debPakete

DebPakete is a term used in German-speaking computing communities to refer to Debian-style package files and their packaging ecosystem. It commonly denotes the .deb binary packages used by Debian-based Linux distributions, and by extension the collection of metadata and tooling that manages them.

A .deb file is an ar archive containing three parts: the debian-binary file, control.tar.[gz|xz], and data.tar.[gz|xz]. The control tarball contains the Debian control file and optional maintainer scripts (preinst, postinst, prerm, postrm) that govern installation and configuration. The data tarball holds the files to be installed on the target system. Packages declare metadata such as Package, Version, Architecture, Maintainer, Depends, Recommends, and Description, following the Debian Policy Manual.

Packaging is typically performed with build systems like debhelper, dh, and various debian/rules scripts. Repositories organize packages with index files; apt and dpkg fetch, verify, and install packages, resolving dependencies. The apt ecosystem uses signatures and the apt-secure framework to verify repository integrity and authenticity.

DebPakete are used not only in Debian itself but also in derivatives such as Ubuntu and Mint, which adapt the packaging policy for their distributions. The management of DebPakete includes versioning, changelogs, and security updates published through dedicated channels. Reproducible builds and signing practices are emphasized to ensure integrity.