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<title>The Debian GNU/Linux FAQ - The Debian FTP archives</title>
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<p><a name="ch-ftparchives"></a></p>
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</p>
<hr>
<h1>
The Debian GNU/Linux FAQ
<br>Chapter 5 - The Debian FTP archives
</h1>
<hr>
<h2><a name="s-dirtree"></a>5.1 What are all those directories at the Debian FTP archives?</h2>
<p>
The software that has been packaged for Debian GNU/Linux is available in one of
several directory trees on each Debian mirror site.
</p>
<p>
The <samp>dists</samp> directory is short for "distributions", and it
is the canonical way to access the currently available Debian releases (and
pre-releases).
</p>
<p>
The <samp>pool</samp> directory contains the actual packages, see <a
href="#s-pools">What's in the <samp>pool</samp> directory?, Section 5.10</a>.
</p>
<p>
There are the following supplementary directories:
</p>
<dl>
<dt><em>/tools/</em>:</dt>
<dd>
<p>
DOS utilities for creating boot disks, partitioning your disk drive,
compressing/decompressing files, and booting Linux.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><em>/doc/</em>:</dt>
<dd>
<p>
The basic Debian documentation, such as the FAQ, the bug reporting system
instructions, etc.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><em>/indices/</em>:</dt>
<dd>
<p>
The Maintainers file and the override files.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>
<dl>
<dt><em>/project/</em>:</dt>
<dd>
<p>
mostly developer-only materials, such as:
</p>
<dl>
<dt><em>project/experimental/</em>:</dt>
<dd>
<p>
This directory contains packages and tools which are still being developed, and
are still in the alpha testing stage. Users shouldn't be using packages from
here, because they can be dangerous and harmful even for the most experienced
people.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>
</dd>
</dl>
<hr>
<h2><a name="s-dists"></a>5.2 How many Debian distributions are there in the <samp>dists</samp> directory?</h2>
<p>
There are three distributions, the "stable" distribution, the
"testing" distribution, and the "unstable" distribution.
The "testing" distribution is sometimes `frozen' (see <a
href="#s-frozen">What about "testing"? How is it `frozen'?, Section
5.6.1</a>).
</p>
<hr>
<h2><a name="s-codenames"></a>5.3 What are all those names like slink, potato, etc.?</h2>
<p>
They are just "codenames". When a Debian distribution is in the
development stage, it has no version number but a codename. The purpose of
these codenames is to make easier the mirroring of the Debian distributions (if
a real directory like <samp>unstable</samp> suddenly changed its name to
<samp>stable</samp>, a lot of stuff would have to be needlessly downloaded
again).
</p>
<p>
Currently, <samp>stable</samp> is a symbolic link to <samp>etch</samp> (i.e.
Debian GNU/Linux 4.0) and <samp>testing</samp> is a symbolic link to
<samp>lenny</samp>. This means that <samp>etch</samp> is the current stable
distribution and <samp>lenny</samp> is the current testing distribution.
</p>
<p>
<samp>unstable</samp> is a permanent symbolic link to <samp>sid</samp>, as
<samp>sid</samp> is always the unstable distribution (see <a href="#s-sid">What
about "sid"?, Section 5.4</a>).
</p>
<hr>
<h3><a name="s-oldcodenames"></a>5.3.1 Which other codenames have been used in the past?</h3>
<p>
Other codenames that have been already used are: <samp>buzz</samp> for release
1.1, <samp>rex</samp> for release 1.2, <samp>bo</samp> for releases 1.3.x,
<samp>hamm</samp> for release 2.0, <samp>slink</samp> for release 2.1,
<samp>potato</samp> for release 2.2, <samp>woody</samp> for release 3.0 and
<samp>sarge</samp> for release 3.1.
</p>
<hr>
<h3><a name="s-sourceforcodenames"></a>5.3.2 Where do these codenames come from?</h3>
<p>
So far they have been characters taken from the movie "Toy Story" by
Pixar.
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
<em>buzz</em> (Buzz Lightyear) was the spaceman,
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
<em>rex</em> was the tyrannosaurus,
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
<em>bo</em> (Bo Peep) was the girl who took care of the sheep,
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
<em>hamm</em> was the piggy bank,
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
<em>slink</em> (Slinky Dog (R)) was the toy dog,
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
<em>potato</em> was, of course, Mr. Potato (R),
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
<em>woody</em> was the cowboy,
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
<em>sarge</em> was the sergeant of the Green Plastic Army Men,
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
<em>etch</em> was the toy blackboard (Etch-a-Sketch (R)),
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
<em>lenny</em> was the binoculars.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
<em>sid</em> was the boy next door who destroyed toys.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<hr>
<h2><a name="s-sid"></a>5.4 What about "sid"?</h2>
<p>
<em>sid</em> or <em>unstable</em> is the place where most of the packages are
initially uploaded. It will never be released directly, because packages which
are to be released will first have to be included in <em>testing</em>, in order
to be released in <em>stable</em> later on. sid contains packages for both
released and unreleased architectures.
