checkinstall Script Behaviors

• The checkinstall script cannot modify any files. It only analyzes the state of the system and creates a list of environment variable assignments based upon that interaction. To enforce this restriction, the checkinstall script is executed as the non-privileged user install if that user exists; otherwise it is executed as the non-privileged user nobody. The checkinstall script does not have superuser authority.

• The pkgadd command calls the checkinstall script with one argument that names the script's response file (the file that stores the administrator's responses).

• The checkinstall script is not executed during package removal. However, the environment variables assigned by the script are saved and are available during removal.