man > dpkg-architecture(1)

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📝 NAME

dpkg-architecture — set and determine the architecture for package building

🚀 Quick Reference

Use Case	Command	Description
📋 Print all environment variables	dpkg-architecture -l	Print build/host/target architecture variables
🔍 Check equality of architecture	dpkg-architecture -e <arch>	Check if current host arch equals given arch
🔍 Check identity with wildcard	dpkg-architecture -i <wildcard>	Check if host arch matches wildcard
🔍 Query single variable	dpkg-architecture -q <var>	Print value of a single variable
🔄 Export environment	dpkg-architecture -s	Print shell export commands
🔄 Unset environment	dpkg-architecture -u	Print shell commands to unset all variables
⚙️ Execute command with environment	dpkg-architecture -c "command"	Run command with architecture variables set
📋 List known architectures	dpkg-architecture -L	List valid architecture names, optionally filtered
🏗️ Set host architecture	dpkg-architecture -a <arch>	Set host Debian architecture
🏗️ Set host GNU type	dpkg-architecture -t <type>	Set host GNU system type
🔄 Force override	dpkg-architecture -f	Ignore existing environment variables

🛠️ SYNOPSIS

dpkg-architecture [option...] [command]

📖 DESCRIPTION

dpkg-architecture provides a facility to determine and set the build and host architecture for package building.

The build architecture is always determined by either the DEB_BUILD_ARCH variable if set (and --force not being specified) or by an external call to dpkg(1), and cannot be set at the command line.

You can specify the host architecture by providing one or both of the options --host-arch and --host-type, otherwise the DEB_HOST_ARCH variable is used if set (and --force not being specified). The default is determined by an external call to gcc(1), or the same as the build architecture if CC or gcc are both not available. One out of --host-arch and --host-type is sufficient, the value of the other will be set to a usable default. Indeed, it is often better to only specify one, because dpkg-architecture will warn you if your choice does not match the default.

📋 COMMANDS

• 🖨️ -l, --list — Print the environment variables, one each line, in the format VARIABLE=value. This is the default action.
• ✔️ -e, --equal architecture — Check for equality of architecture (since dpkg 1.13.13). It compares the current or specified Debian host architecture against architecture, to check if they are equal. This action will not expand the architecture wildcards. Command finishes with an exit status of 0 if matched, 1 if not matched.
• 🔍 -i, --is architecture-wildcard — Check for identity of architecture (since dpkg 1.13.13). It compares the current or specified Debian host architecture against architecture-wildcard after having expanded it as an architecture wildcard, to check if they match. Command finishes with an exit status of 0 if matched, 1 if not matched.
• 🔎 -q, --query variable-name — Print the value of a single variable.
• 📤 -s, --print-set — Print an export command. This can be used to set the environment variables using the POSIX shell or make eval, depending on the output format.
• 🧹 -u, --print-unset — Print a similar command to --print-set but to unset all variables.
• ⚡ -c, --command command-string — Execute a command-string in an environment which has all variables set to the determined value.
• 📋 -L, --list-known — Print a list of valid architecture names. Possibly restricted by one or more of the matching options --match-wildcard, --match-bits or --match-endian (since dpkg 1.17.14).
• ❓ -?, --help — Show the usage message and exit.
• ℹ️ --version — Show the version and exit.

⚙️ OPTIONS

• 🏗️ -a, --host-arch architecture — Set the host Debian architecture.
• 🏗️ -t, --host-type gnu-system-type — Set the host GNU system type.
• 🎯 -A, --target-arch architecture — Set the target Debian architecture (since dpkg 1.17.14).
• 🎯 -T, --target-type gnu-system-type — Set the target GNU system type (since dpkg 1.17.14).
• 🔍 -W, --match-wildcard architecture-wildcard — Restrict the architectures listed by --list-known to ones matching the specified architecture wildcard (since dpkg 1.17.14).
• 🔢 -B, --match-bits architecture-bits — Restrict the architectures listed by --list-known to ones with the specified CPU bits (since dpkg 1.17.14). Either 32 or 64.
• 🔁 -E, --match-endian architecture-endianness — Restrict the architectures listed by --list-known to ones with the specified endianness (since dpkg 1.17.14). Either little or big.
• 📄 --print-format format — Sets the output format for --print-set and --print-unset (since dpkg 1.20.6), to either shell (default) or make.
• 💪 -f, --force — Values set by existing environment variables with the same name as used by the scripts are honored (i.e. used by dpkg-architecture), except if this force flag is present. This allows the user to override a value even when the call to dpkg-architecture is buried in some other script (for example dpkg-buildpackage(1)).

