Manual: dpkg-buildtree

dpkg-buildtree(1)				 dpkg suite				   dpkg-buildtree(1)

NAME
       dpkg-buildtree - helper for build tree operations during package builds

SYNOPSIS
       dpkg-buildtree [option...] [command]

DESCRIPTION
       dpkg-buildtree is a tool to perform common operations on the build tree for a source package.

       This program was introduced in dpkg 1.22.3.

COMMANDS
       clean
	   Removes  all	 artifacts generated during a build by the various dpkg tools, and pathnames used or
	   controlled by dpkg tools that are safe to clean.  These files are used  to  track  state  between
	   package build runs, and are in many cases internal implementation details the packager should not
	   be concerned about, or are staging directories containing build artifacts.

       is-rootless
	   Checks whether the build tree can be built with no root privileges (since dpkg 1.22.12).

	   This command can be used safely even with versions where the command was not yet available as the
	   default will then be the historic one where root was required.

       --help
	   Show the usage message and exit.

       --version
	   Show the version and exit.

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

       DPKG_NLS
	   If  set,  it	 will  be  used to decide whether to activate Native Language Support, also known as
	   internationalization (or i18n) support.  The accepted values are: 0 and 1 (default).

FILES
   Cleaned files
       debian/files
       debian/files.new
	   Files generated by dpkg-distaddfile(1).

       debian/substvars
       debian/substvars.new
	   Files generated by dpkg-shlibdeps(1).

       debian/tmp
	   Staging  directory  containing  the	contents  to  be  used	when  creating	a   package.	Both
	   dpkg-gencontrol(1) and dpkg-gensymbols(1) generate files within.

EXAMPLES
   Usage in debian/rules
       You  can	 call  dpkg-buildtree clean from the debian/rules clean target, after having performed other
       necessary cleanups.

       For example for an autoconf-like build system:

	 clean:
	       [ ! -f Makefile ] || $(MAKE) distclean
	       dpkg-buildtree clean

1.23.7						 2026-03-31				   dpkg-buildtree(1)