Package: apt
Version: 3.3.1
Severity: minor
Dear Maintainer,
Currently in the manpage of apt-get(8) the arguments of the `build-dep`
subcommand is described as:
> The arguments are interpreted as binary or source package names. See
> the --only-source option if you want to change that.
It failed to address the case where a directory path is specified as the
argument it will install the packages enumerated in
_directory path_/debian/control's Build-Depends field.
* What led up to the situation?
I tried to install build dependency packages of a Debian source
package, my AI agent proposes running `apt-get build-dep .`
command in the source package directory to do so. I checked the
apt-get(8) manpage to fact check but unable to locate
the corresponding passage that addresses this kind of usage.
* What outcome did you expect instead?
Documentation available in the manpage.
-- Package-specific info:
-- apt-config dump --
APT "";
APT::Architecture "amd64";
APT::Build-Essential "";
APT::Build-Essential:: "build-essential";
APT::Install-Recommends "1";
APT::Install-Suggests "0";
APT::Key "";
APT::Key::Assert-Pubkey-Algo
">=rsa2048,ed25519,ed448,nistp256,nistp384,nistp512,brainpoolP256r1,brainpoolP320r1,brainpoolP384r1,brainpoolP512r1,secp256k1";
APT::Key::Assert-Pubkey-Algo::Next
">=rsa2048,ed25519,ed448,nistp256,nistp384,nistp512";
APT::Key::Assert-Pubkey-Algo::Future ">=rsa3072,ed25519,ed448";
APT::Sandbox "";
APT::Sandbox::User "_apt";
APT::NeverAutoRemove "";
APT::NeverAutoRemove:: "^firmware-linux.*";
APT::NeverAutoRemove:: "^linux-firmware$";
APT::NeverAutoRemove:: "^linux-image-[a-z0-9]*$";
APT::NeverAutoRemove:: "^linux-image-[a-z0-9]*-[a-z0-9]*$";
APT::VersionedKernelPackages "";
APT::VersionedKernelPackages:: "linux-.*";
APT::VersionedKernelPackages:: "kfreebsd-.*";
APT::VersionedKernelPackages:: "gnumach-.*";
APT::VersionedKernelPackages:: ".*-modules";
APT::VersionedKernelPackages:: ".*-kernel";
APT::Never-MarkAuto-Sections "";
APT::Never-MarkAuto-Sections:: "metapackages";
APT::Never-MarkAuto-Sections:: "tasks";
APT::Move-Autobit-Sections "";
APT::Move-Autobit-Sections:: "oldlibs";
APT::AutoRemove "";
APT::AutoRemove::SuggestsImportant "false";
APT::Update "";
APT::Update::Post-Invoke "";
APT::Update::Post-Invoke:: "rm -f /var/cache/apt/archives/*.deb
/var/cache/apt/archives/partial/*.deb /var/cache/apt/*.bin || true";
APT::Solver "3.0";
APT::Architectures "";
APT::Architectures:: "amd64";
APT::Compressor "";
APT::Compressor::. "";
APT::Compressor::.::Name ".";
APT::Compressor::.::Extension "";
APT::Compressor::.::Binary "";
APT::Compressor::.::Cost "0";
APT::Compressor::zstd "";
APT::Compressor::zstd::Name "zstd";
APT::Compressor::zstd::Extension ".zst";
APT::Compressor::zstd::Binary "false";
APT::Compressor::zstd::Cost "60";
APT::Compressor::lz4 "";
APT::Compressor::lz4::Name "lz4";
APT::Compressor::lz4::Extension ".lz4";
APT::Compressor::lz4::Binary "false";
APT::Compressor::lz4::Cost "50";
APT::Compressor::gzip "";
APT::Compressor::gzip::Name "gzip";
APT::Compressor::gzip::Extension ".gz";
APT::Compressor::gzip::Binary "gzip";
APT::Compressor::gzip::Cost "100";
APT::Compressor::gzip::CompressArg "";
APT::Compressor::gzip::CompressArg:: "-6n";