📚 TERMS

🏗️ build machineThe machine the package is built on. 🏠 host machineThe machine the package is built for. 🎯 target machineThe machine the compiler is building for, or the emulator will run code for. This is only needed when building a cross-toolchain (or emulator), one that will be built on the build architecture, to be run on the host architecture, and to build (or run emulated) code for the target architecture. 🐧 Debian architectureThe Debian architecture string, which specifies the binary tree in the FTP archive. Examples: i386, sparc, hurd-i386. 🔗 Debian architecture tupleA Debian architecture tuple is the fully qualified architecture with all its components spelled out. This differs with Debian architectures in that at least the cpu component does not embed the abi. The current tuple has the form abi-libc-os-cpu. Examples: base-gnu-linux-amd64, eabihf-musl-linux-arm. 🌟 Debian architecture wildcardA Debian architecture wildcard is a special architecture string that will match any real architecture being part of it. The general form is a Debian architecture tuple with four or less elements, and with at least one of them being any. Missing elements of the tuple are prefixed implicitly as any, and thus the following pairs are equivalent:

• any-any-any-any = any
• any-any-os-any = os-any
• any-libc-any-any = libc-any-any

Examples: linux-any, any-i386, hurd-any, eabi-any-any-arm, musl-any-any. 🖥️ GNU system typeAn architecture specification string consisting of two parts separated by a hyphen: cpu and system. Examples: i586-linux-gnu, sparc-linux-gnu, i686-gnu, x86_64-netbsd. 📁 multiarch tripletThe clarified GNU system type, used for filesystem paths. This triplet does not change even when the baseline ISA gets bumped, so that the resulting paths are stable over time. The only current difference with the GNU system type is that the CPU part for i386 based systems is always i386. Examples: i386-linux-gnu, x86_64-linux-gnu. Example paths: /lib/powerpc64le-linux-gnu/, /usr/lib/i386-kfreebsd-gnu/.

📊 VARIABLES

The following variables are read from the environment (unless --force has been specified) and set by dpkg-architecture (see the TERMS section for a description of the naming scheme):

DEB_BUILD_ARCH🏗️ The Debian architecture of the build machine. DEB_BUILD_ARCH_ABI🏗️ The Debian ABI name of the build machine (since dpkg 1.18.11). DEB_BUILD_ARCH_LIBC🏗️ The Debian libc name of the build machine (since dpkg 1.18.11). DEB_BUILD_ARCH_OS🏗️ The Debian system name of the build machine (since dpkg 1.13.2). DEB_BUILD_ARCH_CPU🏗️ The Debian CPU name of the build machine (since dpkg 1.13.2). DEB_BUILD_ARCH_BITS🏗️ The pointer size of the build machine (in bits; since dpkg 1.15.4). DEB_BUILD_ARCH_ENDIAN🏗️ The endianness of the build machine (little / big; since dpkg 1.15.4). DEB_BUILD_GNU_CPU🏗️ The GNU CPU part of DEB_BUILD_GNU_TYPE. DEB_BUILD_GNU_SYSTEM🏗️ The GNU system part of DEB_BUILD_GNU_TYPE. DEB_BUILD_GNU_TYPE🏗️ The GNU system type of the build machine. DEB_BUILD_MULTIARCH🏗️ The clarified GNU system type of the build machine, used for filesystem paths (since dpkg 1.16.0). DEB_HOST_ARCH🏠 The Debian architecture of the host machine. DEB_HOST_ARCH_ABI🏠 The Debian ABI name of the host machine (since dpkg 1.18.11). DEB_HOST_ARCH_LIBC🏠 The Debian libc name of the host machine (since dpkg 1.18.11). DEB_HOST_ARCH_OS🏠 The Debian system name of the host machine (since dpkg 1.13.2). DEB_HOST_ARCH_CPU🏠 The Debian CPU name of the host machine (since dpkg 1.13.2). DEB_HOST_ARCH_BITS🏠 The pointer size of the host machine (in bits; since dpkg 1.15.4). DEB_HOST_ARCH_ENDIAN🏠 The endianness of the host machine (little / big; since dpkg 1.15.4). DEB_HOST_GNU_CPU🏠 The GNU CPU part of DEB_HOST_GNU_TYPE. DEB_HOST_GNU_SYSTEM🏠 The GNU system part of DEB_HOST_GNU_TYPE. DEB_HOST_GNU_TYPE🏠 The GNU system type of the host machine. DEB_HOST_MULTIARCH🏠 The clarified GNU system type of the host machine, used for filesystem paths (since dpkg 1.16.0). DEB_TARGET_ARCH🎯 The Debian architecture of the target machine (since dpkg 1.17.14). DEB_TARGET_ARCH_ABI🎯 The Debian ABI name of the target machine (since dpkg 1.18.11). DEB_TARGET_ARCH_LIBC🎯 The Debian libc name of the target machine (since dpkg 1.18.11). DEB_TARGET_ARCH_OS🎯 The Debian system name of the target machine (since dpkg 1.17.14). DEB_TARGET_ARCH_CPU🎯 The Debian CPU name of the target machine (since dpkg 1.17.14). DEB_TARGET_ARCH_BITS🎯 The pointer size of the target machine (in bits; since dpkg 1.17.14). DEB_TARGET_ARCH_ENDIAN🎯 The endianness of the target machine (little / big; since dpkg 1.17.14). DEB_TARGET_GNU_CPU🎯 The GNU CPU part of DEB_TARGET_GNU_TYPE (since dpkg 1.17.14). DEB_TARGET_GNU_SYSTEM🎯 The GNU system part of DEB_TARGET_GNU_TYPE (since dpkg 1.17.14). DEB_TARGET_GNU_TYPE🎯 The GNU system type of the target machine (since dpkg 1.17.14). DEB_TARGET_MULTIARCH🎯 The clarified GNU system type of the target machine, used for filesystem paths (since dpkg 1.17.14).

