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      Fatal or unrecoverable error due to invalid command-line usage, a file that looked like a  package
              part  file  but  was corrupted, or interactions with the system, such as accesses to the database,
              memory allocations, etc.

ENVIRONMENT

       DPKG_COLORS
              Sets the color mode (since dpkg 1.18.5).  The  currently  accepted  values  are:  auto  (default),
              always and never.

       SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH
              If  set, it will be used as the timestamp (as seconds since the epoch) in the deb-split(5)'s ar(5)
              container.

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).