grep-dctrl

grep-dctrl [options] pattern [file...]

-f
    Search only the specified field.

-F
    Search only the specified field, treating the pattern as a fixed string.

-i
    Perform a case-insensitive search.

-n
    Print the record number before each matching line.

-v
    Invert the sense of matching, selecting non-matching records.

-s
    Use the specified separator instead of a blank line to separate records.

pattern
    The regular expression to search for.

file...
    The dctrl files to search. If omitted, reads from standard input.

The grep-dctrl command is a utility designed to simplify searching Debian control files (dctrl files) using regular expressions. These files, often found within Debian packages or package indexes, contain metadata describing the software. grep-dctrl provides a convenient way to extract specific information from these files based on patterns, making it easier to manage and analyze Debian packages.
It understands the structure of dctrl files, treating each paragraph (separated by blank lines) as a record. It applies the grep pattern to the specified field, if given, or to all paragraphs if a field is not specified. This command is useful for developers, system administrators, and package maintainers who need to quickly locate packages matching certain criteria, such as dependencies, versions, or descriptions. The output is typically a list of package paragraphs matching the search criteria. Because debian control files use folded lines, this commands provides appropriate way to use grep.
It is included as a part of the `devscripts` package and is written in Perl.

The exit status is 0 if selected lines are found, and 1 if not found. If an error occurred, the exit status is 2.

grep-dctrl -f Package '^lib' Packages: Searches the 'Packages' file for records where the 'Package' field starts with 'lib'.
grep-dctrl 'Section: devel' Packages: Searches the 'Packages' file for records that contain 'Section: devel' in any field.
cat Packages | grep-dctrl -i '^Depends:': Uses standard input to search for lines starting with 'Depends:' (case-insensitive).

grep-dctrl has been developed as part of the devscripts package, a collection of scripts designed to aid Debian package maintainers. It addresses the need for a specialized tool to efficiently search and filter information within Debian control files, considering their unique structure and multi-line fields. Over time, it has evolved alongside the Debian packaging ecosystem, adapting to new standards and incorporating features requested by the community.

grep(1), dpkg-deb(1), apt-cache(8)