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MKEXTUNPACK(8)            BSD System Manager's Manual           MKEXTUNPACK(8)

NAME
     mkextunpack -- extracts the contents of a multikext (mkext) archive

SYNOPSIS
     mkextunpack [-v] [-a arch] [-d output_directory] mkext_file

DESCRIPTION
     The mkextunpack program list the contents of a multikext file, mkext_file, or unarchives the contents
     into output_directory (which must exist).  The -v option causes mkextunpack to print the name if each
     kext as it finds them.

DIAGNOSTICS
     mkextunpack exits with a zero status upon success.  Upon failure, it prints an error message and exits
     with a nonzero status.

     With a nonsegreated mkext file, wherein each kext may contain a universal binary, mkextunpack simply
     unpacks the contents.  With an mkext file segregated by architecture (that is, with distinct internal
     archives of architecture-specific kexts), mkextunpack attempts by default to unpack or list kexts for
     the current machine's architecture.  To choose a particular architecture to extract or list, use the -a
     option.

     There is no simple way to unpack a segregated mkext file into a set of kexts with universal binaries,
     but you can unpack each of its component architectures to separate directories for examination.

SEE ALSO
     mkextcache(8)

BUGS
     The mkext file format doesn't record the original filenames of the kexts, so mkextunpack has to guess
     at what they are.  It does this by using the value of the CFBundleExecutable property of the kext's
     info dictionary (Project Builder sets this to the base name of the kext bundle by default, but the
     developer can change it).  If that property doesn't exist, the last component of the CFBundleIdentifier
     is used.  Duplicates have an incrementing index appended to the name.  Kexts that have no CFBundleExe-cutable CFBundleExecutable
     cutable or CFBundleIdentifier property are named ``NameUnknown-n.kext'', where n is a number.

Darwin                          March 29, 2002                          Darwin