📁 FILES

📂 Architecture tables

All these files have to be present for dpkg-architecture to work. Their location can be overridden at runtime with the environment variable DPKG_DATADIR. These tables contain a format Version pseudo-field on their first line to mark their format, so that parsers can check if they understand it, such as "# Version=1.0".

• /usr/share/dpkg/cputable — Table of known CPU names and mapping to their GNU name. Format version 1.0 (since dpkg 1.13.2).
• /usr/share/dpkg/ostable — Table of known operating system names and mapping to their GNU name. Format version 2.0 (since dpkg 1.18.11).
• /usr/share/dpkg/tupletable — Mapping between Debian architecture tuples and Debian architecture names. Format version 1.0 (since dpkg 1.18.11).
• /usr/share/dpkg/abitable — Table of Debian architecture ABI attribute overrides. Format version 2.0 (since dpkg 1.18.11).

📦 Packaging support

• /usr/share/dpkg/architecture.mk — Makefile snippet that properly sets and exports all the variables that dpkg-architecture outputs (since dpkg 1.16.1).

💡 EXAMPLES

dpkg-buildpackage accepts the -a option and passes it to dpkg-architecture. Other examples:

CC=i386-gnu-gcc dpkg-architecture -c debian/rules build

eval $(dpkg-architecture -u)

Check if the current or specified host architecture is equal to an architecture:

dpkg-architecture -elinux-alpha

dpkg-architecture -amips -elinux-mips

Check if the current or specified host architecture is a Linux system:

dpkg-architecture -ilinux-any

dpkg-architecture -ai386 -ilinux-any

📝 Usage in debian/rules

The environment variables set by dpkg-architecture are passed to debian/rules as make variables (see make documentation). However, you should not rely on them, as this breaks manual invocation of the script. Instead, you should always initialize them using dpkg-architecture with the -q option. Here are some examples, which also show how you can improve the cross compilation support in your package:

Retrieving the GNU system type and forwarding it to ./configure:

DEB_BUILD_GNU_TYPE ?= $(shell dpkg-architecture -qDEB_BUILD_GNU_TYPE)
DEB_HOST_GNU_TYPE ?= $(shell dpkg-architecture -qDEB_HOST_GNU_TYPE)
[...]
ifeq ($(DEB_BUILD_GNU_TYPE), $(DEB_HOST_GNU_TYPE))
  confflags += --build=$(DEB_HOST_GNU_TYPE)
else
  confflags += --build=$(DEB_BUILD_GNU_TYPE) \
               --host=$(DEB_HOST_GNU_TYPE)
endif
[...]
./configure $(confflags)

Doing something only for a specific architecture:

DEB_HOST_ARCH ?= $(shell dpkg-architecture -qDEB_HOST_ARCH)

ifeq ($(DEB_HOST_ARCH),alpha)
  [...]
endif

or if you only need to check the CPU or OS type, use the DEB_HOST_ARCH_CPU or DEB_HOST_ARCH_OS variables.

Note that you can also rely on an external Makefile snippet to properly set all the variables that dpkg-architecture can provide:

include /usr/share/dpkg/architecture.mk

ifeq ($(DEB_HOST_ARCH),alpha)
  [...]
endif

In any case, you should never use dpkg --print-architecture to get architecture information during a package build.

🌍 ENVIRONMENT

DPKG_DATADIRIf set, it will be used as the dpkg data directory, where the architecture tables are located (since dpkg 1.14.17). Defaults to «/usr/share/dpkg». DPKG_COLORSSets the color mode (since dpkg 1.18.5). The currently accepted values are: auto (default), always and never. DPKG_NLSIf set, it will be used to decide whether to activate Native Language Support, also known as internationalization (or i18n) support (since dpkg 1.19.0). The accepted values are: 0 and 1 (default).

ℹ️ NOTES

All long command and option names available only since dpkg 1.17.17.

🔗 SEE ALSO

• dpkg-buildpackage(1)

📝 NAME 🚀 Quick Reference 🛠️ SYNOPSIS 📖 DESCRIPTION 📋 COMMANDS ⚙️ OPTIONS 📚 TERMS 📊 VARIABLES 📁 FILES 💡 EXAMPLES 🌍 ENVIRONMENT ℹ️ NOTES 🔗 SEE ALSO