lintian(1)
lintian checks Debian packages for compliance with policy and common mistakes.
Synopsis
lintian [OPTION]... [FILE|DIRECTORY]...Description
lintian is a tool that inspects Debian binary and source packages for errors and policy violations. It can detect everything from missing dependencies to incorrect file permissions to upstream version handling problems.
The tool compares package contents against the Debian Policy Manual and known best practices, producing a categorized report of issues (errors, warnings, info, notes, experimental). It's essential for package maintainers before uploading to archives.
Common options
| Flag | What it does |
|---|---|
-i, --info | print tags with their descriptions and explanatory information |
-E, --pedantic | display pedantic tags (experimental and lesser-importance issues) |
-v, --verbose | increase output verbosity and show processing details |
-q, --quiet | only print tags, suppress human-readable output |
-L, --suppress-tags=LIST | suppress specific tag names from output (comma-separated) |
--ignore-lintian | ignore lintian overrides in package source |
-S, --sort=FIELD | sort output by code, package, or type |
--profile=NAME | use a specific lintian profile (debian, ubuntu, etc.) |
-d, --debug | enable debug output for troubleshooting |
-f, --filename | print tag name with filename information |
--no-cfg | do not use any configuration files |
Examples
check a single binary package and report all issues found
lintian my-package_1.0-1_amd64.debcheck package with descriptions for each tag, show first 20 lines
lintian -i my-package_1.0-1_amd64.deb | head -20check a source package (.dsc) including pedantic warnings
lintian -E ../my-package_1.0-1.dscsuppress the binary-without-manpage tag and show only tag names
lintian -L binary-without-manpage -q my-package_1.0-1_amd64.debcheck package against Ubuntu policy with descriptions
lintian --profile=ubuntu -i my-package_1.0-1_amd64.debverbose check, then filter to show only errors and warnings
lintian -v my-package_1.0-1_amd64.deb 2>&1 | grep -E 'E:|W:'generate detailed debug output for troubleshooting
lintian -d my-package_1.0-1_amd64.deb > debug.log 2>&1check package with filenames and sort by file path
lintian -f my-package_1.0-1_amd64.deb | sort -t: -k2