DEBDIFF(1)                                                    General Commands Manual                                                   DEBDIFF(1)

NAME

       debdiff - compare file lists in two Debian packages

SYNOPSIS

       debdiff [options]
       debdiff [options] ... deb1 deb2
       debdiff [options] ... changes1 changes2
       debdiff [options] ... --from deb1a deb1b ...  --to deb2a deb2b ...
       debdiff [options] ... dsc1 dsc2

DESCRIPTION

       debdiff takes the names of two Debian package files (.debs or .udebs) on the command line and compares their contents (considering only the
       files in the main package, not the maintenance scripts).  It shows which files have been introduced and which removed between the two pack-
       age  files,  and  is  therefore useful for spotting files which may have been inadvertently lost between revisions of the package.  It also
       checks the file owners and permissions, and compares the control files of the two packages using the wdiff program.

       If no arguments are given, debdiff tries to compare the content of the current source directory with the last version of the package.

       debdiff can also handle changes between groups of .deb files in two ways.  The first is to specify two .changes files.  In this  case,  the
       .deb  files listed in the .changes file will be compared, by taking the contents of all of the listed .deb files together.  (The .deb files
       listed are assumed to be in the same directory as the .changes file.)  The second way is to list the .deb files  of  interest  specifically
       using the --from ... --to syntax.  These both help if a package is broken up into smaller packages and one wishes to ensure that nothing is
       lost in the interim.

       debdiff examines the devscripts configuration files as described below.  Command line options override  the  configuration  file  settings,
       though.

       If  debdiff  is passed two source packages (.dsc files) it will compare the contents of the source packages.  If the source packages differ
       only in Debian revision number (that is, the .orig.tar.gz files are the same in the two .dsc files), then interdiff(1) will be used to com-
       pare the two patch files if this program is available on the system, otherwise a diff will be performed between the two source trees.

OPTIONS

       --dirs, -d
              The  default mode of operation is to ignore directory names which appear in the file list, but they, too, will be considered if this
              option is given.

       --nodirs
              Ignore directory names which appear in the file list.  This is the default and it can be used to override a configuration file  set-
              ting.

       --move FROM TO, -m FROM TO
              It  sometimes  occurs  that various files or directories are moved around between revisions.  This can be handled using this option.
              There are two arguments, the first giving the location of the directory or file in the first package, and the second in the  second.
              Any files in the first listing whose names begin with the first argument are treated as having that substituted for the second argu-
              ment when the file lists are compared.  Any number of --move arguments may be given; they are processed in the order in  which  they
              appear.

       --move-regex FROM TO
              This  is  the  same  as --move, except that FROM is treated as a regular expression and the perl substitution command s/^FROM/TO/ is
              applied to the files.  In particular, TO can make use of backreferences such as $1.

       --nocontrol
              debdiff will usually compare the respective control files of the packages using wdiff(1).  This option suppresses this part  of  the
              processing.

       --control
              Compare the respective control files; this is the default, and it can be used to override a configuration file setting.

       --controlfiles FILE[,FILE ...]
              Specify  which  control files to compare; by default this is just control, but could include postinst, config and so on.  Files will
              only be compared if they are present in both .debs being compared.  The special value ALL compares all control files present in both
              packages, except for md5sums.  This option can be used to override a configuration file setting.

       --wdiff-source-control
              When processing source packages, compare control files using wdiff.  Equivalent to the --control option for binary packages.

       --no-wdiff-source-control
              Do not compare control files in source packages using wdfiff.  This is the default.

       --wp, --wl, --wt
              Pass a -p, -l or -t option to wdiff respectively.  (This yields the whole wdiff output rather than just the lines with any changes.)

       --show-moved
              If  multiple  .deb  files are specified on the command line, either using .changes files or the --from/--to syntax, then this option
              will also show which files (if any) have moved between packages.  (The package names are simply determined from  the  names  of  the
              .deb files.)

       --noshow-moved
              The default behaviour; can be used to override a configuration file setting.

       --renamed FROM TO
              If  --show-moved is being used and a package has been renamed in the process, this command instructs debdiff to treat the package in
              the first list called FROM as if it were called TO.  Multiple uses of this option are permitted.

       --exclude PATTERN
              Exclude files that match PATTERN.  Multiple uses of this option are permitted.

       --diffstat
              Include the result of diffstat before the generated diff.

       --no-diffstat
              The default behaviour; can be used to override a configuration file setting.

       --auto-ver-sort
              When comparing source packages, do so in version order.

       --no-auto-ver-sort
              Compare source packages in the order they were passed on the command-line, even if that means comparing a package with a higher ver-
              sion against one with a lower version.  This is the default behaviour.

       --unpack-tarballs
              When  comparing  source  packages, also unpack tarballs found in the top level source directory to compare their contents along with
              the other files.  This is the default behaviour.

       --no-unpack-tarballs
              Do not unpack tarballs inside source packages.

       --no-conf, --noconf
              Do not read any configuration files.  This can only be used as the first option given on the command-line.

       --help, -h
              Show a summary of options.

       --version, -v
              Show version and copyright information.

       --quiet, -q
              Be quiet if no differences were found.

       --ignore-space, -w
              Ignore whitespace in diffs.

CONFIGURATION VARIABLES

       The two configuration files /etc/devscripts.conf and ~/.devscripts are sourced by a shell in that order  to  set  configuration  variables.
       Command line options can be used to override configuration file settings.  Environment variable settings are ignored for this purpose.  The
       currently recognised variables are:

       DEBDIFF_DIRS
              If this is set to yes, then it is the same as the --dirs command line parameter being used.

       DEBDIFF_CONTROL
              If this is set to no, then it is the same as the --nocontrol command line parameter being used.  The default is yes.

       DEBDIFF_CONTROLFILES
              Which control files to compare, corresponding to the --controlfiles command line option.  The default is control.

       DEBDIFF_SHOW_MOVED
              If this is set to yes, then it is the same as the --show-moved command line parameter being used.

       DEBDIFF_WDIFF_OPT
              This option will be passed to wdiff; it should be one of -p, -l or -t.

       DEBDIFF_SHOW_DIFFSTAT
              If this is set to yes, then it is the same as the --diffstat command line parameter being used.

       DEBDIFF_WDIFF_SOURCE_CONTROL
              If this is set to yes, then it is the same as the --wdiff-source-control command line parameter being used.

       DEBDIFF_AUTO_VER_SORT
              If this is set to yes, then it is the same as the --auto-ver-sort command line parameter being used.

       DEBDIFF_UNPACK_TARBALLS
              If this is set to no, then it is the same as the --no-unpack-tarballs command line parameter being used.

EXIT VALUES

       Normally the exit value will be 0 if no differences are reported and 1 if any are reported.  If there is some fatal error,  the  exit  code
       will be 255.

SEE ALSO

       dpkg-deb(1), wdiff(1), interdiff(1), diffstat(1) and devscripts.conf(5).

AUTHOR

       debdiff was originally written as a shell script by Yann Dirson <dirson@debian.org> and rewritten in Perl with many more features by Julian
       Gilbey <jdg@debian.org>.  The software may be freely redistributed under the terms and conditions of the GNU General Public  License,  ver-
       sion 2.

DEBIAN                                                           Debian Utilities                                                       DEBDIFF(1)