Provided by: piuparts_1.6.0_all 
NAME
piuparts - .deb installation, upgrade, and removal testing suite
SYNOPSIS
piuparts [-a -p -v -V] [-d distro] [-i filename] [-I regexp] [-l logfile] [-m URL] [--bindmount dir]
[package ...] [changes_file ...]
DESCRIPTION
piuparts tests that Debian packages handle installation, upgrading, and removal correctly. It does this
by creating a minimal Debian installation in a chroot, and installing, upgrading, and removing packages
in that environment, and comparing the state of the directory tree before and after. piuparts reports any
files that have been added, removed, or modified during this process.
piuparts is meant as a quality assurance tool for people who create Debian packages to test them before
they upload them to the Debian package archive.
By default, piuparts can do three different tests:
• A simple install-purge test within one Debian distribution (chosen with the -d option, unstable by
default). It sets up the chroot with the desired distribution, then installs and purges the packages,
and reports problems.
• A simple install-upgrade-purge test within one Debian distribution. This test is like the install-purge
test, but it installs the packages first via apt-get and then upgrades them with the package files
given on the command line. If the command line has package names (option --apt used), or no tested
package is known to apt-get (new packages), this test is skipped, otherwise it is performed
automatically.
• An upgrade test between Debian releases. This test is enabled by using the -d option multiple times and
disables the other two tests. It sets up the chroot with the first distribution named, then upgrades it
to each successive one, and then remembers the directory tree state at the end. After this, it starts
over with the chroot of the first distribution, installs the desired packages (via apt-get install),
and does the successive upgrading (via apt-get dist-upgrade). Then, if package files (and not just
package names) were given on the command line, it installs them. Finally, it reports problems against
the state of the directory tree at the last distribution compared with the state without the packages
having been installed. This test can be quite slow to execute. Note that this does not work with
experimental, because apt-get does not automatically upgrade to packages in experimental. To test a
particular package or group of packages in experimental, use the second test.
Command line arguments are the paths to package files (e.g., piuparts_1.0-1_all.deb), paths to changes
files (e.g., piuparts_1.0-1_i386.changes), or names of packages, if the --apt option is given.
When processing changes files, by default, all packages in a changes file will be processed together with
all individual packages given on the command line. Then each package given on the command line is
processed in a single group. If --single-changes-list is used, the packages in all changes files are
processed together along with any individual packages that were given on the command line. To avoid this
behaviour, it is possible to specify --single-packages.
piuparts outputs to the standard output some log messages to show what is going on. If a log file is
used, the messages go there as well.
piuparts requires root rights to test packages. It does not have to be run in the initial namespace
though. When running it as non-root, it'll create a new Linux namespace and rerun itself as root inside
said namespace. For this to work, your user needs have an subuid range (which happens by default since a
few years) and you need to install the uidmap package to provide setuid helpers newuidmap and newgidmap.
OPTIONS
Options must come before the other command line arguments.
-a, --apt
The package arguments on the command line are to be treated as package names and installed via
apt-get install instead of being names of package files, to be installed via dpkg -i.
--allow-database
Allow starting MySQL and PostgreSQL database servers in the chroot for packages requiring database
access in their maintainer scripts. Do not use this option if there is already a database server
running on the system running piuparts (or piuparts-slave)! In master-slave setups with multiple
slaves running on one host collisions may occur, these will be detected by detect_piuparts_issues
and the affected packages will be tested again.
--arch arch
Create chroot and run tests for (non-default) architecture arch. The default is the output from
dpkg --print-architecture.
-b tarball, --basetgz tarball
Use tarball as the contents of the initial chroot, instead of building a new one with debootstrap.
The tarball can be created with the -s option, or you can use one that pbuilder has created (see
-p). If you create one manually, make sure the root of the chroot is the root of the tarball.
Despite the option name implying gzip compression, the compression scheme is deduced by tar from
the filename suffix.
--bindmount dir
Bind-mount a directory inside the chroot.
--bootstrapcmd cmd
Set alternative chroot bootstrap command (including command line options). The default is
debootstrap --variant=minbase. Needs to be compatible with typical debootstrap command line
options such as --arch and --include. For mmdebstrap use: --bootstrapcmd=mmdebstrap
--skip=check/empty --variant=minbase.
