1PKGBUILD(5)                      Pacman Manual                     PKGBUILD(5)
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NAME

6       PKGBUILD - Arch Linux package build description file
7

SYNOPSIS

9       PKGBUILD
10

DESCRIPTION

12       This manual page describes general rules about PKGBUILDs. Once a
13       PKGBUILD is written, the actual package is built using makepkg and
14       installed with pacman.
15
16           Note
17           An example PKGBUILD, useful for reference, is located in
18           /usr/share/pacman along with other example files such as an install
19           script. You can copy the provided PKGBUILD.proto file to a new
20           package build directory and make customizations to suit your needs.
21

OPTIONS AND DIRECTIVES

23       The following is a list of standard options and directives available
24       for use in a PKGBUILD. These are all understood and interpreted by
25       makepkg, and most of them will be directly transferred to the built
26       package. The mandatory fields for a minimally functional PKGBUILD are
27       pkgname, pkgver, pkgrel and arch.
28
29       If you need to create any custom variables for use in your build
30       process, it is recommended to prefix their name with an _ (underscore).
31       This will prevent any possible name clashes with internal makepkg
32       variables. For example, to store the base kernel version in a variable,
33       use something similar to $_basekernver.
34
35       pkgname (array)
36           Either the name of the package or an array of names for split
37           packages. Valid characters for members of this array are
38           alphanumerics, and any of the following characters: “@ . _ + -”.
39           Additionally, names are not allowed to start with hyphens or dots.
40
41       pkgver
42           The version of the software as released from the author (e.g.,
43           2.7.1). The variable is not allowed to contain colons, forward
44           slashes, hyphens or whitespace.
45
46           The pkgver variable can be automatically updated by providing a
47           pkgver() function in the PKGBUILD that outputs the new package
48           version. This is run after downloading and extracting the sources
49           and running the prepare() function (if present), so it can use
50           those files in determining the new pkgver. This is most useful when
51           used with sources from version control systems (see below).
52
53       pkgrel
54           This is the release number specific to the distribution. This
55           allows package maintainers to make updates to the package’s
56           configure flags, for example. This is typically set to 1 for each
57           new upstream software release and incremented for intermediate
58           PKGBUILD updates. The variable is a positive integer, with an
59           optional subrelease level specified by adding another positive
60           integer separated by a period (i.e. in the form x.y).
61
62       epoch
63           Used to force the package to be seen as newer than any previous
64           versions with a lower epoch, even if the version number would
65           normally not trigger such an upgrade. This value is required to be
66           a positive integer; the default value if left unspecified is 0.
67           This is useful when the version numbering scheme of a package
68           changes (or is alphanumeric), breaking normal version comparison
69           logic. See pacman(8) for more information on version comparisons.
70
71       pkgdesc
72           This should be a brief description of the package and its
73           functionality. Try to keep the description to one line of text and
74           to not use the package’s name.
75
76       url
77           This field contains a URL that is associated with the software
78           being packaged. This is typically the project’s web site.
79
80       license (array)
81           This field specifies the license(s) that apply to the package.
82           Commonly used licenses can be found in /usr/share/licenses/common.
83           If you see the package’s license there, simply reference it in the
84           license field (e.g., license=('GPL')). If the package provides a
85           license not available in /usr/share/licenses/common, then you
86           should include it in the package itself and set license=('custom')
87           or license=('custom:LicenseName'). The license should be placed in
88           $pkgdir/usr/share/licenses/$pkgname/ when building the package. If
89           multiple licenses are applicable, list all of them: license=('GPL'
90           'FDL').
91
92       install
93           Specifies a special install script that is to be included in the
94           package. This file should reside in the same directory as the
95           PKGBUILD and will be copied into the package by makepkg. It does
96           not need to be included in the source array (e.g.,
97           install=$pkgname.install).
98
99       changelog
100           Specifies a changelog file that is to be included in the package.
101           The changelog file should end in a single newline. This file should
102           reside in the same directory as the PKGBUILD and will be copied
103           into the package by makepkg. It does not need to be included in the
104           source array (e.g., changelog=$pkgname.changelog).
105
106       source (array)
107           An array of source files required to build the package. Source
108           files must either reside in the same directory as the PKGBUILD, or
109           be a fully-qualified URL that makepkg can use to download the file.
110           To simplify the maintenance of PKGBUILDs, use the $pkgname and
111           $pkgver variables when specifying the download location, if
112           possible. Compressed files will be extracted automatically unless
