Debian Philosophy
Debian uses a “source package” → “binary package” model which means that you as the provider of the package have the source code and the scripts to package it while other users of your code only have access to a package of compiled binaries.
Debian Directory Structure
myproject-1.0/
├── src/ # Your actual code
├── CMakeLists.txt # Your build system
└── debian/
├── control # THE BRAIN: metadata & dependencies
├── rules # THE BUILDER: how to compile & install
├── changelog # THE HISTORY: versions & changes
├── compat # Debhelper version (usually just "13")
├── install # Optional: file installation mapping
├── copyright # License info
├── source/
│ └── format # "3.0 (native)" or "3.0 (quilt)"
└── *.service # Systemd units, config files, etc.
The control file contains the following:
Source: my-package
Section: arbitrary?
Priority: optional
Maintainer: Your Name <you@example.com>
Build-Depends: debhelper-compat (= 13), cmake, g++ <----- key field
Standards-Version: 4.6.0
Package: my-package
Architecture: any <----- key field
Depends: ${shlibs:Depends} <----- key field, ${misc:Depends}, libstdc++6 <----- key field
Description: some package of programs that are useful for blah blah
The rules file contains the following:
#!/usr/bin/make -f
%:
dh $@
# Override specific steps if needed
override_dh_auto_configure:
dh_auto_configure -- -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
This is a build script. In this case its a makefile.
The changelog contains the following:
my-calculator (1.0-1) unstable; urgency=medium
* Initial release
* Added basic arithmetic operations
-- Your Name <you@example.com> Mon, 13 Oct 2025 10:00:00 -0400
Which follows a strict format that is made with dch -i
The Build Process
Pretty simple, prepare your source code, create a debian template, fill the template, build, and BOOM you got a .deb file.
# 1. Prepare your source
cd myproject-1.0/
dh_make --createorig # Creates debian/ template
# 2. Edit debian/control, rules, changelog
# 3. Build the package
debuild -us -uc # Build without signing
# 4. Output files
ls ../*.deb # Your binary package!Installation Hierarchy
Debian has strict rules about where files should go:
/usr/bin/ # User executables
/usr/lib/ # Libraries
/usr/share/ # Arch-independent data
/etc/ # Configuration files
/var/lib/myapp/ # Application state/data
/usr/share/doc/ # Documentation