PC(5) File Formats Manual PC(5)
NAME
file.pc — pkg-config file format
DESCRIPTION
pkg-config files provide a useful mechanism for storing various informa-
tion about libraries and packages on a given system. Information stored
by .pc files include compiler and linker flags necessary to use a given
library, as well as any other relevant metadata.
These .pc files are processed by a utility called pkg-config, of which
pkgconf is an implementation.
FILE SYNTAX
The .pc file follows a format inspired by RFC822. Comments are prefixed
by a pound sign, hash sign or octothorpe (#), and variable assignment is
similar to POSIX shell. Properties are defined using RFC822-style stan-
zas.
VARIABLES
Variable definitions start with an alphanumeric string, followed by an
equal sign, and then the value the variable should contain.
Variable references are always written as "${variable}". It is possible
to escape literal "${" as "$${".
PROPERTIES
Properties are set using RFC822-style stanzas which consist of a key-
word, followed by a colon (:) and then the value the property should be
set to. Variable substitution is always performed regardless of prop-
erty type.
There are three types of property:
Literal
The property will be set to the text of the value.
Dependency List
The property will be set to a list of dependencies parsed from
the text. Dependency lists are defined by this ABNF syntax:
package-list = *WSP *( package-spec *( package-sep ) )
package-sep = WSP / ","
package-spec = package-key [ ver-op package-version ]
ver-op = "<" / "<=" / "=" / "!=" / ">=" / ">"
Fragment List
The property will be set to a list of fragments parsed from the
text. The input text must be in a format that is suitable for
passing to a POSIX shell without any shell expansions after
variable substitution has been done.
PROPERTY KEYWORDS
Name The displayed name of the package. (mandatory; literal)
Version
The version of the package. (mandatory; literal)
Description
A description of the package. (mandatory; literal)
URL A URL to a webpage for the package. This is used to recommend
where newer versions of the package can be acquired. (manda-
tory; literal)
Cflags Required compiler flags. These flags are always used, regard-
less of whether static compilation is requested. (optional;
fragment list)
Cflags.private
Required compiler flags for static compilation. (optional;
fragment list; pkgconf extension)
Libs Required linking flags for this package. Libraries this package
depends on for linking against it, which are not described as
dependencies should be specified here. (optional; fragment
list)
Libs.private
Required linking flags for this package that are only required
when linking statically. Libraries this package depends on for
linking against it statically, which are not described as depen-
dencies should be specified here. (optional; fragment list)
Requires
Required dependencies that must be met for the package to be us-
able. All dependencies must be satisfied or the pkg-config im-
plementation must not use the package. (optional; dependency
list)
Requires.private
Required dependencies that must be met for the package to be us-
able for static linking. All dependencies must be satisfied or
the pkg-config implementation must not use the package for sta-
tic linking. (optional; dependency list)
Conflicts
Dependencies that must not be met for the package to be usable.
If any package in the proposed dependency solution match any de-
pendency in the Conflicts list, the package being considered is
not usable. (optional; dependency list)
Provides
Dependencies that may be provided by an alternate package. If a
package cannot be found, the entire package collection is
scanned for providers which can match the requested dependency.
(optional; dependency list; pkgconf extension)
EXTENSIONS
Features that have been marked as a pkgconf extension are only guaran-
teed to work with the pkgconf implementation of pkg-config. Other im-
plementations may or may not support the extensions.
Accordingly, it is suggested that .pc files which absolutely depend on
these extensions declare a requirement on the pkgconf virtual.
EXAMPLES
An example .pc file:
# This is a comment
prefix=/home/kaniini/pkg # this defines a variable
exec_prefix=${prefix} # defining another variable with a substitution
libdir=${exec_prefix}/lib
includedir=${prefix}/include
Name: libfoo # human-readable name
Description: an example library called libfoo # human-readable description
Version: 1.0
URL: http://www.pkgconf.org
Requires: libbar > 2.0.0
Conflicts: libbaz <= 3.0.0
Libs: -L${libdir} -lfoo
Libs.private: -lm
Cflags: -I${includedir}/libfoo
SEE ALSO
pkgconf(1), pkg.m4(7)
Debian December 15, 2017 PC(5)
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