lintian

checks Debian packages for policy compliance

TLDR

Check Debian package

$ lintian [package.deb]

Check changes file

$ lintian [package.changes]

Verbose output

$ lintian -v [package.deb]

Show info tags

$ lintian -I [package.deb]

Show all tags

$ lintian -iI [package.deb]

Check specific tag

$ lintian --tags [tag-name] [package.deb]

SYNOPSIS

lintian [options] packages

DESCRIPTION

lintian checks Debian packages for policy compliance. It identifies bugs, policy violations, and issues.
The tool is essential for Debian maintainers. It checks both binary and source packages.

PARAMETERS

PACKAGES

Debian packages, changes, or dsc files.

-v

Verbose output.

-I

Display info tags.

-i

Display tag descriptions.

--tags TAG

Check specific tags only.

--suppress-tags TAG

Suppress specific tags.

--help

Display help information.

CAVEATS

Debian/Ubuntu focused. Large tag database. Some checks need installed packages.

HISTORY

Lintian was created by Christian Schwarz in 1998 to help Debian maintainers produce quality packages.