APT::Compressor::gzip::UncompressArg "";
APT::Compressor::gzip::UncompressArg:: "-d";
APT::Compressor::xz "";
APT::Compressor::xz::Name "xz";
APT::Compressor::xz::Extension ".xz";
APT::Compressor::xz::Binary "false";
APT::Compressor::xz::Cost "200";
APT::Compressor::bzip2 "";
APT::Compressor::bzip2::Name "bzip2";
APT::Compressor::bzip2::Extension ".bz2";
APT::Compressor::bzip2::Binary "false";
APT::Compressor::bzip2::Cost "300";
APT::Compressor::lzma "";
APT::Compressor::lzma::Name "lzma";
APT::Compressor::lzma::Extension ".lzma";
APT::Compressor::lzma::Binary "false";
APT::Compressor::lzma::Cost "400";
APT::Compressor::lzma::CompressArg "";
APT::Compressor::lzma::CompressArg:: "--suffix=";
APT::Compressor::lzma::CompressArg:: "-6";
APT::Compressor::lzma::UncompressArg "";
APT::Compressor::lzma::UncompressArg:: "--suffix=";
APT::Compressor::lzma::UncompressArg:: "-d";
Dir "/";
Dir::State "var/lib/apt";
Dir::State::lists "lists/";
Dir::State::cdroms "cdroms.list";
Dir::State::extended_states "extended_states";
Dir::State::status "/var/lib/dpkg/status";
Dir::Cache "var/cache/apt";
Dir::Cache::archives "archives/";
Dir::Cache::srcpkgcache "";
Dir::Cache::pkgcache "";
Dir::Etc "etc/apt";
Dir::Etc::sourcelist "sources.list";
Dir::Etc::sourceparts "sources.list.d";
Dir::Etc::main "apt.conf";
Dir::Etc::netrc "auth.conf";
Dir::Etc::netrcparts "auth.conf.d";
Dir::Etc::parts "apt.conf.d";
Dir::Etc::preferences "preferences";
Dir::Etc::preferencesparts "preferences.d";
Dir::Etc::trustedparts "trusted.gpg.d";
Dir::Boot "boot";
Dir::Usr "usr";
Dir::Bin "";
Dir::Bin::methods "/usr/lib/apt/methods";
Dir::Bin::solvers "";
Dir::Bin::solvers:: "/usr/lib/apt/solvers";
Dir::Bin::planners "";
Dir::Bin::planners:: "/usr/lib/apt/planners";
Dir::Bin::dpkg "/usr/bin/dpkg";
Dir::Bin::gzip "/bin/gzip";
Dir::Bin::bzip2 "/bin/bzip2";
Dir::Bin::xz "/usr/bin/xz";
Dir::Bin::lz4 "/usr/bin/lz4";
Dir::Bin::zstd "/usr/bin/zstd";
Dir::Bin::lzma "/usr/bin/lzma";
Dir::Media "";
Dir::Media::MountPath "/media/apt";
Dir::Log "var/log/apt";
Dir::Log::Terminal "term.log";
Dir::Log::History "history.log";
Dir::Log::Planner "eipp.log.xz";
Dir::Ignore-Files-Silently "";
Dir::Ignore-Files-Silently:: "~$";
Dir::Ignore-Files-Silently:: "\.disabled$";
Dir::Ignore-Files-Silently:: "\.bak$";
Dir::Ignore-Files-Silently:: "\.dpkg-[a-z]+$";
Dir::Ignore-Files-Silently:: "\.ucf-[a-z]+$";
Dir::Ignore-Files-Silently:: "\.save$";
Dir::Ignore-Files-Silently:: "\.orig$";
Dir::Ignore-Files-Silently:: "\.distUpgrade$";
Acquire "";
Acquire::AllowInsecureRepositories "0";
Acquire::AllowWeakRepositories "0";
Acquire::AllowDowngradeToInsecureRepositories "0";
Acquire::cdrom "";
Acquire::cdrom::mount "/media/cdrom/";
Acquire::IndexTargets "";
Acquire::IndexTargets::deb "";
Acquire::IndexTargets::deb::Packages "";
Acquire::IndexTargets::deb::Packages::MetaKey
"$(COMPONENT)/binary-$(ARCHITECTURE)/Packages";
Acquire::IndexTargets::deb::Packages::flatMetaKey "Packages";
Acquire::IndexTargets::deb::Packages::ShortDescription "Packages";
Acquire::IndexTargets::deb::Packages::Description "$(RELEASE)/$(COMPONENT)
$(ARCHITECTURE) Packages";
Acquire::IndexTargets::deb::Packages::flatDescription "$(RELEASE) Packages";