-d name, --distribution name
Which Debian distribution to use: a code name (for example bullseye, bookworm or sid) or
experimental. The default is sid (= unstable).
-D flavor, --defaults flavor
Use default settings suitable for a particular flavor of Debian: either debian or ubuntu. The
default is debian.
--do-not-verify-signatures
Do not verify signatures from the Release files when running debootstrap. Also set
APT::Get::AllowUnauthenticated accordingly in /etc/apt/apt.conf in the chroots.
--dpkg-force-confdef
Make dpkg use --force-confdef, which lets dpkg always choose the default action when a modified
conffile is found. This option will make piuparts ignore errors it was designed to report and
therefore should only be used to hide problems in depending packages. This option shall normally
not be used. (See #466118.)
--dpkg-noforce-unsafe-io
Prevent running dpkg with --force-unsafe-io. --force-unsafe-io causes dpkg to skip certain file
system syncs known to cause substantial performance degradation on some filesystems. Thus,
including this option reverts to safe but slower behavior. The --dpkg-noforce-unsafe-io is
required for running tests on distributions older than squeeze.
--no-eatmydata
Prevent use of eatmydata. The --no-eatmydata option is required for running tests on squeeze or
older distributions.
--extra-old-packages pkg1[,pkg2]...
Install additional old packages before upgrading. Allows testing package renames/merges where the
old package is no longer available in the new distribution and the new one utilizes
Conflicts/Replaces. The argument is a comma separated list of package names and the option can be
given multiple times. For install/purge tests these packages will be installed before the package
that is to be tested.
-e dirname, --existing-chroot dirname
Use the specified directory as source for the new chroot, instead of building a new one with
debootstrap. This is similar to --basetgz, but the contents are not archived. See also the
--hard-link option.
--distupgrade-to-testdebs
Use the "testdebs" repository to override the packages in the distupgrade target distribution.
This allows one to test complex upgrade paths before the packages enter the archive.
--extra-repo deb-line
Provide an additional (unparsed) line to be appended to sources.list, for example:
'deb <URL> <distrib> <components>'
or
'deb file:// </bind/mount> ./'
Useful for e.g. backports, security or local repositories that cannot be handled by --mirror. May
be repeated to add more than one line.
--fake-essential-packages pkg1[,pkg2]...
Install additional packages in the base chroot that are not removed after the test. These are
available during purge and for checking against mistreatment. Takes a comma separated list of
package names and can be given multiple times.
--hard-link
When the --existing-chroot option is used, and the source directory is on the same filesystem,
hard-link files instead of copying them. This is faster, but any modifications to files will be
reflected in the originals.
-i filename, --ignore filename
Add a filename to the list of filenames to be ignored when comparing changes before and after
installation. By default, piuparts ignores files that always change during a package installation
and uninstallation, such as dpkg status files. The filename should be relative to the root of the
chroot (e.g., var/lib/dpkg/status). Filenames prefixed with a : will be logged verbosely if
found. This option can be used as many times as necessary.
-I regexp, --ignore-regexp regexp
Add a regular expression pattern to the list of patterns for filenames to be ignored when
comparing changes before and after installation. Patterns prefixed with a : will log verbosely
all matching files. This option can be used as many times as necessary.
--install-purge-install
Purge package after installation and reinstall. All dependencies are available during purge.
--install-recommends
Enable installation of Recommends.
--install-suggests
Enable installation of Suggests.
--install-remove-install
Remove package after installation and reinstall. For testing installation in
config-files-remaining state.
-k, --keep-env
Depending on which option is passed, keep the environment used for testing after the program ends
• By default it doesn't remove the temporary directory for the chroot,
• or if --schroot is used, the schroot session is not terminated,
• or if --docker-image is used, the container created is not destroyed.
-K filename, --keyring filename
Use filename as the keyring to use with debootstrap when creating chroots.
--keep-sources-list
Don't modify the chroot's /etc/apt/sources.list.
--list-installed-files
List the files added to the chroot after the installation of the package and after the
installation of the package dependencies.
--lvm-volume lvm-volume
Use the specified lvm-volume as source for the chroot, instead of building a new one with
debootstrap. This creates a snapshot of the given LVM volume and mounts it to the chroot path.
--lvm-snapshot-size snapshot-size
Use the specified snapshot-size as snapshot size when creating a new LVM snapshot (default: 1G)
-l filename, --log-file filename
Append log file to filename in addition to the standard output.
