzma</command>
 119      as well as <filename>Release</filename> and <filename>md5sum.txt</filename> files by default
 120      (<literal>APT::FTPArchive::Release::Default-Patterns</literal>). Additional filename patterns
 121      can be added by listing them in <literal>APT::FTPArchive::Release::Patterns</literal>.
 122      It then writes to stdout a Release file containing a MD5, SHA1 and SHA256 digest
 123      for each file.</para>
 124      <para>
 125      Values for the additional metadata fields in the Release file are
 126      taken from the corresponding variables under
 127      <literal>APT::FTPArchive::Release</literal>,
 128      e.g. <literal>APT::FTPArchive::Release::Origin</literal>.  The supported fields
 129      are: <literal>Origin</literal>, <literal>Label</literal>, <literal>Suite</literal>,
 130      <literal>Version</literal>, <literal>Codename</literal>, <literal>Date</literal>,
 131      <literal>Valid-Until</literal>, <literal>Architectures</literal>,
 132      <literal>Components</literal>, <literal>Description</literal>.</para></listitem>
 133
 134      </varlistentry>
 135
 136      <varlistentry><term>generate</term>
 137      <listitem><para>
 138      The <literal>generate</literal> command is designed to be runnable from a cron script and
 139      builds indexes according to the given config file. The config language
 140      provides a flexible means of specifying which index files are built from
 141      which directories, as well as providing a simple means of maintaining the
 142      required settings.</para></listitem>
 143      </varlistentry>
 144
 145      <varlistentry><term>clean</term>
 146      <listitem><para>
 147      The <literal>clean</literal> command tidies the databases used by the given
 148      configuration file by removing any records that are no longer necessary.</para></listitem>
 149      </varlistentry>
 150    </variablelist>
 151  </refsect1>
 152
 153  <refsect1><title>The Generate Configuration</title>
 154    <para>
 155    The <literal>generate</literal> command uses a configuration file to describe the
 156    archives that are going to be generated. It follows the typical ISC
 157    configuration format as seen in ISC tools like bind 8 and dhcpd.
 158    &apt-conf; contains a description of the syntax. Note that the generate
 159    configuration is parsed in sectional manner, but &apt-conf; is parsed in a
 160    tree manner. This only effects how the scope tag is handled.</para>
 161
 162    <para>
 163    The generate configuration has 4 separate sections, each described below.</para>
 164
 165    <refsect2><title>Dir Section</title>
 166      <para>
 167      The <literal>Dir</literal> section defines the standard directories needed to
 168      locate the files required during the generation process. These
 169      directories are prepended certain relative paths defined in later
 170      sections to produce a complete an absolute path.</para>
 171      <variablelist>
 172       <varlistentry><term>ArchiveDir</term>
 173       <listitem><para>
 174       Specifies the root of the FTP archive, in a standard
 175       Debian configuration this is the directory that contains the
 176       <filename>ls-LR</filename> and dist nodes.</para></listitem>
 177       </varlistentry>
 178
 179       <varlistentry><term>OverrideDir</term>
 180       <listitem><para>
 181       Specifies the location of the override files.</para></listitem>
 182       </varlistentry>
 183
 184       <varlistentry><term>CacheDir</term>
 185       <listitem><para>
 186       Specifies the location of the cache files</para></listitem>
 187       </varlistentry>
 188
 189       <varlistentry><term>FileListDir</term>
 190       <listitem><para>
 191       Specifies the location of the file list files,
 192       if the <literal>FileList</literal> setting is used below.</para></listitem>
 193       </varlistentry>
 194      </variablelist>
 195    </refsect2>
 196
 197    <refsect2><title>Default Section</title>
 198      <para>
 199      The <literal>Default</literal> section specifies default values, and settings
 200      that control the operation of the generator. Other sections may override
 201      these defaults with a per-section setting.</para>
 202      <variablelist>
 203       <varlistentry><term>Packages::Compress</term>
 204       <listitem><para>
 205       Sets the default compression schemes to use
 206       for the Package index files. It is a string that contains a space
 207       separated list of at least one of: '.' (no compression), 'gzip' and
 208       'bzip2'. The default for all compression schemes is '. gzip'.</para></listitem>
