So, for example a binary file put into /usr/local/bin/binaryfile will be installed to /usr/local/bin/binaryfile. A file put in one of those directories will be copied to the same location in the actual file system during installation. Internally, a deb package contains a collection of folders that mimics a typical Linux file system, such as /usr, /usr/bin, /opt and so on. The most important one is the control file, which stores the information about the deb package and the program it installs. Anatomy of a deb packageĪ deb is a standard Unix ar archive that contains your application and other utility files. Let's start off with a bit of theoretical background.

In this quick tutorial I want to show you how to generate a deb package from scratch that will install a binary executable in the target system.

Deb files are handy when your app needs to take care of additional dependencies, integrate itself with the desktop, run pre and post install scripts and so on. deb extension, it is used to easily distribute and install programs for Linux Debian and derivatives. A deb file is an archive that contains data.

Install deb package