113           found in the noextract array described below.
114
115           Additional architecture-specific sources can be added by appending
116           an underscore and the architecture name e.g., source_x86_64=().
117           There must be a corresponding integrity array with checksums, e.g.
118           cksums_x86_64=().
119
120           It is also possible to change the name of the downloaded file,
121           which is helpful with weird URLs and for handling multiple source
122           files with the same name. The syntax is: source=('filename::url').
123
124           makepkg also supports building developmental versions of packages
125           using sources downloaded from version control systems (VCS). For
126           more information, see Using VCS Sources below.
127
128           Files in the source array with extensions .sig, .sign or, .asc are
129           recognized by makepkg as PGP signatures and will be automatically
130           used to verify the integrity of the corresponding source file.
131
132       validpgpkeys (array)
133           An array of PGP fingerprints. If this array is non-empty, makepkg
134           will only accept signatures from the keys listed here and will
135           ignore the trust values from the keyring. If the source file was
136           signed with a subkey, makepkg will still use the primary key for
137           comparison.
138
139           Only full fingerprints are accepted. They must be uppercase and
140           must not contain whitespace characters.
141
142       noextract (array)
143           An array of file names corresponding to those from the source
144           array. Files listed here will not be extracted with the rest of the
145           source files. This is useful for packages that use compressed data
146           directly.
147
148       cksums (array)
149           This array contains CRC checksums for every source file specified
150           in the source array (in the same order). makepkg will use this to
151           verify source file integrity during subsequent builds. If SKIP is
152           put in the array in place of a normal hash, the integrity check for
153           that source file will be skipped. To easily generate cksums, run
154           “makepkg -g >> PKGBUILD”. If desired, move the cksums line to an
155           appropriate location. Note that checksums generated by "makepkg -g"
156           should be verified using checksum values provided by the software
157           developer.
158
159       md5sums, sha1sums, sha224sums, sha256sums, sha384sums, sha512sums,
160       b2sums (arrays)
161           Alternative integrity checks that makepkg supports; these all
162           behave similar to the cksums option described above. To enable use
163           and generation of these checksums, be sure to set up the
164           INTEGRITY_CHECK option in makepkg.conf(5).
165
166       groups (array)
167           An array of symbolic names that represent groups of packages,
168           allowing you to install multiple packages by requesting a single
169           target. For example, one could install all KDE packages by
170           installing the kde group.
171
172       arch (array)
173           Defines on which architectures the given package is available
174           (e.g., arch=('i686' 'x86_64')). Packages that contain no
175           architecture specific files should use arch=('any'). Valid
176           characters for members of this array are alphanumerics and “_”.
177
178       backup (array)
179           An array of file names, without preceding slashes, that should be
180           backed up if the package is removed or upgraded. This is commonly
181           used for packages placing configuration files in /etc. See
182           "Handling Config Files" in pacman(8) for more information.
183
184       depends (array)
185           An array of packages this package depends on to run. Entries in
186           this list should be surrounded with single quotes and contain at
187           least the package name. Entries can also include a version
188           requirement of the form name<>version, where <> is one of five
189           comparisons: >= (greater than or equal to), <= (less than or equal
190           to), = (equal to), > (greater than), or < (less than).
191
192           If the dependency name appears to be a library (ends with .so),
193           makepkg will try to find a binary that depends on the library in
194           the built package and append the version needed by the binary.
195           Appending the version yourself disables automatic detection.
196
197           Additional architecture-specific depends can be added by appending
198           an underscore and the architecture name e.g., depends_x86_64=().
199
200       makedepends (array)
201           An array of packages this package depends on to build but are not
202           needed at runtime. Packages in this list follow the same format as
203           depends.
204
205           Additional architecture-specific makedepends can be added by
206           appending an underscore and the architecture name e.g.,
207           makedepends_x86_64=().
208
209       checkdepends (array)
210           An array of packages this package depends on to run its test suite
211           but are not needed at runtime. Packages in this list follow the
212           same format as depends. These dependencies are only considered when
213           the check() function is present and is to be run by makepkg.
214
215           Additional architecture-specific checkdepends can be added by
216           appending an underscore and the architecture name e.g.,
217           checkdepends_x86_64=().
218
219       optdepends (array)
220           An array of packages (and accompanying reasons) that are not
221           essential for base functionality, but may be necessary to make full
222           use of the contents of this package. optdepends are currently for
