diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes
index d4d3e0a3c..64da55c0b 100644
--- a/.gitattributes
+++ b/.gitattributes
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 # files/directories excluded from tarballs
 
-.git*               export-ignore
-debian-devel        export-ignore
-debian-stable       export-ignore
-weechat.spec        export-ignore
-.mailmap            export-ignore
-tests/ubuntu/       export-ignore
+.git*                  export-ignore
+debian-devel           export-ignore
+debian-stable          export-ignore
+weechat.spec           export-ignore
+.mailmap               export-ignore
+tests/ubuntu/          export-ignore
+tools/build-debian.sh  export-ignore
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 641f5c078..8733ba870 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -28,6 +28,8 @@ config.rpath
 config.status
 config.sub
 configure
+debian
+!tools/debian
 debian-devel/changelog
 debian-devel/*.log
 debian-stable/*.log
diff --git a/tools/build-debian.sh b/tools/build-debian.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..02753b070
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/build-debian.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,218 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+#
+# Copyright (C) 2015 Sébastien Helleu <flashcode@flashtux.org>
+#
+# This file is part of WeeChat, the extensible chat client.
+#
+# WeeChat is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+# the Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or
+# (at your option) any later version.
+#
+# WeeChat is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+# GNU General Public License for more details.
+#
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+# along with WeeChat.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+#
+
+#
+# Build WeeChat Debian packages for a stable or development version.
+#
+# According to the version (stable/devel), a symbolic "debian" is made:
+#        debian/ --> debian-stable/
+#   or:  debian/ --> debian-devel/
+#
+# According to the distro version, a patch can be applied on debian files
+# (patches are in directory tools/debian/patches).
+#
+# Script arguments:          Examples:
+#
+#   1. version               devel, devel-2, stable, stable-2, 1.4, 1.4-2
+#   2. distro type/name      debian/sid, ubuntu/wily, raspbian/jessie
+#
+# Examples:
+#
+#   …/build-debian.sh devel debian/sid
+#   …/build-debian.sh stable debian/jessie
+#   …/build-debian.sh 1.4 ubuntu/wily
+#   …/build-debian.sh 1.4-2 ubuntu/wily
+#
+# Environment variables that can be used:
+#
+#   PACKAGER_NAME   Name of packager (for debian/changelog)
+#   PACKAGER_EMAIL  E-mail of packager (for debian/changelog)
+#   JOBS            Number of simultaneous jobs (for dpkg-buildpackage)
+#                   (numeric or "auto" for dpkg >= 1.17.10)
+#
+
+# exit on any error
+set -e
+
+# default values for options from environment variables
+DEFAULT_PACKAGER_NAME="Sébastien Helleu"
+DEFAULT_PACKAGER_EMAIL="flashcode@flashtux.org"
+DEFAULT_JOBS=""
+
+display_usage ()
+{
+    cat <<-EOF
+
+Syntax: $0 devel|stable|<version> distro
+
+  version  version to build: stable, devel or specific version
+           (debian package revision is allowed after name (default is 1),
+           for example: devel-2, stable-2, 1.4-2)
+   distro  the distro type/name (debian/sid, ubuntu/wily, raspbian/jessie, ...)
+
+IMPORTANT: the current OS must match the distro, and the WeeChat sources
+           must be checkouted in the appropriate version (this script
+           does not checkout sources on a specific tag).
+
+Examples:
+
+  $0 devel debian/sid
+  $0 stable debian/jessie
+  $0 1.4 ubuntu/wily
+  $0 1.4-2 ubuntu/wily
+
+EOF
+}
+
+error ()
+{
+    echo >&2 "ERROR: $*"
+    exit 1
+}
+
+error_usage ()
+{
+    echo >&2 "ERROR: $*"
+    display_usage
+    exit 1
+}
+
+# ================================== START ==================================
+
+# package name/email
+[ -z "${PACKAGER_NAME}" ] && PACKAGER_NAME="${DEFAULT_PACKAGER_NAME}" && PACKAGER_EMAIL="${DEFAULT_PACKAGER_EMAIL}"
+if [ -z "${PACKAGER_EMAIL}" ]; then
+    echo >&2 "ERROR: PACKAGER_EMAIL must be set if PACKAGER_NAME is set."
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# simultaneous jobs for compilation (dpkg-buildpackage -jN)
+[ -z "${JOBS}" ] && JOBS="${DEFAULT_JOBS}"
+
+# check git repository
+ROOT_DIR=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)
+if [ -z "${ROOT_DIR}" -o ! -d "${ROOT_DIR}/.git" -o ! -d "${ROOT_DIR}/debian-stable" ]; then
+    error "this script must be run from WeeChat git repository."
