---
name: "debtags-edit"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "debtags-edit"
version: "1.2.3"
release: "Debian 4.0 (Etch)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/debtags-edit"
---

# debtags-edit(1)

Search and categorize Debian packages

## NAME

debtags-edit - Search and categorize Debian packages

## SYNOPSIS

**debtags-edit** \[*options*\]\

## DESCRIPTION

**debtags-edit** is GUI application to search and categorize Debian packages using both the APT and the Debtags databases. Its purpose is to make it easy and fast for everyone to contribute to the Debian packages categorization.

When run, **debtags-edit** accesses the APT database and the Debtags database to provide package search functionality.  Clicking on a result of the search displays the package details and allows to add or remove tags to the package.

Together with the package details is a list of related packages, computed using Debian Package Tags.  If wrong packages show up in the related packages box, then it's a symptom of poor categorization: go at it!

If the environment variable *DEBEMAIL* is set on startup, **debtags-edit** will consider you a Debian Developer and will start with the filter setup to look for your packages.  If *DEBEMAIL* is not set, then the filter is initialized to show only installed packages.

**debtags-edit** is able to save your changes in a tag patch file inside the directory *~/.debtags/*.  The tag patch file is a smart patch format which can be applied to any version of the Debtags archive, so your changes will remain valid after you run *debtags update*.  **debtags-edit** will automatically save your changes on exit, or when you invoke the *Save* function.

TODO: submission of local modifications for inclusion in the central tag archive.

Please see [debtags(1)](/debtags/1.md) for informations on Debian Package Tags.  Please see [tagcoll(1)](/tagcoll/1.md) for a description of a tagged collection and of the format of the tag patch.  Please see tagcoll-edit(1) for a program to perform massive edits on a tagged collection.

## OPTIONS

This program follows the usual GNU command line syntax, with long options starting with two dashes (\`-').

- **--help**

  Print an help message and exit.

- **--version**

  Print the program version and exit.

- **--verbose**

  Print informational messages about the program operations to standard error.

- **--debug**

  Print debug messages to standard error.

## SEE ALSO

[**debtags**(1)](/debtags/1.md), [**tagcoll**(1)](/tagcoll/1.md), **tagcoll-edit(1)**

## AUTHOR

**debtags-edit** has been written by Enrico Zini \<enrico@debian.org\> for the purpose of experimenting with tagged collections and related algorithms: all possible feedback and ideas are thus more than welcome.