Each release subdirectory contains a cryptographically signed Release file and a directory for each component. The root directory of a repository has a directory dists which in turn has a directory for each release and suite, the latter usually symlinks to the former, but the browser won't show you a difference.

) as well as sources and architecture independent packages. A release also has packages for various architectures (amd64, i386, mips, powerpc, s390x. In Debian these are named main, contrib, and non-free and indicate the licensing terms of the software they contain. A release is divided in several components. The codenames have aliases, so called suites (stable, oldstable, testing, unstable). Debian releases are named after characters from the 'Toy Story' movies (wheezy, jessie, stretch. A more precise and technical description is in Format.Ī Debian repository contains several releases.

The following description is mostly for people who browse a repository using a standard web browser and wonder what is where and how everything fits together.

Debian download