Bug#1110017: debian-policy: Priority should no longer be `recommended`
On 2025-10-03 08:40, Guillem Jover wrote:
> Re-reading the change, I'm not sure this change is correct. The
> priority also appears in the .changes and .dsc files.
>
> ...
>
> Perhaps "in the source or its binary stanza"?
Thanks. Revised patch attached with this mail.
diff --git a/policy/ch-archive.rst b/policy/ch-archive.rst
index 302dc8d..7f4d51f 100644
--- a/policy/ch-archive.rst
+++ b/policy/ch-archive.rst
@@ -376,11 +376,16 @@ Priorities
----------
Each package must have a *priority* value, which is set in the metadata
-for the Debian archive and is also included in the package's control
-files (see :ref:`s-f-Priority`). This information is used
+for the Debian archive and is also included in the package's binary
+control files (see :ref:`s-f-Priority`). This information is used
to control which packages are included in standard or minimal Debian
installations.
+Starting with dpkg version 1.22.13, the *Priority* of a binary package is
+set to ``optional`` unless specified otherwise in the source or binary
+stanzas in the source package template control file.
+Therefore, explicitly specifying *Priority* as ``optional`` may be omitted.
+
Most Debian packages will have a priority of ``optional``. Priority
levels other than ``optional`` are only used for packages that should be
included by default in a standard installation of Debian.
diff --git a/policy/ch-controlfields.rst b/policy/ch-controlfields.rst
index 9f06cc9..e4390b4 100644
--- a/policy/ch-controlfields.rst
+++ b/policy/ch-controlfields.rst
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ The fields in the source package stanza (the first one) are:
- :ref:`Section <s-f-Section>` (recommended)
-- :ref:`Priority <s-f-Priority>` (recommended)
+- :ref:`Priority <s-f-Priority>`
- :ref:`Build-Depends et al <s-sourcebinarydeps>`
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ The fields in the binary package stanzas are:
- :ref:`Section <s-f-Section>` (recommended)
-- :ref:`Priority <s-f-Priority>` (recommended)
+- :ref:`Priority <s-f-Priority>`
- :ref:`Essential <s-f-Essential>`
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