Acquire::IndexTargets::deb::Packages::Optional "0";
Acquire::IndexTargets::deb::Translations "";
Acquire::IndexTargets::deb::Translations::MetaKey
"$(COMPONENT)/i18n/Translation-$(LANGUAGE)";
Acquire::IndexTargets::deb::Translations::flatMetaKey "$(LANGUAGE)";
Acquire::IndexTargets::deb::Translations::ShortDescription
"Translation-$(LANGUAGE)";
Acquire::IndexTargets::deb::Translations::Description "$(RELEASE)/$(COMPONENT)
Translation-$(LANGUAGE)";
Acquire::IndexTargets::deb::Translations::flatDescription "$(RELEASE)
Translation-$(LANGUAGE)";
Acquire::IndexTargets::deb-src "";
Acquire::IndexTargets::deb-src::Sources "";
Acquire::IndexTargets::deb-src::Sources::MetaKey "$(COMPONENT)/source/Sources";
Acquire::IndexTargets::deb-src::Sources::flatMetaKey "Sources";
Acquire::IndexTargets::deb-src::Sources::ShortDescription "Sources";
Acquire::IndexTargets::deb-src::Sources::Description "$(RELEASE)/$(COMPONENT)
Sources";
Acquire::IndexTargets::deb-src::Sources::flatDescription "$(RELEASE) Sources";
Acquire::IndexTargets::deb-src::Sources::Optional "0";
Acquire::Changelogs "";
Acquire::Changelogs::URI "";
Acquire::Changelogs::URI::Origin "";
Acquire::Changelogs::URI::Origin::Debian
"https://metadata.ftp-master.debian.org/changelogs/@CHANGEPATH@_changelog";;
Acquire::Changelogs::URI::Origin::Ubuntu
"https://changelogs.ubuntu.com/changelogs/pool/@CHANGEPATH@/changelog";;
Acquire::Changelogs::AlwaysOnline "";
Acquire::Changelogs::AlwaysOnline::Origin "";
Acquire::Changelogs::AlwaysOnline::Origin::Ubuntu "1";
Acquire::Snapshots "";
Acquire::Snapshots::URI "";
Acquire::Snapshots::URI::Origin "";
Acquire::Snapshots::URI::Origin::Debian
"https://snapshot.debian.org/archive/debian/@SNAPSHOTID@/";;
Acquire::Snapshots::URI::Origin::Ubuntu
"https://snapshot.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/@SNAPSHOTID@/";;
Acquire::Snapshots::URI::Override "";
Acquire::Snapshots::URI::Override::Label "";
Acquire::Snapshots::URI::Override::Label::Debian-Security
"https://snapshot.debian.org/archive/debian-security/@SNAPSHOTID@/";;
Acquire::Snapshots::URI::Host "";
Acquire::Snapshots::URI::Host::archive.ubuntu.com
"https://snapshot.ubuntu.com/@PATH@/@SNAPSHOTID@/";;
Acquire::Snapshots::URI::Host::deb.debian.org
"https://snapshot.debian.org/archive/@PATH@/@SNAPSHOTID@/";;
Acquire::Snapshots::URI::Host::.archive.ubuntu.com
"https://snapshot.ubuntu.com/@PATH@/@SNAPSHOTID@/";;
Acquire::Snapshots::URI::Host::security.ubuntu.com
"https://snapshot.ubuntu.com/@PATH@/@SNAPSHOTID@/";;
Acquire::Snapshots::URI::Host::ppa.launchpadcontent.net
"https://snapshot.ppa.launchpadcontent.net/@PATH@/@SNAPSHOTID@/";;
Acquire::Snapshots::URI::Host::ppa.launchpad.net
"https://snapshot.ppa.launchpadcontent.net/@PATH@/@SNAPSHOTID@/";;
Acquire::GzipIndexes "true";
Acquire::Languages "";
Acquire::Languages:: "none";
Acquire::CompressionTypes "";
Acquire::CompressionTypes::xz "xz";
Acquire::CompressionTypes::bz2 "bzip2";
Acquire::CompressionTypes::lzma "lzma";
Acquire::CompressionTypes::gz "gzip";
Acquire::CompressionTypes::lz4 "lz4";
Acquire::CompressionTypes::zst "zstd";
DPkg "";
DPkg::Path "/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin";
DPkg::Pre-Install-Pkgs "";
DPkg::Pre-Install-Pkgs:: "/usr/sbin/dpkg-preconfigure --apt || true";
