dpkg-buildapi - Linux

Overview

dpkg-buildapi generates a source distribution of the API headers and description files of a Debian package. It also transforms the package it documents into a library, i.e. it generates a header file that declares the functions the library exports.

Syntax

dpkg-buildapi [OPTION...] PACKAGE [DESTDIR]

Options/Flags

• -a, –architecture=ARCH
  Specify the architecture for the source distribution.

• -c, –compile
  Try to compile the library (also implies --target=installed).

• -d, –debug=LEVEL
  Enable debug messages.

• -f, –filelist=FILE
  Read package file list from FILE instead of detecting it from package.

• -p, –target=TYPE
  Target to build for:

  • package – as a Debian package (default)
  • installed – as a standalone installed package
  • library – as an installed library

• -V, –version
  Display the version of dpkg-buildapi.

Examples

Generate a library header for the package libfoo:

dpkg-buildapi -p library libfoo

Generate a source distribution:

dpkg-buildapi -p package libfoo

Common Issues

Error: "dpkg-buildapi: cannot find package information for libfoo"

Solution: Ensure that the package is properly installed and its information is available in the Debian package database.

Integration

dpkg-buildapi output can be used as input for other Debian packaging tools, such as dh_installdeb for creating Debian packages or dh_makeshlibs for generating shared library packaging files.

Related Commands

• dh_make – compiles and installs a Debian package
• dpkg-deb – utility to manipulate Debian packages
• dh_installdeb – helper for dh to install Debian packages