dh_clean — clean up package build directories

Synopsis

dh_clean [debhelper options] [-k] [-d] [-Xitem] [path ...]

Description

dh_clean is a debhelper program that is responsible for cleaning up after a package is built. It removes the package build directories, and removes some other files including debian/files, and any detritus left behind by other debhelper commands. It also removes common files that should not appear in a Debian diff:
 #*# *~ DEADJOE *.orig *.rej *.SUMS TAGS .deps/* *.P *-stamp

It does not run “make clean” to clean up after the build process. Use dh_auto_clean(1) to do things like that.

dh_clean should be the last debhelper command run in the clean target in debian/rules.

Files

debian/clean

Can list other paths to be removed.

Note that directories listed in this file must end with a trailing slash.  Any content in these directories will be removed as well.

Options

-k, --keep

This is deprecated, use dh_prep(1) instead.

The option is removed in compat 12.

-d, --dirs-only

Only clean the package build directories, do not clean up any other files at all.

-Xitem --exclude=item

Exclude files that contain item anywhere in their filename from being deleted, even if they would normally be deleted. You may use this option multiple times to build up a list of things to exclude.

path ...

Delete these paths too.

Note that directories passed as arguments must end with a trailing slash.  Any content in these directories will be removed as well.

See Also

debhelper(7)

This program is a part of debhelper.

Author

Joey Hess <joeyh@debian.org>

Referenced By

debhelper(7).

2019-10-08 12.6.1 Debhelper