---
name: "picax"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "picax"
version: "1.4"
release: "Debian 4.0 (Etch)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/picax"
---

# picax(1)

apt repository media creator

## NAME

picax — apt repository media creator

## SYNOPSIS

**picax** \[options\]  \[*repository-path*\]  \[*distribution-name\]  \[component-name\]*

## DESCRIPTION

*This manual page documents briefly the*  **picax** command.

**picax** is a program that takes apt  repositories and splits them apart, usually for the purpose of  writing the repositories onto media such as a CD or DVD.  It  does not create media itself; instead, it sets up paths that are  ready to be fed to a tool such as **mkisofs**.

Optionally, **picax** can write an  installer on the media.  This is done by passing a module name  to the **--installer** option.  This module is  loaded, and code from this module is called at the appropriate  times to write the installer.

## OPTIONS

These programs follow the usual GNU command line syntax,  with long options starting with two dashes (\`-').  A summary of  options is included below.

In addition, if an installer is selected with   **--installer**, options starting with   **--inst** will be accepted.  The exact options  vary between installers; consult your installer documentation  for a full list of options.

- **--read-config=***file*

  Read configuration items from the named file.  Options  on the command line override options in the file.

- **--write-config=***file*

  Write the configuration used in this run to the named  file.  The file is written in the same XML-based format  used by **--read-config**.  Since  **--read-config** is overriden by the command  line, the two options can be used to modify the  configuration file via the command line.

- **--help**

  Show summary of options.

- **--version**

  Show version of program.

- **--debug**

  Run in debug mode.  Some more information is provided  when there are problems, and the debugger is invoked immediately  after the options are parsed.

- **--order=***order-file*

  When packing packages onto media, place the packages   mentioned in the order file first (as well as their   dependencies).

- **--arch=***architecture-name*

  Build media for a different architecture.  This defaults  to the current system architecture.

- **--num-parts=***number*

  Split the repository into the requested number of parts,  sizing the parts appropriately.  Either this option or the   **--part-size** option are required.

- **--part-size=***size*

  Split the repository into enough parts so each is the  requested number of bytes in size.  Either this option or the   **--num-parts** option are required.

- **--cd-label=***string*

  Set the label, as recognized by apt, to the requested  string.  It may be necessary to enclose this option in quotes,   or quote all whitespace in the string.

- **--installer=***component-name*

  Set the installer to write to the media.  This name is  used as the name of the installer module to load.

- **--source=***source-type*

  Create source media as well as binary media.  There  are four possible settings: none (don't create source  media), separate (put source on completely separate  media), immediate (put source on media immediately after  putting binaries on, so one of the media has both binary  and source on it), or mixed (each of the media has the  source for its binaries on the same medium).  The default  value, if not specified, is "separate".

- **--media=***component-name*

  Set the media type to use (CD, DVD, etc.).  The  component name corresponds to a module which, when loaded,  provides information about the media size, and also allows the  creation of images.  The **--part-size** and  **--num-parts** should not be used with this  option.

- **--apt-repo-path=***apt-repository*

  Specify an apt repository that can override the main one.  Useful to fix temporary bugs in packages or provide missing  ones.

- **--short-package-list**

  Only include packages on the media that are referenced  by either the manual order list or the installer's order  list.

- **--no-debootstrap**

  Do not ask debootstrap for its list of important  packages to prioritize in the package order.

- *repository-path*

  The path to the apt repository we're going to pack.

- *distribution-name*

  The name of the distribution we're going to pack.

- *component-name*

  The component of the distribution we're going to pack.

## AUTHOR

This manual page was written by Jeff Licquia \<licquia@progeny.com\> for  the **Debian** system (but may be used by others).  Permission is  granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under  the terms of the GNU General Public License, Version 2 any   later version published by the Free Software Foundation.

On Debian systems, the complete text of the GNU General Public  License can be found in /usr/share/common-licenses/GPL.