---
name: "ben"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "ben"
version: "1.9+b3"
release: "Debian 13 (Trixie)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/ben"
---

# ben(1)

transition tracker manager

## NAME

ben - transition tracker manager

## SYNOPSIS

**ben** *FRONTEND* \[*OPTIONS*\]

**ben** \[-h\|-help\|--help\]

## DESCRIPTION

The [ben(1)](/ben/1.md) command is a set of utilities written in OCaml. It provides a full featured transition tracker to follow the evolution of a set of packages in the Debian’s archive. All frontends share a common list of options described below.

## OPTIONS

- **--dry-run**

  Dry run

**--quiet\|-q**

Quiet mode

- **--verbose**

  Verbose mode

- **--mirror uri**

  Package mirror to use

- **--mirror-binaries uri**

  Package mirror to use for binaries

- **--mirror-sources uri**

  Package mirror to use for sources

- **--areas a,…**

  Areas to consider (comma separated)

- **--archs a,…**

  Architectures to consider (comma separated)

- **--suite a**

  Suite

- **--cache-dir d**

  Path to cache dir

**--cache-file\|-C f**

Specify the name of the cache file

- **--use-cache**

  Use cache whenever possible

**--config\|-c c**

Config file

- **--more-binary-keys l**

  Comma separated list of further relevant binary keys

- **--more-source-keys l**

  Comma separated list of further relevant source keys

- **--preferred-compression-format f**

  Preferred compression format (Default: Gzip)

## FRONTENDS

**download**

has no command-line options, except the shared ones. It downloads all Sources.gz files and all Packages.gz files for selected architectures and areas.

**query**

This utility is pretty much like [grep-dctrl(1)](/grep-dctrl/1.md). Given a list of Packages or Sources files, it performs a query and outputs the result.

**monitor**

The frontend monitor builds a monitor page for a transition that is described by few criteria (the list of affected packages, a description of good package and the description of a broken package).

**tracker**

This frontend uses the monitor to generate a summary page about all known transitions. An example of such summary can be found at  \<https://release.debian.org/transitions/\>.

**rebuild**

This frontend rebuilds all packages matching a criterion, respecting the order of build-dependencies.

**migrate**

This frontend simulates a migration of some packages from unstable to testing, and outputs an easy hint for Britney.

For more information about ben’s frontends, please refer to the reference manual.

## AUTHOR

Ben was originally written by Stéphane Glondu.

## RESOURCES

Main web site:  \<https://debian.pages.debian.net/ben/\>

## AUTHOR

Mehdi Dogguy and Stéphane Glondu