3.4. The description of a package

Every Debian package must have a Description control field which contains a synopsis and extended description of the package. Technical information about the format of the Description field is in Description.

The description should describe the package (the program) to a user (system administrator) who has never met it before so that they have enough information to decide whether they want to install it. This description should not just be copied verbatim from the program’s documentation.

Put important information first, both in the synopsis and extended description. Sometimes only the first part of the synopsis or of the description will be displayed. You can assume that there will usually be a way to see the whole extended description.

The description should also give information about the significant dependencies and conflicts between this package and others, so that the user knows why these dependencies and conflicts have been declared.

Instructions for configuring or using the package should not be included (that is what installation scripts, manual pages, info files, etc., are for). Copyright statements and other administrivia should not be included either (that is what the copyright file is for).

3.4.1. The single line synopsis

The single line synopsis should be kept brief—certainly under 80 characters.

Do not include the package name in the synopsis line. The display software knows how to display this already, and you do not need to state it. Remember that in many situations the user may only see the synopsis line - make it as informative as you can.

3.4.2. The extended description

Do not try to continue the single line synopsis into the extended description. This will not work correctly when the full description is displayed, and makes no sense where only the summary (the single line synopsis) is available.

The extended description should describe what the package does and how it relates to the rest of the system (in terms of, for example, which subsystem it is which part of).

The description field needs to make sense to anyone, even people who have no idea about any of the things the package deals with. 3