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Everybody on the Internet tells to build packages with debuild -uc -us, this answer for example, but I totally can't find what do these options mean, even the built-in help (debuild --help) doesn't tell anything about -uc and -us.

So what do these options mean?

Display Name
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1 Answers1

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Commands' built in 'help' is usually insufficient for this kind of thing.

If you had read the debuild manpage you'd find those are dpkg-buildpackage flags which are passed from debuild to dpkg-buildpackage and then would have been able to use dpkg-buildpackage's manpage to find the answer.

From the Xenial man page for dpkg-buildpackage:

   -us    Do not sign the source package.


-uc    Do not sign the .changes file.

Edit (2025-06-15): In response to pokes in March, I wish to share that these options are still accurately stated in the manpage for dpkg-buildpackage as I stated, even for the development release (Questing 25.10) so this hasn't changed since it was originally written.

Thomas Ward
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    "those are dpkg-buildpackage flags which are passed from debuild to dpkg-buildpackage" — this was nowhere near obvious, although I tried reading man page as well. Thank you for the answer!

     – Display Name Apr 07 '16 at 12:05
  • @SargeBorsch Read the "Examples" section of the manpage, it says it right here: "dpkg-buildpackage(1) options may be given on the command line." And provides examples with -uc -us. – Thomas Ward Apr 07 '16 at 12:06
  • @ThomasWard: "it says it right here" - no it does not, nowhere does it say explicitly on that page that -uc means "Do not sign the .changes file" and the same of -us; also the manpage on Raspbian Stretch does not have any mentions of -uc and -us - which is why I appreciate your answer a lot. Also, the link for the xenial manpage you have does not have the text you posted anymore :) – sdbbs Mar 21 '25 at 14:30
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    @sdbbs so, first, this post was written in 2016, and has not had to be updated (see my THIRD statement in this comment for why it doesn't need changed). Secondly, Raspbian is NOT Ubuntu. Thirdly, I spiecifcally refer to dpkg-buildpackage which is NOT debuild and DOES in fact state exactly this in the dpkg-buildpackage manpage which I specifically STATE in my answer has these options, and it still has them in that exact order under "OPTIONS' section. Also, I state these options to debuild are actually options to dpkg-buildpackage, hence that's the manpage to read. – Thomas Ward Jun 15 '25 at 03:55