man > PC(5)

PC(5)                                    File Formats Manual                                   PC(5)

NAME
       file.pc — pkg-config file format

DESCRIPTION
       pkg-config  files  provide a useful mechanism for storing various information about libraries
       and packages on a given system.  Information stored by .pc files include compiler and  linker
       flags necessary to use a given library, as well as any other relevant metadata.

       These  .pc  files are processed by a utility called pkg-config, of which pkgconf is an imple‐
       mentation.

   FILE SYNTAX
       The .pc file follows a format inspired by RFC822.  Comments are prefixed  by  a  pound  sign,
       hash  sign  or octothorpe (#), and variable assignment is similar to POSIX shell.  Properties
       are defined using RFC822-style stanzas.

   VARIABLES
       Variable definitions start with an alphanumeric string, followed by an equal sign,  and  then
       the value the variable should contain.

       Variable  references  are  always written as "${variable}".  It is possible to escape literal
       "${" as "$${".

   PROPERTIES
       Properties are set using RFC822-style stanzas which consist of a keyword, followed by a colon
       (:) and then the value the property should be set to.  Variable substitution is  always  per‐
       formed regardless of property type.

       There are three types of property:

       Literal
               The property will be set to the text of the value.

       Dependency List
               The  property will be set to a list of dependencies parsed from the text.  Dependency
               lists are defined by this ABNF syntax:

               package-list = *WSP *( package-spec *( package-sep ) )
               package-sep  = WSP / ","
               package-spec = package-key [ ver-op package-version ]
               ver-op       = "<" / "<=" / "=" / "!=" / ">=" / ">"

       Fragment List
               The property will be set to a list of fragments parsed from the text.  The input text
               must be in a format that is suitable for passing to a POSIX shell without  any  shell
               expansions after variable substitution has been done.

   PROPERTY KEYWORDS
       Name    The displayed name of the package.  (mandatory; literal)

       Version
               The version of the package.  (mandatory; literal)

       Description
               A description of the package.  (mandatory; literal)

       URL     A  URL  to a webpage for the package.  This is used to recommend where newer versions
               of the package can be acquired.  (mandatory; literal)

       Cflags  Required compiler flags.  These flags are always used, regardless of  whether  static
               compilation is requested.  (optional; fragment list)

       Cflags.private
               Required  compiler  flags  for static compilation.  (optional; fragment list; pkgconf
               extension)

       Libs    Required linking flags for this package.  Libraries this package depends on for link‐
               ing against it, which are not described as dependencies  should  be  specified  here.
               (optional; fragment list)

       Libs.private
               Required  linking  flags  for this package that are only required when linking stati‐
               cally.  Libraries this package depends on for linking against  it  statically,  which
               are  not  described  as  dependencies  should be specified here.  (optional; fragment
               list)

       Requires
               Required dependencies that must be met for the package to be usable.   All  dependen‐
               cies  must  be  satisfied  or the pkg-config implementation must not use the package.
               (optional; dependency list)

       Requires.private
               Required dependencies that must be met for the package to be usable for static  link‐
               ing.   All  dependencies  must be satisfied or the pkg-config implementation must not
               use the package for static linking.  (optional; dependency list)

       Conflicts
               Dependencies that must not be met for the package to be usable.  If  any  package  in
               the  proposed  dependency  solution  match  any dependency in the Conflicts list, the
               package being considered is not usable.  (optional; dependency list)

       Provides
               Dependencies that may be provided by an alternate package.  If a  package  cannot  be
               found, the entire package collection is scanned for providers which can match the re‐
               quested dependency.  (optional; dependency list; pkgconf extension)

   EXTENSIONS
       Features  that  have  been marked as a pkgconf extension are only guaranteed to work with the
       pkgconf implementation of pkg-config.  Other implementations may or may not support  the  ex‐
       tensions.

       Accordingly,  it  is suggested that .pc files which absolutely depend on these extensions de‐
       clare a requirement on the pkgconf virtual.

EXAMPLES
       An example .pc file:

       # This is a comment
       prefix=/home/kaniini/pkg   # this defines a variable
       exec_prefix=${prefix}      # defining another variable with a substitution
       libdir=${exec_prefix}/lib
       includedir=${prefix}/include

       Name: libfoo                                  # human-readable name
       Description: an example library called libfoo # human-readable description
       Version: 1.0
       URL: http://www.pkgconf.org
       Requires: libbar > 2.0.0
       Conflicts: libbaz <= 3.0.0
       Libs: -L${libdir} -lfoo
       Libs.private: -lm
       Cflags: -I${includedir}/libfoo

SEE ALSO
       pkgconf(1), pkg.m4(7)

Debian                                    December 15, 2017                                    PC(5)