Manual: dpkg-split
dpkg-split(1) dpkg suite dpkg-split(1)
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/parts.
--admindir directory
Set the administrative directory to directory (since dpkg 1.21.10). This is where the
statoverride file is stored. Defaults to «/var/lib/dpkg» if DPKG_ADMINDIR has not been set.
--root directory
Set the root directory to directory (since dpkg 1.21.10), which sets the installation directory
to «directory» and the administrative directory to «directory/var/lib/dpkg» if DPKG_ROOT has not
been set.
-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
Obsolete option without effect (since dpkg 1.23.0).
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_ROOT
If set and --root option has not been specified, it will be used as the filesystem root directory
(since dpkg 1.21.10).
DPKG_ADMINDIR
If set and the --admindir or --root options have not been specified, it will be used as the dpkg
data directory (since dpkg 1.21.10).
DPKG_DEBUG
Sets the debug mask (since dpkg 1.21.10) from an octal value. The currently accepted flags are
described in the dpkg --debug option, but not all these flags might have an effect on this
program.
DPKG_COLORS
Sets the color mode (since dpkg 1.18.5). 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 (since dpkg 1.22.7). The accepted values are: 0 and 1
(default).
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.
Since dpkg 1.18.11.
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.
SECURITY
Examining or joining untrusted split package archives should be considered a security boundary, and
any breakage of that boundary stemming from these operations should be considered a security
vulnerability. Performing these operations over untrusted data as root is strongly discouraged.
Auto-accumulating and discarding split package parts are considered privileged operations that might
allow root escalation. These operations must never be delegated to an untrusted user or be done on
untrusted packages, as that might allow root access to the system.
Splitting package archives should only be performed over trusted data.
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).
1.23.7 2026-03-31 dpkg-split(1)