Builddepend

Builddepend, or build dependency, refers to the packages that must be present in order to build software from source. These dependencies provide the compilers, libraries, header files, and build tools required during compilation, configuration, or packaging. Build-time requirements are distinct from runtime dependencies, which are needed for the program to run after installation.

In Debian and Debian-derived distributions, the concept is codified in packaging metadata. The Build-Depends field in a package’s control file lists the packages needed to build the source package. There is also Build-Depends-Indep, which specifies dependencies required to build architecture-independent parts of a package. Packaging tools use these declarations to prepare a clean build environment and to ensure reproducible builds. Users can install a package’s build dependencies with commands such as apt-get build-dep or equivalent tooling in other distributions.

Build dependencies are typically versioned and may be architeture-specific. They often include compilers, development headers (for example, libfoo-dev or zlib1g-dev), and various build utilities (such as debhelper or pkg-config). Maintainers update Build-Depends to reflect changes in the build process or in referenced libraries, while build systems resolve and fetch the necessary packages before starting compilation.

The management of builddepend is central to reproducible builds and to the reproducibility of software distributions. Properly specified build dependencies help ensure that builds are deterministic across environments and over time, while minimizing unnecessary bloat. Understanding builddepend is essential for package maintainers, upstream developers preparing source releases, and users who build software from source.