223           informational purposes only and are not utilized by pacman during
224           dependency resolution. Packages in this list follow the same format
225           as depends, with an optional description appended. The format for
226           specifying optdepends descriptions is:
227
228               optdepends=('python: for library bindings')
229
230           Additional architecture-specific optdepends can be added by
231           appending an underscore and the architecture name e.g.,
232           optdepends_x86_64=().
233
234       conflicts (array)
235           An array of packages that will conflict with this package (i.e.
236           they cannot both be installed at the same time). This directive
237           follows the same format as depends. Versioned conflicts are
238           supported using the operators as described in depends.
239
240           Additional architecture-specific conflicts can be added by
241           appending an underscore and the architecture name e.g.,
242           conflicts_x86_64=().
243
244       provides (array)
245           An array of “virtual provisions” this package provides. This allows
246           a package to provide dependencies other than its own package name.
247           For example, the dcron package can provide cron, which allows
248           packages to depend on cron rather than dcron OR fcron.
249
250           Versioned provisions are also possible, in the name=version format.
251           For example, dcron can provide cron=2.0 to satisfy the cron>=2.0
252           dependency of other packages. Provisions involving the > and <
253           operators are invalid as only specific versions of a package may be
254           provided.
255
256           If the provision name appears to be a library (ends with .so),
257           makepkg will try to find the library in the built package and
258           append the correct version. Appending the version yourself disables
259           automatic detection.
260
261           Additional architecture-specific provides can be added by appending
262           an underscore and the architecture name e.g., provides_x86_64=().
263
264       replaces (array)
265           An array of packages this package should replace. This can be used
266           to handle renamed/combined packages. For example, if the j2re
267           package is renamed to jre, this directive allows future upgrades to
268           continue as expected even though the package has moved. Versioned
269           replaces are supported using the operators as described in depends.
270
271           Sysupgrade is currently the only pacman operation that utilizes
272           this field. A normal sync or upgrade will not use its value.
273
274           Additional architecture-specific replaces can be added by appending
275           an underscore and the architecture name e.g., replaces_x86_64=().
276
277       options (array)
278           This array allows you to override some of makepkg’s default
279           behavior when building packages. To set an option, just include the
280           option name in the options array. To reverse the default behavior,
281           place an “!” at the front of the option. Only specify the options
282           you specifically want to override, the rest will be taken from
283           makepkg.conf(5).  NOTE: force is a now-removed option in favor of
284           the top level epoch variable.
285
286           strip
287               Strip symbols from binaries and libraries. If you frequently
288               use a debugger on programs or libraries, it may be helpful to
289               disable this option.
290
291           docs
292               Save doc directories. If you wish to delete doc directories,
293               specify !docs in the array.
294
295           libtool
296               Leave libtool (.la) files in packages. Specify !libtool to
297               remove them.
298
299           staticlibs
300               Leave static library (.a) files in packages. Specify
301               !staticlibs to remove them (if they have a shared counterpart).
302
303           emptydirs
304               Leave empty directories in packages.
305
306           zipman
307               Compress man and info pages with gzip.
308
309           ccache
310               Allow the use of ccache during build(). More useful in its
311               negative form !ccache with select packages that have problems
312               building with ccache.
313
314           distcc
315               Allow the use of distcc during build(). More useful in its
316               negative form !distcc with select packages that have problems
317               building with distcc.
318
319           buildflags
320               Allow the use of user-specific buildflags (CPPFLAGS, CFLAGS,
321               CXXFLAGS, LDFLAGS) during build() as specified in
322               makepkg.conf(5). More useful in its negative form !buildflags
323               with select packages that have problems building with custom
324               buildflags.
325
326           makeflags
327               Allow the use of user-specific makeflags during build() as
328               specified in makepkg.conf(5). More useful in its negative form
329               !makeflags with select packages that have problems building
330               with custom makeflags such as -j2 (or higher).
331
332           debug
333               Add the user-specified debug flags (DEBUG_CFLAGS,
334               DEBUG_CXXFLAGS) to their counterpart buildflags as specified in
335               makepkg.conf(5). When used in combination with the ‘strip’
336               option, a separate package containing the debug symbols is
337               created.
338
339           lto
340               Enable building packages using link time optimization. Adds
341               -flto to both CFLAGS and CXXFLAGS.
342

