NAME

       vrms - report of installed non-free software

SYNOPSIS

       vrms [OPTION] ...

DESCRIPTION

       This  program  began  as an attempt to create a "virtual Richard M. Stallman" for Debian GNU/Linux.  Thus
       the choice of name.

       This program analyzes the currently-installed package list on a Debian GNU/Linux system, and reports  the
       non-free  and  contrib packages that are currently installed to stdout.  In some cases, such as regarding
       documentation licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License with invariant sections, the opinions  of
       Richard  M.  Stallman and the Debian project have diverged since this program was originally written.  In
       such cases, this program follows  the  definition  of  freedom  embodied  in  the  Debian  Free  Software
       Guidelines.

       The  packages in the non-free tree have restrictions on their use and/or distribution which cause them to
       fail to meet the terms of the Debian Free Software Guidelines included  as  part  of  the  Debian  Social
       Contract.   However,  some are sufficiently useful that their presence is often tolerated by Debian users
       despite their licensing.

       The packages in the contrib tree are themselves free  software  but  have  some  dependency  on  non-free
       software  for  their  use  that  make  them worthy of reporting so that their use can also be consciously
       considered.

       Richard is the most vocal among us on the issue of software morality, and  we  agree  with  Richard  that
       Debian  users  should  have an easy way to know when they are running non-free software on their systems.
       This program is our attempt to fill that need.

OPTIONS

       All options can be prefixed with -- (eg: --noexplain) to turn them off.

       -q, --quiet
              Do nothing if there are no non-free packages installed.

       -e, --explain
              Give a brief explanation of why each package is non-free, if available. This is the default.

       -s, --sparse
              Just output a list of non-free packages.

       --reason-dir=DIR
              Use DIR as the reason directory, instead of /usr/share/vrms/reasons/.

       -h, --help
              Display help.

       -d, --debug
              Generate debugging information.

FILES

       /usr/share/vrms/reasons
              Default source of explanations for why packages are non-free.

HISTORY

       This program was written by Bdale Garbee and Bill Geddes for the Debian GNU/Linux system, in response  to
       an  open  discussion  with Richard Stallman about the issues surrounding the availability/desirability of
       the 'non-free' package tree in Debian.

                                               A Cute Little Hack                                        VRMS(1)