 209       </varlistentry>
 210
 211       <varlistentry><term>Packages::Extensions</term>
 212       <listitem><para>
 213       Sets the default list of file extensions that are package files.
 214       This defaults to '.deb'.</para></listitem>
 215       </varlistentry>
 216
 217       <varlistentry><term>Sources::Compress</term>
 218       <listitem><para>
 219       This is similar to <literal>Packages::Compress</literal>
 220       except that it controls the compression for the Sources files.</para></listitem>
 221       </varlistentry>
 222
 223       <varlistentry><term>Sources::Extensions</term>
 224       <listitem><para>
 225       Sets the default list of file extensions that are source files.
 226       This defaults to '.dsc'.</para></listitem>
 227       </varlistentry>
 228
 229       <varlistentry><term>Contents::Compress</term>
 230       <listitem><para>
 231       This is similar to <literal>Packages::Compress</literal>
 232       except that it controls the compression for the Contents files.</para></listitem>
 233       </varlistentry>
 234
 235       <varlistentry><term>Translation::Compress</term>
 236       <listitem><para>
 237       This is similar to <literal>Packages::Compress</literal>
 238       except that it controls the compression for the Translation-en master file.</para></listitem>
 239       </varlistentry>
 240
 241       <varlistentry><term>DeLinkLimit</term>
 242       <listitem><para>
 243       Specifies the number of kilobytes to delink (and
 244       replace with hard links) per run. This is used in conjunction with the
 245       per-section <literal>External-Links</literal> setting.</para></listitem>
 246       </varlistentry>
 247
 248       <varlistentry><term>FileMode</term>
 249       <listitem><para>
 250       Specifies the mode of all created index files. It
 251       defaults to 0644. All index files are set to this mode with no regard
 252       to the umask.</para></listitem>
 253       </varlistentry>
 254
 255       <varlistentry><term>LongDescription</term>
 256       <listitem><para>
 257       Sets if long descriptions should be included in the Packages file or split
 258       out into a master Translation-en file.</para></listitem>
 259       </varlistentry>
 260      </variablelist>
 261    </refsect2>
 262
 263    <refsect2><title>TreeDefault Section</title>
 264      <para>
 265      Sets defaults specific to <literal>Tree</literal> sections. All of these
 266      variables are substitution variables and have the strings $(DIST),
 267      $(SECTION) and $(ARCH) replaced with their respective values.</para>
 268
 269      <variablelist>
 270       <varlistentry><term>MaxContentsChange</term>
 271       <listitem><para>
 272       Sets  the number of kilobytes of contents
 273       files that are generated each day. The contents files are round-robined
 274       so that over several days they will all be rebuilt.</para></listitem>
 275       </varlistentry>
 276
 277       <varlistentry><term>ContentsAge</term>
 278       <listitem><para>
 279       Controls the number of days a contents file is allowed
 280       to be checked without changing. If this limit is passed the mtime of the
 281       contents file is updated. This case can occur if the package file is
 282       changed in such a way that does not result in a new contents file
 283       [override edit for instance]. A hold off is allowed in hopes that new
 284       .debs will be installed, requiring a new file anyhow. The default is 10,
 285       the units are in days.</para></listitem>
 286       </varlistentry>
 287
 288       <varlistentry><term>Directory</term>
 289       <listitem><para>
 290       Sets the top of the .deb directory tree. Defaults to
 291       <filename>$(DIST)/$(SECTION)/binary-$(ARCH)/</filename></para></listitem>
 292       </varlistentry>
 293
 294       <varlistentry><term>SrcDirectory</term>
 295       <listitem><para>
 296       Sets the top of the source package directory tree. Defaults to
 297       <filename>$(DIST)/$(SECTION)/source/</filename></para></listitem>
 298       </varlistentry>
 299
 300       <varlistentry><term>Packages</term>
 301       <listitem><para>
 302       Sets the output Packages file. Defaults to
 303       <filename>$(DIST)/$(SECTION)/binary-$(ARCH)/Packages</filename></para></listitem>
 304       </varlistentry>
 305
 306       <varlistentry><term>Sources</term>
 307       <listitem><para>
 308       Sets the output Sources file. Defaults to
 309       <filename>$(DIST)/$(SECTION)/source/Sources</filename></para></listitem>
 310       </varlistentry>
 311
 312       <varlistentry><term>Translation</term>
 313       <listitem><para>
 314       Set the output Translation-en master file with the long descriptions if they
 315       should be not included in the Packages file. Defaults to
 316       <filename>$(DIST)/$(SECTION)/i18n/Translation-en</filename></para></listitem>
 317       </varlistentry>
 318
 319       <varlistentry><term>InternalPrefix</term>
 320       <listitem><para>
 321       Sets the path prefix that causes a symlink to be
 322       considered an internal link instead of an external link. Defaults to
 323       <filename>$(DIST)/$(SECTION)/</filename></para></listitem>
