Hi, README for debpkg in devscripts says: "debpkg: A wrapper for dpkg used by debi to allow convenient testing of packages. For debpkg to work, it needs to be made setuid root, and this needs to be performed by the sysadmin -- it is not installed as setuid root by default. (Note that being able to run a setuid root debpkg is effectively the same as having root access to the system, so this should be done with caution.) Having debpkg as a wrapper for dpkg can be a Good Thing (TM), as it decreases the potential for damage by accidental wrong use of commands in superuser mode (e.g., an inadvertent rm -rf * in the wrong directory is disastrous as many can attest to)."
The "Wrapper script" section in README from devscripts goes into the details and explains that you can invoke the wrappers with "sudo" or "super" or, highly dangerous, make debpkg setuid. debpkg uses a wrapper script written in C which makes devscripts architecture any. If we drop debpkg, we can make devscripts architecture all. IMO sudo (or equivalent) is superior to make debpkg setuid. Are there use cases that cannot be covered by using sudo? If there are no objections, my plan will be to remove debpkg from devscripts in trixie (i.e. after the bookworm release). -- Benjamin Drung Debian & Ubuntu Developer