--log-level level
Display messages from loglevel level, possible values are: error, info, dump, debug. The default
is dump.
--max-command-output-size size
Set the maximum permitted command output to size (in MB) for debugging runs exceeding the default
of 8 MB.
--merged-usr
When using debootstrap to create the chroot, use the --merged-usr option to create a chroot with
/bin, /lib, /sbin being symlinks to their /usr counterparts.
--no-merged-usr
When using debootstrap to create the chroot, use the --no-merged-usr option.
-m URL, --mirror URL
Which Debian mirror to use. The default is the first mirror named in /etc/apt/sources.list or
http://deb.debian.org/debian if none is found. This option may be used multiple times to use
multiple mirrors. Only the first mirror is used with debootstrap.
The 'components' that are used for a mirror can also be set with this option: a space separated
list within the same argument (so you need to quote the entire argument in the shell). If no
components are given explicitly, the usual Debian components are used (main, contrib, non-free
and non-free-firmware). For the mirrors read from /etc/apt/sources.list, the components are
read from the same place.
Note that file: addresses work if the directories are made accessible from within the chroot with
--bindmount.
--no-adequate
Don't run adequate after installation. The default is to run adequate, provided it is installed.
--no-check-valid-until
Set apt option Acquire::Check-Valid-Until=false in the chroot to ignore the expiration of Release
files. This is needed for testing archived releases.
--no-diversions
Don't check for broken diversions.
-n, --no-ignores
Forget all built-in and other ignores that have been set so far. Any -i or -I arguments that come
after this one will be obeyed, but none of the ones that come before.
-N, --no-symlinks
Don't check for broken symlinks.
--fail-if-inadequate
Fail on inadequate results from running adequate. The default is to just issue those errors as
warnings.
--fail-on-broken-symlinks
Fail on broken symlinks. The default is to just issue those errors as warnings.
--no-upgrade-test
Skip testing upgrade from an existing version in the archive.
--no-install-purge-test
Skip the install and purge test.
-p, --pbuilder
Use /var/cache/pbuilder/base.tgz as the base tarball. This is a shorthand so that you don't need
to use -b for it.
--pedantic-purge-test
Be pedantic when checking if a purged package leaves files behind. If this option is not set,
files left in /tmp are ignored.
--proxy URL
Use the proxy at URL to access the Debian mirror(s). Takes precedence over the http_proxy
environment variable. Using a local proxy is recommended because piuparts may use large amounts of
bandwidth to repeatedly download the same files.
-s filename, --save filename
Save the chroot, after it has been set up, as a tarball into filename. It can then be used with
-b.
-B filename, --end-meta filename
Load chroot package selection and file meta data from filename. See the function
install_and_upgrade_between_distros() in piuparts.py for defaults. Mostly useful for large scale
distro upgrade tests.
-S filename, --save-end-meta filename
Save chroot package selection and file meta data in filename for later use. See the function
install_and_upgrade_between_distros() in piuparts.py for defaults. Mostly useful for large scale
distro upgrade tests.
--scriptsdir directory
Directory where are custom scripts are placed. By default, this is not set. For more information
about this, read README_server.txt
--schroot SCHROOT-NAME
Use schroot session named SCHROOT-NAME for the testing environment, instead of building a new one
with debootstrap.
--docker-image DOCKER-IMAGE
Use a container created from the docker image DOCKER-IMAGE for the testing environment, instead of
building a new one with debootstrap. This only supports overlay2 for now and it uses the
MergedDir layer where piuparts can access, add, edit and remove files easily by directly accessing
the directory.
--single-changes-list
When processing changes files, piuparts will process the packages in each individual changes file
separately. This option will set piuparts to scan the packages of all changes files together along
with any individual package files that may have been given on the command line.
--single-packages
Process every package file or package name individually, thus piuparts process runs multiple
times. This option can be useful with conflicting packages.
--shell-on-error
Start an interactive shell in the chroot after an error occurred. This should help debugging
failures directly inside the piuparts test environment. The chroot cleanup will continue after
the shell terminates. Note: This does not work if the piuparts command is prefixed with
'timeout', which is usually the case in command lines directly copied from logfiles from a
master-slave setup. Removing the 'timeout' part is sufficient.