 324       </varlistentry>
 325
 326       <varlistentry><term>Contents</term>
 327       <listitem><para>
 328       Sets the output Contents file. Defaults to
 329       <filename>$(DIST)/Contents-$(ARCH)</filename>. If this setting causes multiple
 330       Packages files to map onto a single Contents file (such as the default)
 331       then <command>apt-ftparchive</command> will integrate those package files
 332       together automatically.</para></listitem>
 333       </varlistentry>
 334
 335       <varlistentry><term>Contents::Header</term>
 336       <listitem><para>
 337       Sets header file to prepend to the contents output.</para></listitem>
 338       </varlistentry>
 339
 340       <varlistentry><term>BinCacheDB</term>
 341       <listitem><para>
 342       Sets the binary cache database to use for this
 343       section. Multiple sections can share the same database.</para></listitem>
 344       </varlistentry>
 345
 346       <varlistentry><term>FileList</term>
 347       <listitem><para>
 348       Specifies that instead of walking the directory tree,
 349       <command>apt-ftparchive</command> should read the list of files from the given
 350       file. Relative files names are prefixed with the archive directory.</para></listitem>
 351       </varlistentry>
 352
 353       <varlistentry><term>SourceFileList</term>
 354       <listitem><para>
 355       Specifies that instead of walking the directory tree,
 356       <command>apt-ftparchive</command> should read the list of files from the given
 357       file. Relative files names are prefixed with the archive directory.
 358       This is used when processing source indexes.</para></listitem>
 359       </varlistentry>
 360      </variablelist>
 361    </refsect2>
 362
 363    <refsect2><title>Tree Section</title>
 364      <para>
 365      The <literal>Tree</literal> section defines a standard Debian file tree which
 366      consists of a base directory, then multiple sections in that base
 367      directory and finally multiple Architectures in each section. The exact
 368      pathing used is defined by the <literal>Directory</literal> substitution variable.</para>
 369      <para>
 370      The <literal>Tree</literal> section takes a scope tag which sets the
 371      <literal>$(DIST)</literal> variable and defines the root of the tree
 372      (the path is prefixed by <literal>ArchiveDir</literal>).
 373      Typically this is a setting such as <filename>dists/&stable-codename;</filename>.</para>
 374      <para>
 375      All of the settings defined in the <literal>TreeDefault</literal> section can be
 376      use in a <literal>Tree</literal> section as well as three new variables.</para>
 377      <para>
 378      When processing a <literal>Tree</literal> section <command>apt-ftparchive</command>
 379      performs an operation similar to:
 380      <programlisting>
 381 for i in Sections do
 382    for j in Architectures do
 383       Generate for DIST=scope SECTION=i ARCH=j
 384      </programlisting></para>
 385
 386      <variablelist>
 387       <varlistentry><term>Sections</term>
 388       <listitem><para>
 389       This is a space separated list of sections which appear
 390       under the distribution, typically this is something like
 391       <literal>main contrib non-free</literal></para></listitem>
 392       </varlistentry>
 393
 394       <varlistentry><term>Architectures</term>
 395       <listitem><para>
 396       This is a space separated list of all the
 397       architectures that appear under search section. The special architecture
 398       'source' is used to indicate that this tree has a source archive.</para></listitem>
 399       </varlistentry>
 400
 401       <varlistentry><term>LongDescription</term>
 402       <listitem><para>
 403       Sets if long descriptions should be included in the Packages file or split
 404       out into a master Translation-en file.</para></listitem>
 405       </varlistentry>
 406
 407       <varlistentry><term>BinOverride</term>
 408       <listitem><para>
 409       Sets the binary override file. The override file
 410       contains section, priority and maintainer address information.</para></listitem>
 411       </varlistentry>
 412
 413       <varlistentry><term>SrcOverride</term>
 414       <listitem><para>
 415       Sets the source override file. The override file
 416       contains section information.</para></listitem>
 417       </varlistentry>
 418
 419       <varlistentry><term>ExtraOverride</term>
 420       <listitem><para>
 421       Sets the binary extra override file.</para></listitem>
 422       </varlistentry>
 423
 424       <varlistentry><term>SrcExtraOverride</term>
 425       <listitem><para>
 426       Sets the source extra override file.</para></listitem>
 427       </varlistentry>
 428      </variablelist>
 429    </refsect2>
 430
 431    <refsect2><title>BinDirectory Section</title>
 432      <para>
 433      The <literal>bindirectory</literal> section defines a binary directory tree
 434      with no special structure. The scope tag specifies the location of
 435      the binary directory and the settings are similar to the <literal>Tree</literal>