</p>
<p>
The name "sid" also comes from the "Toy Story" animated
motion picture: Sid was the boy next door who destroyed toys :-)
</p>
<p>
[<a href="footnotes.en.html#f1" name="fr1">1</a>]
</p>
<hr>
<h2><a name="s-stable"></a>5.5 What does the stable directory contain?</h2>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
stable/main/: This directory contains the packages which formally constitute
the most recent release of the Debian GNU/Linux system.
</p>
<p>
These packages all comply with the <code><a
href="http://www.debian.org/social_contract#guidelines">Debian Free Software
Guidelines</a></code>, and are all freely usable and distributable.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
stable/non-free/: This directory contains packages distribution of which is
restricted in a way that requires that distributors take careful account of the
specified copyright requirements.
</p>
<p>
For example, some packages have licenses which prohibit commercial
distribution. Others can be redistributed but are in fact shareware and not
freeware. The licenses of each of these packages must be studied, and possibly
negotiated, before the packages are included in any redistribution (e.g., in a
CD-ROM).
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<p>
stable/contrib/: This directory contains packages which are DFSG-free and
<em>freely distributable</em> themselves, but somehow depend on a package that
is <em>not</em> freely distributable and thus available only in the non-free
section.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<hr>
<h2><a name="s-testing"></a>5.6 What does the testing directory contain?</h2>
<p>
Packages are installed into the `testing' directory after they have undergone
some degree of testing in <a href="#s-unstable">unstable</a>.
</p>
<p>
They must be in sync on all architectures where they have been built and
mustn't have dependencies that make them uninstallable; they also have to have
fewer release-critical bugs than the versions currently in testing. This way,
we hope that `testing' is always close to being a release candidate.
</p>
<p>
More information about the status of "testing" in general and the
individual packages is available at <code><a
href="http://www.debian.org/devel/testing">http://www.debian.org/devel/testing</a></code>
</p>
<hr>
<h3><a name="s-frozen"></a>5.6.1 What about "testing"? How is it `frozen'?</h3>
<p>
When the "testing" distribution is mature enough, the release manager
starts `freezing' it. The normal propagation delays are increased to ensure
that as little as possible new bugs from "unstable" enter
"testing".
</p>
<p>
After a while, the "testing" distribution becomes truly `frozen'.
This means that all new packages that are to propagate to the
"testing" are held back, unless they include release-critical bug
fixes. The "testing" distribution can also remain in such a deep
freeze during the so-called `test cycles', when the release is imminent.
</p>
<p>
We keep a record of bugs in the "testing" distribution that can hold
off a package from being released, or bugs that can hold back the whole
release. For details, please see <code><a
href="http://www.debian.org/releases/testing/">current testing release
information</a></code>.
</p>
<p>
Once that bug count lowers to maximum acceptable values, the frozen
"testing" distribution is declared "stable" and released
with a version number.
</p>
<p>
With each new release, the previous "stable" distribution becomes
obsolete and moves to the archive. For more information please see <code><a
href="http://www.debian.org/distrib/archive">Debian archive</a></code>.
</p>
<hr>
<h2><a name="s-unstable"></a>5.7 What does the unstable directory contain?</h2>
<p>
The `unstable' directory contains a snapshot of the current development system.
Users are welcome to use and test these packages, but are warned about their
state of readiness. The advantage of using the unstable distribution is that
you are always up-to-date with the latest in GNU/Linux software industry, but
if it breaks: you get to keep both parts :-)
</p>
<p>
There are also main, contrib and non-free subdirectories in `unstable',
separated on the same criteria as in `stable'.
</p>
<hr>
<h2><a name="s-archsections"></a>5.8 What are all those directories inside <samp>dists/stable/main</samp>?</h2>
<p>
Within each of the major directory trees[<a href="footnotes.en.html#f2"
name="fr2">2</a>], there are three sets of subdirectories containing index
files.
</p>
<p>
There's one set of <samp>binary-<var>something</var></samp> subdirectories
which contain index files for binary packages of each available computer
architecture, for example <samp>binary-i386</samp> for packages which execute
on Intel x86 PC machines or <samp>binary-sparc</samp> for packages which
execute on Sun SPARCStations.
</p>
<p>
The complete list of available architectures for each release is available at
<code><a href="http://www.debian.org/releases/">the release's web
page</a></code>. For the current release, please see <a
href="ch-compat.en.html#s-arches">On what hardware architectures/systems does
Debian GNU/Linux run?, Section 3.1</a>.
