sort-dctrl

sort-dctrl [options] [file...]

-s , -k
    Specifies the field name by which the stanzas should be sorted. If this option is not provided, sort-dctrl defaults to sorting by the Package field. If the Package field is not present but the Source field is, it will sort by the Source field instead.

-r
    Reverses the order of the sort, producing output in descending order.

-u
    Outputs only unique stanzas. If multiple stanzas have the same value for the sorting field, only the first occurrence is kept.

--no-auto-compress
    Prevents dctrl-tools from automatically decompressing input files that are compressed (e.g., with gzip). By default, sort-dctrl will transparently handle compressed input.

The sort-dctrl command, part of the dctrl-tools suite, is designed to read and sort stanzas (paragraphs or entries) from Debian control files such as Packages, Sources, or debian/control files. It processes input from specified files or standard input, sorts the entries based on the content of a designated field (e.g., 'Package' or 'Source'), and then prints the sorted output to standard output. This utility is invaluable for maintaining consistent order in Debian repository metadata and package source definitions, which aids in version control, comparison, and automated processing of these files.

sort-dctrl relies on the input files conforming to the Debian control file format. It is not a general-purpose text sorter like sort(1). While it can handle compressed input files by default, it does not write compressed output directly; output is always to standard output, which can then be piped to compression utilities like gzip(1) if needed.

To sort a Packages.gz file by the Package field and output to standard output (which can then be redirected):

gzip -dc Packages.gz | sort-dctrl > SortedPackages

To sort a debian/control file by the Source field in reverse order and view the result:

sort-dctrl -k Source -r debian/control | less

sort-dctrl reads from standard input if no file arguments are provided, or from the specified files. All sorted output is directed to standard output (stdout). This allows for easy piping with other command-line utilities for further processing, such as compression or filtering.

sort-dctrl is a component of the dctrl-tools package, a collection of utilities designed for parsing and manipulating Debian control files. These tools are fundamental to Debian's package management infrastructure and have been part of the distribution for a significant period, evolving alongside the Debian project itself to provide robust file handling capabilities for repository maintenance and package building processes.

dctrl-tools(1), dpkg-scanpackages(1), dpkg-scansources(1), sort(1), cat(1)