.TH DH_COMPRESS 1 "" "Debhelper Commands" "Debhelper Commands"
.SH NAME
dh_compress \- compress files and fix symlinks in package build directories
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B dh_compress
.I "[debhelper options] [-Xitem] [-A] [file ...]"
.SH "DESCRIPTION"
dh_compress is a debhelper program that is responsible for compressing
the files in package build directories, and makes sure that any symlinks
that pointed to the files before they were compressed are updated to point
to the new files.
.P
By default, dh_compress compresses files that debian policy mandates should
be compressed, namely all files in usr/share/info, usr/share/man,
usr/X11R6/man, and all files in usr/share/doc that are larger than 4k in size,
(except the copyright file, .html files and .gif files), and all changelog
files. It skips any files that appear to be already compressed (based on their
extensions).
.P
If a debian/package.compress file exists, however, it will be ran as a shell
script, and all filenames that the shell script outputs will be compressed
instead of the default files. Note that the shell script will be run from
inside the package build directory. Note though that using -X is a much
better idea in general; you should only use a debian/package.compress file if
you really have to.
.SH OPTIONS
.TP
.B debhelper options
See
.BR debhelper (1)
for a list of options common to all debhelper commands.
.TP
.B \-Xitem, \--exclude=item
Exclude files that contain "item" anywhere in their filename from being
compressed. For example, -X.jpeg will exclude jpeg's from compression.
You may use this option multiple times to build up a list of things to
exclude. You can accomplish the same thing by using a debian/compress file,
but this is easier.
.TP
.B \-A, \--all
Compress all files specified by command line parameters in ALL packages
acted on.
.TP
.B file ...
Add these files to the list of files to compress.
.SH ENVIRONMENT
See
.BR debhelper (1)
for a list of environment variables that affect all debhelper commands.
.SH "SEE ALSO"
.BR debhelper (1)
.SH BUGS
Filenames with spaces in them may not properly be compressed.
.SH "CONFORMS TO"
Debian policy, version 3.0.0.0
.SH AUTHOR
Joey Hess <joeyh@debian.org>