</p>
<p>
The index files in binary-* are called Packages(.gz) and they include a summary
of each binary package that is included in that distribution. The actual
binary packages (for <em>woody</em> and subsequent releases) reside in the top
level <a href="#s-pools"><samp>pool</samp> directory</a>.
</p>
<p>
Furthermore, there's a subdirectory called source/ which contains index files
for source packages included in the distribution. The index file is called
Sources(.gz).
</p>
<p>
Last but not least, there's a set of subdirectories meant for the installation
system index files. In the <em>woody</em> release, these are named
<samp>disks-<var>architecture</var></samp>; in <em>sarge</em>, they are at
<samp>debian-installer/binary-<var>architecture</var></samp>.
</p>
<hr>
<h2><a name="s-source"></a>5.9 Where is the source code?</h2>
<p>
Source code is included for everything in the Debian system. Moreover, the
license terms of most programs in the system <em>require</em> that source code
be distributed along with the programs, or that an offer to provide the source
code accompany the programs.
</p>
<p>
The source code is distributed in the <samp>pool</samp> directory (see <a
href="#s-pools">What's in the <samp>pool</samp> directory?, Section 5.10</a>)
together with all the architecture-specific binary directories. To retrieve
the source code without having to be familiar with the structure of the FTP
archive, try a command like <samp>apt-get source mypackagename</samp>.
</p>
<p>
Some packages are only distributed as source code due to the restrictions in
their licenses. Notably, one such package is <samp>pine</samp>, see <a
href="ch-software.en.html#s-pine">Where is pine?, Section 4.10</a> for more
information.
</p>
<p>
Source code may or may not be available for packages in the "contrib"
and "non-free" directories, which are not formally part of the Debian
system.
</p>
<hr>
<h2><a name="s-pools"></a>5.10 What's in the <samp>pool</samp> directory?</h2>
<p>
Packages are kept in a large `pool', structured according to the name of the
source package. To make this manageable, the pool is subdivided by section
(`main', `contrib' and `non-free') and by the first letter of the source
package name. These directories contain several files: the binary packages for
each architecture, and the source packages from which the binary packages were
generated.
</p>
<p>
You can find out where each package is placed by executing a command like
<samp>apt-cache showsrc mypackagename</samp> and looking at the `Directory:'
line. For example, the <samp>apache</samp> packages are stored in
<samp>pool/main/a/apache/</samp>.
</p>
<p>
Additionally, since there are so many <samp>lib*</samp> packages, these are
treated specially: for instance, libpaper packages are stored in
<samp>pool/main/libp/libpaper/</samp>.
</p>
<p>
[<a href="footnotes.en.html#f3" name="fr3">3</a>]
</p>
<hr>
<h2><a name="s-incoming"></a>5.11 What is "incoming"?</h2>
<p>
After a developer uploads a package, it stays for a short while in the
"incoming" directory before it is checked that it's genuine and
allowed into the archive.
</p>
<p>
Usually nobody should install things from this place. However, in some rare
cases of emergency, the incoming directory is available at <code><a
href="http://incoming.debian.org/">http://incoming.debian.org/</a></code>. You
can manually fetch packages, check the GPG signature and MD5sums in the
.changes and .dsc files, and then install them.
</p>
<hr>
<h2><a name="s-ownrepository"></a>5.12 How do I set up my own apt-able repository?</h2>
<p>
If you have built some private Debian packages which you'd like to install
using the standard Debian package management tools, you can set up your own
apt-able package archive. This is also useful if you'd like to share your
Debian packages while these are not distributed by the Debian project.
Instructions on how to do this are given in the <code><a
href="http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/repository-howto/repository-howto">Debian
Repository HOWTO</a></code>.
</p>
<hr>
<p>
[ <a href="ch-software.en.html">previous</a> ]
[ <a href="index.en.html#contents">Contents</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-basic_defs.en.html">1</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-getting.en.html">2</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-compat.en.html">3</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-software.en.html">4</a> ]
[ 5 ]
[ <a href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html">6</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-pkgtools.en.html">7</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-uptodate.en.html">8</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-kernel.en.html">9</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-customizing.en.html">10</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-support.en.html">11</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-contributing.en.html">12</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-redistrib.en.html">13</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-nexttime.en.html">14</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-faqinfo.en.html">15</a> ]
[ <a href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html">next</a> ]
</p>
<hr>
<p>
The Debian GNU/Linux FAQ
</p>
<address>
version 3.1.5, 17 January 2007<br>
<br>
Authors are listed at <a href="ch-faqinfo.en.html#s-authors">Debian FAQ Authors</a><br>
<br>
</address>
<hr>
</body>
</html>
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