---
name: "dh-exec-install"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "dh-exec"
version: "0.30"
release: "Debian 13 (Trixie)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/dh-exec-install"
---

# dh-exec-install(1)

Install (and possibly rename) files.

## NAME

dh-exec-install - Install (and possibly rename) files.

## SYNOPSIS

**#! /usr/bin/dh-exec**\
 debian/default.conf =\> /etc/my-package/start.conf\
 \=\> /usr/bin/runme\
 usr/bin/\*\
 \[linux-any kfreebsd-any\] some-arch-specific-file /usr/lib/foo/

## DESCRIPTION

Being a sub-command of [**dh-exec**(1)](/dh-exec/1.md), this program must not be ran directly, but through **dh-exec**, which automatically runs all available sub-commands if run bare; or explicitly with **dh-exec --with=install**.

It is meant to be used for the [**dh\_install**(1)](/dh_install/1.md) family of files, and those alone. If it finds that its input is not such a file, it will do nothing, but echo back the contents. For a full list of recognised files, see the **FILE TYPES** section of this manual.

The purpose of the program is to extend [**dh\_install**(1)](/dh_install/1.md)'s functionality, by allowing to specify a destination filename, and a way to move (instead of copy) a file to a single package.

The first can be accomplished by a special syntax: the *" =\> "* mark between a source and a destination means that the source file should be installed with the specified destination name.

For obvious reasons, the source **must not** be a wildcard, and the destination in this case **must** be a file, and not a directory.

The second extension follows a simpler syntax: any filename prefixed with *"=\>"* will be moved instead of copied to the package. This allows one to move a file out of a directory to a package, and install the rest of the files in the same dir into another package.

See the **FILTERING** section of [**dh-exec**(1)](/dh-exec/1.md) for more information about how lines are filtered. Any non-comment lines without a filter will be left alone.

## RESTRICTIONS

Due to the way executable scripts are called from [**dh**(1)](/dh/1.md), there is no way to know what options were used for the original [**dh\_install**(1)](/dh_install/1.md). This means, that the **--sourcedir** option of [**dh\_install**(1)](/dh_install/1.md) will not work correctly when **dh-exec-install** is in use.

## FILE TYPES

The program supports [**dh\_install**(1)](/dh_install/1.md) and [**dh\_installmanpages**(1)](/dh_installmanpages/1.md) files only.

## IMPLEMENTATION

Internally, the renaming happens by creating a temporary directory under *debian/tmp/*, and copying (or moving, if the source was under *debian/tmp/* to begin with) the file there, with the new name.

This is done this way to allow [*dh\_install*(1)](/dh_install/1.md) to do the real copying, and allow its options to continue working, even when renaming is involved.

The temporary directory is put under *debian/tmp* so that it will be cleaned by [**dh\_prep**(1)](/dh_prep/1.md) when the **clean** target gets to run. Thus, no extra code is needed anywhere to clean up the renamed files.

## ENVIRONMENT

*DH\_EXEC\_SCRIPTDIR*

Indicates which directory the command-specific scripts should be sought for. If not specified, scripts will be searched for in */usr/share/dh-exec/*.

## FILES

*$DH\_EXEC\_SCRIPTDIR/dh-exec-install-\**

The various scripts for the higher-level program.

## VERSIONS

The sub-command was introduced in dh-exec version *0.1*. Support for [**dh\_installmanpages**(1)](/dh_installmanpages/1.md) files were added in version *0.13*.

## SEE ALSO

[**dh**(1)](/dh/1.md), [**dh-exec**(1)](/dh-exec/1.md), [**dh\_install**(1)](/dh_install/1.md), [**dh\_installmanpages**(1)](/dh_installmanpages/1.md), [**dh\_prep**(1)](/dh_prep/1.md), [**debhelper**(7)](/debhelper/7.md)