An example configuration file for generating Packages.gz using apt-ftparchive. The directories described must already exist, and the pool directory must contain the mirror to be catalogued. 

     Dir {
      ArchiveDir "/debian";
      OverrideDir "indices";
      CacheDir "/tmp";
     };

     TreeDefault {
      Directory "pool/";
     };

     BinDirectory "pool/main" {
      Packages "dists/sarge/main/binary-i386/Packages";
      BinOverride "override.sarge.main";
          ExtraOverride "override.sarge.extra.main";
     };

     BinDirectory "pool/contrib" {
      Packages "dists/sarge/contrib/binary-i386/Packages";
      BinOverride "override.sarge.contrib";
          ExtraOverride "override.sarge.extra.contrib";
     };

     BinDirectory "pool/non-free" {
      Packages "dists/sarge/non-free/binary-i386/Packages";
      BinOverride "override.sarge.non-free";
         ExtraOverride "override.sarge.extra.non-free";
     };

     Default {
      Packages {
          Extensions ".deb";
          Compress ". gzip";
      };

      Contents {
          Compress "gzip";
      };
     };