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      Some kind of trouble happened, such as a system call failure, a  file  that  looked
              like a package part file but was corrupted, a usage error or some other problem.

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).