+fi
+cd "${ROOT_DIR}"
+
+# check command line arguments
+if [ $# -lt 2 ]; then
+    error_usage "missing arguments"
+fi
+
+# command line arguments
+VERSION="$1"
+DISTRO="$2"
+
+# separate version and revision
+# example: devel => devel / 1, stable-2 => stable / 2, 1.4-2 => 1.4 / 2
+TMP_VERSION=$(expr "${VERSION}" : '\([^/]*\)-') || true
+DEB_REVISION=""
+if [ ! -z "${TMP_VERSION}" ]; then
+    DEB_REVISION=$(expr "${VERSION}" : '[^-]*-\([^-]*\)') || true
+    VERSION="${TMP_VERSION}"
+fi
+if [ -z "${DEB_REVISION}" ]; then
+    DEB_REVISION="1"
+fi
+
+# convert version "stable" to its number
+if [ "${VERSION}" = "stable" ]; then
+    VERSION="$(${ROOT_DIR}/version.sh stable)"
+fi
+
+if [ -z "${VERSION}" ]; then
+    error_usage "unknown version"
+fi
+
+# extract distro type (debian, ubuntu, ...)
+DISTRO_TYPE=$(expr "${DISTRO}" : '\([^/]*\)/') || true
+
+# extract distro name (sid, jessie, wily, ...)
+DISTRO_NAME=$(expr "${DISTRO}" : '[^/]*/\([a-z]*\)') || true
+
+if [ -z "${DISTRO_TYPE}" -o -z "${DISTRO_NAME}" ]; then
+    error_usage "missing distro type/name"
+fi
+
+# set distro for dch
+if [ "${DISTRO_TYPE}" = "debian" ]; then
+    DCH_DISTRO="unstable"
+else
+    if [ "${VERSION}" = "devel" ]; then
+        DCH_DISTRO="UNRELEASED"
+    else
+        DCH_DISTRO="${DISTRO_NAME}"
+    fi
+fi
+
+if [ "${VERSION}" = "devel" ]; then
+    # packages are like: weechat-devel(-xxx)_X.Y-1~dev20150511_arch.deb
+    DEB_DIR="debian-devel"
+    DEB_NAME="weechat-devel"
+    DEB_VERSION="$(${ROOT_DIR}/version.sh devel)-1~dev$(date '+%Y%m%d')"
+    if [ "${DEB_REVISION}" != "1" ]; then
+        DEB_VERSION="${DEB_VERSION}-${DEB_REVISION}"
+    fi
+    DCH_CREATE="--create"
+    DCH_URGENCY="low"
+    DCH_CHANGELOG="Repository snapshot"
+else
+    # packages are like: weechat-(-xxx)_X.Y-1_arch.deb
+    DEB_DIR="debian-stable"
+    DEB_NAME="weechat"
+    DEB_VERSION="${VERSION}-${DEB_REVISION}"
+    DCH_CREATE=""
+    DCH_URGENCY="medium"
+    DCH_CHANGELOG="New upstream release"
+fi
+
+# display build info
+echo "=== Building ${DEB_NAME}-${DEB_VERSION} on ${DISTRO_TYPE}/${DISTRO_NAME} (${DCH_DISTRO}) ==="
+
+# ================================== BUILD ==================================
+
+# apply patch (if needed, for old distros)
+PATCH_FILE="${ROOT_DIR}/tools/debian/patches/weechat_${DISTRO_TYPE}_${DISTRO_NAME}.patch"
+if [ -f "${PATCH_FILE}" ]; then
+    echo " - Applying patch ${PATCH_FILE}"
+    git apply "${PATCH_FILE}"
+fi
+
+# create a symlink "debian" -> "debian-{stable|devel}"
+rm -f debian
+ln -s -f "${DEB_DIR}" debian
+
+# update debian changelog
+if [ "${VERSION}" = "devel" ]; then
+    rm -f "${DEB_DIR}/changelog"
+fi
+
+# create/update changelog
+echo " - Updating changelog: ${DEB_NAME} ${DEB_VERSION} (${DCH_DISTRO}, ${DCH_URGENCY}), ${PACKAGER_NAME} <${PACKAGER_EMAIL}>: ${DCH_CHANGELOG}"
+DEBFULLNAME="${PACKAGER_NAME}" DEBEMAIL="${PACKAGER_EMAIL}" dch "${DCH_CREATE}" --package "${DEB_NAME}" --newversion "${DEB_VERSION}" --distribution "${DCH_DISTRO}" --urgency "${DCH_URGENCY}" "${DCH_CHANGELOG}"
+
+# build packages
+dpkg-buildpackage -us -uc -j${JOBS} --source-option="--tar-ignore=.git" --source-option="--tar-ignore=build*"
+
+# all OK!
+echo " - Build OK [${DEB_NAME}-${DEB_VERSION}]"
+exit 0
diff --git a/tools/debian/patches/README b/tools/debian/patches/README
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3a2699a55
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/debian/patches/README
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+This directory contains patches that must be applied for some old Debian/Ubuntu
+versions, in order to build Debian packages.
