{
    "mode": "man",
    "parameter": "DEBOOTSNAP",
    "section": "1",
    "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/DEBOOTSNAP/1/json",
    "generated": "2026-08-06T10:31:03Z",
    "sections": {
        "NAME": {
            "content": "debootsnap - create debian chroot using snapshot.debian.org\n",
            "subsections": []
        },
        "DESCRIPTION": {
            "content": "usage: debootsnap [-h] [--architecture ARCHITECTURE] [--ignore-notfound]\n\n(--buildinfo BUILDINFO | --packages PACKAGES) [--sources-list-only] [output]\n\nCombines  debootstrap  and snapshot.debian.org to create a chroot with exact package versions\nfrom the past either to reproduce bugs or to test source package reproducibility.\n\nTo obtain a list of packages run the following command on one machine:\n\n$ dpkg-query --showformat '${binary:Package}=${Version}\\n' --show\n\nAnd pass the output to debootsnap with the --packages argument. The result will be  a  chroot\ntarball  with  precisely  the  package  versions  as  they  were found on the system that ran\ndpkg-query.\n",
            "subsections": [
                {
                    "name": "positional arguments:",
                    "content": "output path to output chroot tarball\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "options:",
                    "content": ""
                },
                {
                    "name": "-h --help",
                    "content": "show this help message and exit\n\n--architecture ARCHITECTURE, --nativearch ARCHITECTURE\nnative architecture of the chroot. Ignored if --buildinfo is used.  Foreign  architec‐\ntures  are  inferred  from the package list. Not required if packages are architecture\nqualified.\n",
                    "flag": "-h",
                    "long": "--help"
                },
                {
                    "name": "--ignore-notfound",
                    "content": "only warn about packages that cannot be found on snapshot.debian.org instead of  exit‐\ning\n\n--buildinfo BUILDINFO\nuse  packages  from a buildinfo file. Read buildinfo file from standard input if value\nis \"-\".\n\n--packages PACKAGES, --pkgs PACKAGES\nlist of packages, optional architecture and version, separated by comma or  linebreak.\nRead  list  from standard input if value is \"-\". Read list from a file if value starts\nwith \"./\" or \"/\". The option can be specified multiple times.  Package  name,  version\nand architecture are separated by one or more characters that are not legal in the re‐\nspective  adjacent field.  Leading and trailing illegal characters are allowed.  Exam‐\nple: pkg1:arch=ver1,pkg2:arch=ver2\n",
                    "long": "--ignore-notfound"
                },
                {
                    "name": "--sources-list-only",
                    "content": "only query metasnap.debian.net and print the sources.list needed to create chroot  and\nexit\n",
                    "long": "--sources-list-only"
                }
            ]
        },
        "EXAMPLES": {
            "content": "On one system run:\n\n$ dpkg-query --showformat '${binary:Package}=${Version}\\n' --show > pkglist\n\nThen copy over \"pkglist\" and on another system run:\n\n$ debootsnap --pkgs=./pkglist chroot.tar\n\nOr use a buildinfo file as input:\n\n$ debootsnap --buildinfo=./package.buildinfo chroot.tar\n\ndebootsnap 2.23.7ubuntu0.2                  February 2026                              DEBOOTSNAP(1)",
            "subsections": []
        }
    },
    "summary": "debootsnap - create debian chroot using snapshot.debian.org",
    "flags": [
        {
            "flag": "-h",
            "long": "--help",
            "arg": null,
            "description": "show this help message and exit --architecture ARCHITECTURE, --nativearch ARCHITECTURE native architecture of the chroot. Ignored if --buildinfo is used. Foreign architec‐ tures are inferred from the package list. Not required if packages are architecture qualified."
        },
        {
            "flag": "",
            "long": "--ignore-notfound",
            "arg": null,
            "description": "only warn about packages that cannot be found on snapshot.debian.org instead of exit‐ ing --buildinfo BUILDINFO use packages from a buildinfo file. Read buildinfo file from standard input if value is \"-\". --packages PACKAGES, --pkgs PACKAGES list of packages, optional architecture and version, separated by comma or linebreak. Read list from standard input if value is \"-\". Read list from a file if value starts with \"./\" or \"/\". The option can be specified multiple times. Package name, version and architecture are separated by one or more characters that are not legal in the re‐ spective adjacent field. Leading and trailing illegal characters are allowed. Exam‐ ple: pkg1:arch=ver1,pkg2:arch=ver2"
        },
        {
            "flag": "",
            "long": "--sources-list-only",
            "arg": null,
            "description": "only query metasnap.debian.net and print the sources.list needed to create chroot and exit"
        }
    ],
    "examples": [
        "On one system run:",
        "$ dpkg-query --showformat '${binary:Package}=${Version}\\n' --show > pkglist",
        "Then copy over \"pkglist\" and on another system run:",
        "$ debootsnap --pkgs=./pkglist chroot.tar",
        "Or use a buildinfo file as input:",
        "$ debootsnap --buildinfo=./package.buildinfo chroot.tar",
        "debootsnap 2.23.7ubuntu0.2                  February 2026                              DEBOOTSNAP(1)"
    ],
    "see_also": []
}