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dpkg-split(1) dpkg suite dpkg-split(1)
NAME
dpkg-split - Debian package archive split/join tool
SYNOPSIS
dpkg-split [option...] command
DESCRIPTION
dpkg-split splits Debian binary package files into smaller parts and reassembles them
again, to support the storage of large package files on small media such as floppy disks.
It can be operated manually using the --split, --join and --info options.
It also has an automatic mode, invoked using the --auto option, where it maintains a queue
of parts seen but not yet reassembled and reassembles a package file when it has seen all
of its parts. The --listq and --discard options allow the management of the queue.
All splitting, joining and queueing operations produce informative messages on standard
output; these may safely be ignored.
COMMANDS
-s, --split complete-archive [prefix]
Splits a single Debian binary package into several parts.
The parts are named prefix.NofM.deb where N is the part number, starting at 1, and M
is the total number of parts (both in decimal).
If no prefix is supplied then the complete-archive filename is taken, including
directory, with any trailing .deb removed.
-j, --join part...
Joins the parts of a package file together, reassembling the original file as it was
before it was split.
The part files given as arguments must be all the parts of exactly the same original
binary file. Each part must occur exactly once in the argument list, though the parts
to not need to be listed in order.
The parts must of course all have been generated with the same part size specified at
split time, which means that they must usually have been generated by the same
invocation of dpkg-split --split.
The parts' filenames are not significant for the reassembly process.
By default the output file is called package_version_arch.deb.
-I, --info part...
Prints information, in a human-readable format, about the part file(s) specified.
Arguments which are not binary package parts produce a message saying so instead (but
still on standard output).
-a, --auto -o complete-output part
Automatically queue parts and reassemble a package if possible.
The part specified is examined, and compared with other parts of the same package (if
any) in the queue of packages file parts.
If all parts of the package file of which part is a part are available then the
package is reassembled and written to complete-output (which should not usually
already exist, though this is not an error).
If not then the part is copied into the queue and complete-output is not created.
If part is not a split binary package part then dpkg-split will exit with status 1; if
some other trouble occurs then it will exit with status 2.
The --output or -o option must be supplied when using --auto. (If this were not
mandatory the calling program would not know what output file to expect.)
-l, --listq
Lists the contents of the queue of packages to be reassembled.
For each package file of which parts are in the queue the output gives the name of the
package, the parts in the queue, and the total number of bytes stored in the queue.
-d, --discard [package...]
This discards parts from the queue of those waiting for the remaining parts of their
packages.
If no package is specified then the queue is cleared completely; if any are specified
then only parts of the relevant package(s) are deleted.
-?, --help
Show the usage message and exit.
--version
Show the version and exit.
OPTIONS
--depotdir directory
Specifies an alternative directory for the queue of parts awaiting automatic
reassembly. The default is /var/lib/dpkg.
-S, --partsize kibibytes
Specifies the maximum part size when splitting, in kibibytes (1024 bytes). The default
is 450 KiB.
-o, --output complete-output
Specifies the output file name for a reassembly.
This overrides the default for a manual reassembly (--join) and is mandatory for an
automatic queue-or-reassemble (--auto).
-Q, --npquiet
When doing automatic queue-or-reassembly dpkg-split usually prints a message if it is
given a part that is not a binary package part. This option suppresses this message,
to allow programs such as dpkg to cope with both split and unsplit packages without
producing spurious messages.
--msdos
Forces the output filenames generated by --split to be MSDOS-compatible.
This mangles the prefix - either the default derived from the input filename or the
one supplied as an argument: alphanumerics are lowercased, plus signs are replaced by
x's and all other characters are discarded.
The result is then truncated as much as is necessary, and filenames of the form
prefixNofM.deb are generated.
EXIT STATUS
0 The requested split, merge, or other command succeeded. --info commands count as
successful even if the files are not binary package parts.
1 Only occurs with --auto and indicates that the part file was not a binary package
part.
2 Fatal or unrecoverable error due to invalid command-line usage, a file that looked
like a package part file but was corrupted, or interactions with the system, such as
accesses to the database, memory allocations, etc.
ENVIRONMENT
DPKG_COLORS
Sets the color mode (since dpkg 1.18.5). The currently accepted values are: auto
(default), always and never.
SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH
If set, it will be used as the timestamp (as seconds since the epoch) in the deb-
split(5)'s ar(5) container.
FILES
/var/lib/dpkg/parts
The default queue directory for part files awaiting automatic reassembly.
The filenames used in this directory are in a format internal to dpkg-split and are
unlikely to be useful to other programs, and in any case the filename format should
not be relied upon.
BUGS
Full details of the packages in the queue are impossible to get without digging into the
queue directory yourself.
There is no easy way to test whether a file that may be a binary package part is one.
SEE ALSO
deb(5), deb-control(5), dpkg-deb(1), dpkg(1).
1.21.1 2025-09-09 dpkg-split(1)
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