(debian-policy.info)Source package control files – debian/control

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5.2 Source package control files – ‘debian/control’
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The ‘debian/control’ file contains the most vital (and
version-independent) information about the source package and about the
binary packages it creates.

The first paragraph of the control file contains information about the
source package in general.  The subsequent paragraphs each describe a
binary package that the source tree builds.  Each binary package built
from this source package has a corresponding paragraph, except for any
automatically-generated debug packages that do not require one.

The fields in the general paragraph (the first one, for the source
package) are:

   - Note: Source. (mandatory)

   - Note: Maintainer. (mandatory)

   - Note: Uploaders.

   - Note: Section. (recommended)

   - Note: Priority. (recommended)

   - Note: Build-Depends et al.

   - Note: Standards-Version. (mandatory)

   - Note: Homepage.

   - Note: Version Control System (VCS) fields.

   - Note: Testsuite.

   - Note: Rules-Requires-Root.

The fields in the binary package paragraphs are:

   - Note: Package. (mandatory)

   - Note: Architecture. (mandatory)

   - Note: Section. (recommended)

   - Note: Priority. (recommended)

   - Note: Essential.

   - Note: Depends et al.

   - Note: Description. (mandatory)

   - Note: Homepage.

   - Note: Built-Using.

   - Note: Package-Type.

The syntax and semantics of the fields are described below.

These fields are used by ‘dpkg-gencontrol’ to generate control files for
binary packages (see below), by ‘dpkg-genchanges’ to generate the
‘.changes’ file to accompany the upload, and by ‘dpkg-source’ when it
creates the ‘.dsc’ source control file as part of a source archive.
Some fields are folded in ‘debian/control’, but not in any other control
file.  These tools are responsible for removing the line breaks from
such fields when using fields from ‘debian/control’ to generate other
control files.  They are also responsible for discarding empty fields.

The fields here may contain variable references - their values will be
substituted by ‘dpkg-gencontrol’, ‘dpkg-genchanges’ or ‘dpkg-source’
when they generate output control files.  See Note: Variable
substitutions; debian/substvars. for details.