DPkg::Post-Invoke "";
DPkg::Post-Invoke:: "rm -f /var/cache/apt/archives/*.deb
/var/cache/apt/archives/partial/*.deb /var/cache/apt/*.bin || true";
Binary "apt-config";
Binary::apt-cdrom "";
Binary::apt-cdrom::APT "";
Binary::apt-cdrom::APT::Internal "";
Binary::apt-cdrom::APT::Internal::OpProgress "";
Binary::apt-cdrom::APT::Internal::OpProgress::EraseLines "0";
Version "";
Version::1.2 "";
Version::1.2::APT "";
Version::1.2::APT::Color "1";
Version::1.2::APT::Keep-Downloaded-Packages "0";
Version::1.2::DPkg "";
Version::1.2::DPkg::Progress-Fancy "1";
Version::3.0 "";
Version::3.0::APT "";
Version::3.0::APT::Output-Version "30";
Version::3.0::Pager "1";
Version::1.1 "";
Version::1.1::APT "";
Version::1.1::APT::Cache "";
Version::1.1::APT::Cache::Show "";
Version::1.1::APT::Cache::Show::Version "2";
Version::1.1::APT::Cache::AllVersions "0";
Version::1.1::APT::Cache::ShowVirtuals "1";
Version::1.1::APT::Cache::Search "";
Version::1.1::APT::Cache::Search::Version "2";
Version::1.1::APT::Cache::ShowDependencyType "1";
Version::1.1::APT::Cache::ShowVersion "1";
Version::1.1::APT::Get "";
Version::1.1::APT::Get::Upgrade-Allow-New "1";
Version::1.1::APT::Cmd "";
Version::1.1::APT::Cmd::Show-Update-Stats "1";
Version::1.5 "";
Version::1.5::APT "";
Version::1.5::APT::Get "";
Version::1.5::APT::Get::Update "";
Version::1.5::APT::Get::Update::InteractiveReleaseInfoChanges "1";
Version::2.0 "";
Version::2.0::APT "";
Version::2.0::APT::Cmd "";
Version::2.0::APT::Cmd::Pattern-Only "1";
Version::2.0::Dpkg "";
Version::2.0::Dpkg::Lock "";
Version::2.0::Dpkg::Lock::Timeout "-1";
Version::0.31 "";
Version::1.21 "";
Version::1.21::APT "";
Version::1.21::APT::Solver "3.0";
Version::2.11 "";
Version::2.11::APT "";
Version::2.11::APT::Solver "3.0";
Version::3.1 "";
Version::3.1::APT "";
Version::3.1::APT::Solver "3.0";
CommandLine "";
CommandLine::AsString "apt-config dump";
-- (no /etc/apt/preferences present) --
-- (no /etc/apt/preferences.d/* present) --
-- (no /etc/apt/sources.list present) --
-- /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.sources --
Types: deb
# http://snapshot.debian.org/archive/debian/20260713T000000Z
URIs: http://deb.debian.org/debian
Suites: sid
Components: main
Signed-By: /usr/share/keyrings/debian-archive-keyring.pgp
-- System Information:
Debian Release: forky/sid
APT prefers unstable
APT policy: (500, 'unstable')
Architecture: amd64 (x86_64)
Kernel: Linux 7.0.0-1003-gke (SMP w/10 CPU threads; PREEMPT)
Locale: LANG=C, LC_CTYPE=C.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8), LANGUAGE not set
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /usr/bin/dash
Init: unable to detect
Versions of packages apt depends on:
ii base-passwd 3.6.8
ii debian-archive-keyring 2025.1
ii libapt-pkg7.0 3.3.1
ii libc6 2.42-17
ii libgcc-s1 16.1.0-3
ii libseccomp2 2.6.1-1
ii libssl3t64 3.6.3-1
ii libstdc++6 16.1.0-3
ii libsystemd0 261.2-1
ii sqv 1.4.0-1
Versions of packages apt recommends:
ii ca-certificates 20260601
Versions of packages apt suggests:
pn apt-doc <none>
pn aptitude | synaptic | wajig <none>
pn dpkg-dev <none>
pn gnupg | gnupg2 | gnupg1 <none>
pn powermgmt-base <none>
-- no debconf information