 436      section with no substitution variables or
 437      <literal>Section</literal><literal>Architecture</literal> settings.</para>
 438      <variablelist>
 439       <varlistentry><term>Packages</term>
 440       <listitem><para>
 441       Sets the Packages file output.</para></listitem>
 442       </varlistentry>
 443
 444       <varlistentry><term>Sources</term>
 445       <listitem><para>
 446       Sets the Sources file output. At least one of
 447       <literal>Packages</literal> or <literal>Sources</literal> is required.</para></listitem>
 448       </varlistentry>
 449
 450       <varlistentry><term>Contents</term>
 451       <listitem><para>
 452       Sets the Contents file output. (optional)</para></listitem>
 453       </varlistentry>
 454
 455       <varlistentry><term>BinOverride</term>
 456       <listitem><para>
 457       Sets the binary override file.</para></listitem>
 458       </varlistentry>
 459
 460       <varlistentry><term>SrcOverride</term>
 461       <listitem><para>
 462       Sets the source override file.</para></listitem>
 463       </varlistentry>
 464
 465       <varlistentry><term>ExtraOverride</term>
 466       <listitem><para>
 467       Sets the binary extra override file.</para></listitem>
 468       </varlistentry>
 469
 470       <varlistentry><term>SrcExtraOverride</term>
 471       <listitem><para>
 472       Sets the source extra override file.</para></listitem>
 473       </varlistentry>
 474
 475       <varlistentry><term>BinCacheDB</term>
 476       <listitem><para>
 477       Sets the cache DB.</para></listitem>
 478       </varlistentry>
 479
 480       <varlistentry><term>PathPrefix</term>
 481       <listitem><para>
 482       Appends a path to all the output paths.</para></listitem>
 483       </varlistentry>
 484
 485       <varlistentry><term>FileList, SourceFileList</term>
 486       <listitem><para>
 487       Specifies the file list file.</para></listitem>
 488       </varlistentry>
 489      </variablelist>
 490    </refsect2>
 491  </refsect1>
 492
 493
 494  <refsect1><title>The Binary Override File</title>
 495    <para>The binary override file is fully compatible with &dpkg-scanpackages;. It
 496    contains 4 fields separated by spaces. The first field is the package name,
 497    the second is the priority to force that package to, the third is the
 498    the section to force that package to and the final field is the maintainer
 499    permutation field.</para>
 500    <para>The general form of the maintainer field is:
 501    <literallayout>old [// oldn]* => new</literallayout>
 502    or simply,
 503    <literallayout>new</literallayout>
 504    The first form allows a double-slash separated list of old email addresses
 505    to be specified. If any of those are found then new is substituted for the
 506    maintainer field. The second form unconditionally substitutes the
 507    maintainer field.</para>
 508  </refsect1>
 509
 510
 511  <refsect1><title>The Source Override File</title>
 512    <para>
 513    The source override file is fully compatible with &dpkg-scansources;. It
 514    contains 2 fields separated by spaces. The first fields is the source
 515    package name, the second is the section to assign it.</para>
 516  </refsect1>
 517
 518  <refsect1><title>The Extra Override File</title>
 519    <para>
 520    The extra override file allows any arbitrary tag to be added or replaced
 521    in the output. It has 3 columns, the first is the package, the second is
 522    the tag and the remainder of the line is the new value.</para>
 523  </refsect1>
 524
 525  <refsect1><title>options</title>
 526    &apt-cmdblurb;
 527
 528    <variablelist>
 529      <varlistentry><term><option>--md5</option>, <option>--sha1</option>, <option>--sha256</option></term>
 530      <listitem><para>
 531      Generate the given checksum. These options default to on, when turned off the generated
 532      index files will not have the checksum fields where possible.
 533      Configuration Items: <literal>APT::FTPArchive::<replaceable>Checksum</replaceable></literal> and
 534      <literal>APT::FTPArchive::<replaceable>Index</replaceable>::<replaceable>Checksum</replaceable></literal> where
 535      <literal>Index</literal> can be <literal>Packages</literal>, <literal>Sources</literal> or <literal>Release</literal> and
 536      <literal>Checksum</literal> can be <literal>MD5</literal>, <literal>SHA1</literal> or <literal>SHA256</literal>.</para></listitem>
 537      </varlistentry>
 538
 539      <varlistentry><term><option>-d</option></term><term><option>--db</option></term>
 540      <listitem><para>
 541      Use a binary caching DB. This has no effect on the generate command.
 542      Configuration Item: <literal>APT::FTPArchive::DB</literal>.</para></listitem>
 543      </varlistentry>
 544
 545      <varlistentry><term><option>-q</option></term><term><option>--quiet</option></term>
 546      <listitem><para>
 547      Quiet; produces output suitable for logging, omitting progress indicators.
 548      More q's will produce more quiet up to a maximum of 2. You can also use
 549      <option>-q=#</option> to set the quiet level, overriding the configuration file.
