NAME

       backportpackage - helper to test package backports

SYNOPSIS

       backportpackage [additional options]
              --upload <upload target>
              <source package name or .dsc URL/file>

       backportpackage -h

DESCRIPTION

       backportpackage  fetches  a package from one distribution release or from a specified .dsc
       path or URL and creates a no-change backport  of  that  package  to  one  or  more  Ubuntu
       releases  release,  optionally  doing  a  test  build  of the package and/or uploading the
       resulting backport for testing.

       Unless a working directory is specified, the backported package is fetched and built in  a
       temporary directory in /tmp, which is removed once the script finishes running.

       backportpackage  is  only  recommended  for  testing  backports  in  a  PPA, not uploading
       backports to the Ubuntu archive.

OPTIONS

       -d DEST, --destination=DEST
              Backport  the  package  to  the  specified  Ubuntu  release.  If  this  option   is
              unspecified,  then backportpackage defaults to the release on which it is currently
              running.

       -s SOURCE, --source=SOURCE
              Backport the package from the specified release, which can be any release  of  your
              distribution  or  any  of your distribution's parent distributions. If neither this
              option nor --version are specified, then backportpackage defaults  to  the  current
              development release for your distribution.

       -S SUFFIX, --suffix=SUFFIX
              Add  the  specified  suffix to the version number when backporting. backportpackage
              will always append ~ubuntuDESTINATION.1 to the  original  version  number,  and  if
              SUFFIX  is  specified,  it  is appended to that, to get version numbers of the form
              ORIGINAL_VERSION~ubuntuDESTINATION.1SUFFIX. If  the  backported  package  is  being
              uploaded to a PPA, then SUFFIX defaults to ~ppa1, otherwise the default is blank.

       -b, --build
              Build   the   package  with  the  specified  builder  before  uploading.  Note  for
              cowbuilder(8) and pbuilder(8) users: This assumes the common  configuration,  where
              the  ARCH  and DIST environment is read by pbuilderrc(5) to select the correct base
              image.

       -B BUILDER, --builder=BUILDER
              Use the specified builder  to  build  the  package.  Supported  are  cowbuilder(8),
              cowbuilder-dist(1),  pbuilder(8),  pbuilder-dist(1), and sbuild(1).  The default is
              pbuilder(8).

       -U, --update
              Update the build environment before attempting to build.

       -u UPLOAD, --upload=UPLOAD
              Upload to UPLOAD with dput(1) (after confirmation).

       -k KEYID, --key=KEYID
              Specify the key ID to be used for signing.

       --dont-sign
              Do not sign the upload.

       -y, --yes
              Do not prompt before uploading to a PPA. For  everyone's  safety,  this  option  is
              ignored if UPLOAD is ubuntu.

       -v VERSION, --version=VERSION
              If the --source option is specified, then backportpackage verifies that the current
              version  of  source  package  in  SOURCE  is  the  same  as   VERSION.   Otherwise,
              backportpackage  finds  version  VERSION  of  source package in your distribution's
              publishing history, regardless of the release in which it was published (or if that
              version  is  still current). This option is ignored if a .dsc URL or path is passed
              in instead of a source package name.

       -w WORKDIR, --workdir=WORKDIR
              If WORKDIR is specified, then all files are downloaded, unpacked, built  into,  and
              otherwise  manipulated  in  WORKDIR.  Otherwise,  a temporary directory is created,
              which is deleted before backportpackage exits.

       -r, --release-pocket
              Target the upload at the release pocket, rather than the -backports  pocket.   This
              is  required  for  Launchpad PPAs, which are pocket-less (and the default, when the
              upload target is a PPA).

       -m MIRROR, --mirror=MIRROR
              Use the specified mirror.  Should be in the form  http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu.
              If the package isn't found on this mirror, backportpackage will use Launchpad.

       -c BUG, --close=BUG
              Include  a  Launchpad closer for the specified bug in the auto-generated changelog.
              In the future, this may actually close the bug, but currently does not.

       -l INSTANCE, --lpinstance=INSTANCE
              Use the specified instance of Launchpad (e.g. "staging"), instead of the default of
              "production".

       --no-conf
              Do not read any configuration files, or configuration from environment variables.

ENVIRONMENT

       DEBFULLNAME, DEBEMAIL, UBUMAIL
              Used   to   determine   the   uploader   (if   not   supplied   as  options).   See
              ubuntu-dev-tools(5) for details.

       All of the CONFIGURATION VARIABLES below are  also  supported  as  environment  variables.
       Variables in the environment take precedence to those in configuration files.

CONFIGURATION VARIABLES

       The  following  variables  can  be  set  in  the  environment  or  in  ubuntu-dev-tools(5)
       configuration files.  In each case, the script-specific variable takes precedence over the
       package-wide variable.

       BACKPORTPACKAGE_BUILDER, UBUNTUTOOLS_BUILDER
              The default value for --builder.

       BACKPORTPACKAGE_UPDATE_BUILDER, UBUNTUTOOLS_UPDATE_BUILDER
              The default value for --update.

       BACKPORTPACKAGE_UPLOAD
              The default value for --upload.

       BACKPORTPACKAGE_WORKDIR, UBUNTUTOOLS_WORKDIR
              The default value for --workdir.

       BACKPORTPACKAGE_UBUNTU_MIRROR, UBUNTUTOOLS_UBUNTU_MIRROR
              The  default  value  for  --mirror  if  the  specified  SOURCE release is an Ubuntu
              release.

       BACKPORTPACKAGE_DEBIAN_MIRROR, UBUNTUTOOLS_DEBIAN_MIRROR
              The default value for --mirror if the specified SOURCE release is a Debian release.

       BACKPORTPACKAGE_LPINSTANCE, UBUNTUTOOLS_LPINSTANCE
              The default value for --lpinstance.

EXAMPLES

       Test-build in your PPA a backport of znc from the  current  development  release  to  your
       workstation's release, deleting the build products afterwards:

              backportpackage -u ppa:user/ppa znc

       Backport  squashfs-tools  from  Maverick  to  both  Karmic  and  Lucid and test-build both
       locally, leaving all build products in the current working directory:

              backportpackage -b -s maverick -d karmic -d lucid -w . \
                 squashfs-tools

       Fetch a package from a PPA, backport it to Hardy, then upload it back to the same PPA:

              backportpackage -d hardy -u ppa:user/ppa \
                 https://launchpad.net/some/file.dsc

SEE ALSO

       ubuntu-dev-tools(5)

AUTHOR

       backportpackage and this manpage were written by Evan Broder <evan@ebroder.net>

       Both are released under GNU General Public License, version 2.