--skip-minimize
Allow skip minimize chroot step. This is useful when you want to test several packages with
piuparts. You can prepare a tarball already minimized and skip this step in all the tests. This is
the default now.
--minimize
Minimize the chroot with debfoster. This used to be the default until #539142 was fixed.
--skip-cronfiles-test
Skip testing the output from the cron files left in the system after remove a package.
--skip-logrotatefiles-test
Skip testing the output from the logrotate files left in the system after remove a package.
--testdebs-repo deb-line
Provide an additional line to be appended to sources.list, for example:
'deb [ trusted=yes ] <URL> <distrib> <components>'
or
'deb [ trusted=yes ] file:// </bind/mount> ./'
If only an URL or local path is given as argument, deb [ trusted=yes ], file://, and ./ will be
prepended/appended as needed. The "testdebs" repository provides the packages to be tested (and
some additional dependencies, if needed, e.g. all packages built from the same source package as
the (binary) package being tested) and can be used for testing complex installation and upgrade
scenarios involving dependencies that are not yet in the archive. This repository will be
available only for installing the target packages. Dependency resolution will be done by apt-get.
The packages to be tested can be passed as .debs or as package names (with --apt).
The trusted=yes option causes this (and only this) repository to be trustworthy even if the
Packages file is not signed, such that a (globally acting) --do-not-verify-signatures will not be
needed.
-t directory, --tmpdir directory
Use directory as the place where temporary files and directories are created. The default is the
environment variable TMPDIR, or /tmp if not set. Note: the temporary directory must not be
mounted with the nodev or nosuid mount option.
--update-retries num-retries
Rerun apt-get update up to num-retries times. Useful to work around temporary network failures
and hashsum mismatch errors.
--upgrade-before-dist-upgrade
Perform two-stage upgrades: apt-get upgrade && apt-get dist-upgrade.
-v, --verbose
This option no longer has any meaning, but it is still accepted for backwards compatibility.
-V, --version
Write out the version number of the program.
--warn-on-debsums-errors
Print a warning rather than failing if debsums reports modified files.
--warn-on-leftovers-after-purge
Print a warning rather than failing if files are left behind after purge.
--warn-on-others
Print a warning rather than failing if files are left behind, modified, or removed by a package
that was not given on the command-line.
This way, you can basically isolate the purge test to your own packages. If a package that is
brought in as a dependency doesn't purge cleanly, the test will not fail because of it (but a
warning message will be printed).
Behavior with multiple packages given on the command-line could be problematic, particularly if
the dependency tree of one package in the list includes another in the list. Therefore, it is
recommended to use this option with one package at a time.
--warn-on-usr-move disabled|warn|fail
Whether to enable the test (with a warning or a failure) that checks if files are moved between
/bin|sbin|lib* and /usr/bin|sbin|lib*. Accepted values: disabled (default), warn, fail.
EXAMPLES
Assume that you have just built a new version of your Debian package, to be uploaded to Debian unstable.
It is in ../foo_1.0-2_i386.deb and you would like to know whether it installs and uninstalls properly.
Here's what you would do:
piuparts ../foo_1.0-2_i386.deb
If the package exists in the Debian archive already, the above command also tests that it upgrades
properly.
To do the same test, but using a particular mirror, and only the main component, you would do this:
piuparts -m 'http://gytha/debian main' ../foo_1.0-2_i386.deb
If you want to do the same as above but for your changes files, pass in your changes files when running
piuparts, and piuparts will process each package in the changes files as though you had passed all those
packages on the command line to piuparts yourself. For example:
piuparts ../foo_1.0-2_i386.changes
piuparts -m 'http://gytha/debian main' ../foo_1.0-2_i386.changes
If you want to test that a package installs properly in the stable (currently bullseye) Debian release,
then can be upgraded to the testing (currently bookworm) and unstable (sid) versions, and then
uninstalled without problems, you would give the following command:
piuparts -a -d bullseye -d bookworm -d sid foo
ENVIRONMENT
TMPDIR Location for temporary files and directories. If not set, use /tmp. See also the --tmpdir option.
NOTES
Output of commands run by piuparts is limited to three megabytes. To change this limit, the source code
needs to be edited. Commands exceeding this limit will be aborted.
SEE ALSO
pbuilder(1), debootstrap(8)
AUTHOR
Lars Wirzenius (liw@iki.fi) and others
Mar 20, 2025 PIUPARTS(1)