 550      Configuration Item: <literal>quiet</literal>.</para></listitem>
 551      </varlistentry>
 552
 553      <varlistentry><term><option>--delink</option></term>
 554      <listitem><para>
 555      Perform Delinking. If the <literal>External-Links</literal> setting is used then
 556      this option actually enables delinking of the files. It defaults to on and
 557      can be turned off with <option>--no-delink</option>.
 558      Configuration Item: <literal>APT::FTPArchive::DeLinkAct</literal>.</para></listitem>
 559      </varlistentry>
 560
 561      <varlistentry><term><option>--contents</option></term>
 562      <listitem><para>
 563      Perform contents generation. When this option is set and package indexes
 564      are being generated with a cache DB then the file listing will also be
 565      extracted and stored in the DB for later use. When using the generate
 566      command this option also allows the creation of any Contents files. The
 567      default is on.
 568      Configuration Item: <literal>APT::FTPArchive::Contents</literal>.</para></listitem>
 569      </varlistentry>
 570
 571      <varlistentry><term><option>-s</option></term><term><option>--source-override</option></term>
 572      <listitem><para>
 573      Select the source override file to use with the <literal>sources</literal> command.
 574      Configuration Item: <literal>APT::FTPArchive::SourceOverride</literal>.</para></listitem>
 575      </varlistentry>
 576
 577      <varlistentry><term><option>--readonly</option></term>
 578      <listitem><para>
 579      Make the caching databases read only.
 580      Configuration Item: <literal>APT::FTPArchive::ReadOnlyDB</literal>.</para></listitem>
 581      </varlistentry>
 582
 583      <varlistentry><term><option>-a</option></term><term><option>--arch</option></term>
 584      <listitem><para>Accept in the <literal>packages</literal> and <literal>contents</literal>
 585      commands only package files matching <literal>*_arch.deb</literal> or
 586      <literal>*_all.deb</literal> instead of all package files in the given path.
 587      Configuration Item: <literal>APT::FTPArchive::Architecture</literal>.</para></listitem>
 588      </varlistentry>
 589
 590      <varlistentry><term><option>APT::FTPArchive::AlwaysStat</option></term>
 591      <listitem><para>
 592      &apt-ftparchive; caches as much as possible of metadata in a cachedb. If packages
 593      are recompiled and/or republished with the same version again, this will lead to problems
 594      as the now outdated cached metadata like size and checksums will be used. With this option
 595      enabled this will no longer happen as it will be checked if the file was changed.
 596      Note that this option is set to "<literal>false</literal>" by default as it is not recommend
 597      to upload multiply versions/builds of a package with the same versionnumber, so in theory
 598      nobody will have these problems and therefore all these extra checks are useless.
 599      </para></listitem>
 600      </varlistentry>
 601
 602      <varlistentry><term><option>APT::FTPArchive::LongDescription</option></term>
 603      <listitem><para>
 604      This configuration option defaults to "<literal>true</literal>" and should only be set to
 605      <literal>"false"</literal> if the Archive generated with &apt-ftparchive; also provides
 606      <filename>Translation</filename> files. Note that the <filename>Translation-en</filename>
 607      master file can only be created in the generate command.
 608      </para></listitem>
 609      </varlistentry>
 610
 611      &apt-commonoptions;
 612
 613    </variablelist>
 614  </refsect1>
 615
 616 <refsect1><title>Examples</title>
 617
 618 <para>To create a compressed Packages file for a directory containing
 619 binary packages (.deb):
 620
 621 <programlisting>
 622 <command>apt-ftparchive</command> packages <replaceable>directory</replaceable> | <command>gzip</command> > <filename>Packages.gz</filename>
 623 </programlisting></para>
 624
 625 </refsect1>
 626
 627  <refsect1><title>See Also</title>
 628    <para>&apt-conf;</para>
 629  </refsect1>
 630
 631  <refsect1><title>Diagnostics</title>
 632    <para><command>apt-ftparchive</command> returns zero on normal operation, decimal 100 on error.</para>
 633  </refsect1>
 634
 635  &manbugs;
 636
 637 </refentry>