dpkg-mergechangelogs - Linux

Overview

dpkg-mergechangelogs merges multiple Debian-style changelogs into a single changelog file. It is useful when preparing packages from source code downloaded from various repositories or when importing changes from upstream.

Syntax

dpkg-mergechangelogs [--output=<file>] [--merge-fields=KEY1[:KEY2:...] ...]
                      [--reverse] [--ignore-old] [--no-merge-fields]
                      [--debian-changelog-format=<format>] [--fix-date]
                      [--default-maintainer=<name>] [--new-fields]
                      [--merge-from=<file>] [<changelog> ...]

Options/Flags

  • –output: Write the merged changelog to the specified file. Default is stdout.
  • –merge-fields: Merge the specified changelog fields. Default: merges the Version, Maintainer, and Changes fields.
  • –reverse: Reverse the order of the changelogs.
  • –ignore-old: Ignore changelogs that are older than the first changelog.
  • –no-merge-fields: Do not merge any changelog fields.
  • –debian-changelog-format: Set the changelog format to either 1.0 or 1.1. Default: 1.1.
  • –fix-date: Fix dates in changelogs.
  • –default-maintainer: Set the default maintainer name.
  • –new-fields: Add new fields to the merged changelog.
  • –merge-from: Read a changelog list from a file.
  • <changelog>: Changelog files to be merged.

Examples

  • Merge two changelogs into a new file named merged.changelog:
dpkg-mergechangelogs --output=merged.changelog changelog1 changelog2
  • Merge only the Version and Changes fields:
dpkg-mergechangelogs --merge-fields=Version:Changes changelog1 changelog2
  • Reverse the order of the changelogs:
dpkg-mergechangelogs --reverse changelog2 changelog1

Common Issues

  • Incorrect changelog format: Ensure that the changelogs are in the correct Debian format (either 1.0 or 1.1).
  • Conflicting changelog entries: If multiple changelogs contain entries for the same version, the entries will be merged and the older ones will be ignored.

Integration

dpkg-mergechangelogs can be used with other commands to automate changelog management tasks. For example, to create a merged changelog and use it to build a Debian package, you can use the following command chain:

git clone https://github.com/example/project.git
cd project
dpkg-mergechangelogs changelog1 changelog2 > merged.changelog
dpkg-buildpackage -S

Related Commands

  • dpkg-buildpackage: Build Debian packages from source code.
  • changelog: Read and edit Debian changelogs.