+
+They are automatically applied by the script "tools/build-debian.sh".
diff --git a/tools/debian/patches/weechat_debian_squeeze.patch b/tools/debian/patches/weechat_debian_squeeze.patch
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d9aa83227
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/debian/patches/weechat_debian_squeeze.patch
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+diff --git a/debian-devel/compat b/debian-devel/compat
+index ec63514..45a4fb7 100644
+--- a/debian-devel/compat
++++ b/debian-devel/compat
+@@ -1 +1 @@
+-9
++8
+diff --git a/debian-devel/control b/debian-devel/control
+index a12df19..a5f9ceb 100644
+--- a/debian-devel/control
++++ b/debian-devel/control
+@@ -8,10 +8,10 @@ Build-Depends:
+     xsltproc,
+     docbook-xsl,
+     docbook-xml,
+-    debhelper (>= 9),
++    debhelper (>= 8),
+     cmake, pkg-config,
+     libncursesw5-dev,
+-    gem2deb,
++    ruby1.9.1, ruby1.9.1-dev,
+     libperl-dev,
+     python-dev,
+     libaspell-dev,
+@@ -20,8 +20,8 @@ Build-Depends:
+     guile-2.0-dev,
+     libv8-dev,
+     libcurl4-gnutls-dev,
+-    libgcrypt20-dev,
+-    libgnutls28-dev,
++    libgcrypt11-dev,
++    libgnutls-dev,
+     zlib1g-dev
+ Standards-Version: 3.9.6
+ Homepage: https://weechat.org/
+diff --git a/debian-stable/compat b/debian-stable/compat
+index ec63514..45a4fb7 100644
+--- a/debian-stable/compat
++++ b/debian-stable/compat
+@@ -1 +1 @@
+-9
++8
+diff --git a/debian-stable/control b/debian-stable/control
+index ccb4179..790b315 100644
+--- a/debian-stable/control
++++ b/debian-stable/control
+@@ -8,10 +8,10 @@ Build-Depends:
+     xsltproc,
+     docbook-xsl,
+     docbook-xml,
+-    debhelper (>= 9),
++    debhelper (>= 8),
+     cmake, pkg-config,
+     libncursesw5-dev,
+-    gem2deb,
++    ruby1.9.1, ruby1.9.1-dev,
+     libperl-dev,
+     python-dev,
+     libaspell-dev,
+@@ -20,8 +20,8 @@ Build-Depends:
+     guile-2.0-dev,
+     libv8-dev,
+     libcurl4-gnutls-dev,
+-    libgcrypt20-dev,
+-    libgnutls28-dev,
++    libgcrypt11-dev,
++    libgnutls-dev,
+     zlib1g-dev
+ Standards-Version: 3.9.6
+ Homepage: https://weechat.org/
diff --git a/tools/debian/patches/weechat_debian_wheezy.patch b/tools/debian/patches/weechat_debian_wheezy.patch
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..459190197
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/debian/patches/weechat_debian_wheezy.patch
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+diff --git a/debian-devel/control b/debian-devel/control
+index a12df19..38773be 100644
+--- a/debian-devel/control
++++ b/debian-devel/control
+@@ -20,8 +20,8 @@ Build-Depends:
+     guile-2.0-dev,
+     libv8-dev,
+     libcurl4-gnutls-dev,
+-    libgcrypt20-dev,
+-    libgnutls28-dev,
++    libgcrypt11-dev,
++    libgnutls-dev,
+     zlib1g-dev
+ Standards-Version: 3.9.6
+ Homepage: https://weechat.org/
+diff --git a/debian-stable/control b/debian-stable/control
+index ccb4179..0d73171 100644
+--- a/debian-stable/control
++++ b/debian-stable/control
+@@ -20,8 +20,8 @@ Build-Depends:
+     guile-2.0-dev,
+     libv8-dev,
+     libcurl4-gnutls-dev,
+-    libgcrypt20-dev,
+-    libgnutls28-dev,
++    libgcrypt11-dev,
++    libgnutls-dev,
+     zlib1g-dev
+ Standards-Version: 3.9.6
+ Homepage: https://weechat.org/
diff --git a/tools/debian/patches/weechat_ubuntu_precise.patch b/tools/debian/patches/weechat_ubuntu_precise.patch
new file mode 120000
index 000000000..737378e74
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/debian/patches/weechat_ubuntu_precise.patch
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+weechat_debian_wheezy.patch
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tools/debian/patches/weechat_ubuntu_trusty.patch b/tools/debian/patches/weechat_ubuntu_trusty.patch
new file mode 120000
index 000000000..737378e74
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/debian/patches/weechat_ubuntu_trusty.patch
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+weechat_debian_wheezy.patch
\ No newline at end of file