PACKAGING FUNCTIONS

344       In addition to the above directives, PKGBUILDs require a set of
345       functions that provide instructions to build and install the package.
346       As a minimum, the PKGBUILD must contain a package() function which
347       installs all the package’s files into the packaging directory, with
348       optional prepare(), build(), and check() functions being used to create
349       those files from source.
350
351       This is directly sourced and executed by makepkg, so anything that Bash
352       or the system has available is available for use here. Be sure any
353       exotic commands used are covered by the makedepends array.
354
355       If you create any variables of your own in any of these functions, it
356       is recommended to use the Bash local keyword to scope the variable to
357       inside the function.
358
359       package() Function
360           The package() function is used to install files into the directory
361           that will become the root directory of the built package and is run
362           after all the optional functions listed below. The packaging stage
363           is run using fakeroot to ensure correct file permissions in the
364           resulting package. All other functions will be run as the user
365           calling makepkg.
366
367       prepare() Function
368           An optional prepare() function can be specified in which operations
369           to prepare the sources for building, such as patching, are
370           performed. This function is run after the source extraction and
371           before the build() function. The prepare() function is skipped when
372           source extraction is skipped.
373
374       build() Function
375           The optional build() function is used to compile and/or adjust the
376           source files in preparation to be installed by the package()
377           function.
378
379       check() Function
380           An optional check() function can be specified in which a package’s
381           test-suite may be run. This function is run between the build() and
382           package() functions. Be sure any exotic commands used are covered
383           by the checkdepends array.
384
385       All of the above variables such as $pkgname and $pkgver are available
386       for use in the packaging functions. In addition, makepkg defines the
387       following variables:
388
389       srcdir
390           This contains the directory where makepkg extracts, or copies, all
391           source files.
392
393           All of the packaging functions defined above are run starting
394           inside $srcdir
395
396       pkgdir
397           This contains the directory where makepkg bundles the installed
398           package. This directory will become the root directory of your
399           built package. This variable should only be used in the package()
400           function.
401
402       startdir
403           This contains the absolute path to the directory where the PKGBUILD
404           is located, which is usually the output of $(pwd) when makepkg is
405           started. Use of this variable is deprecated and strongly
406           discouraged.
407

PACKAGE SPLITTING

409       makepkg supports building multiple packages from a single PKGBUILD.
410       This is achieved by assigning an array of package names to the pkgname
411       directive. Each split package uses a corresponding packaging function
412       with name package_foo(), where foo is the name of the split package.
413
414       All options and directives for the split packages default to the global
415       values given in the PKGBUILD. Nevertheless, the following ones can be
416       overridden within each split package’s packaging function: pkgdesc,
417       arch, url, license, groups, depends, optdepends, provides, conflicts,
418       replaces, backup, options, install, and changelog.
419
420       Note that makepkg does not consider split package depends when checking
421       if dependencies are installed before package building and with
422       --syncdeps. All packages required to make the package are required to
423       be specified in the global depends and makedepends arrays.
424
425       An optional global directive is available when building a split
426       package:
427
428       pkgbase
429           The name used to refer to the group of packages in the output of
430           makepkg and in the naming of source-only tarballs. If not
431           specified, the first element in the pkgname array is used. Valid
432           characters for this variable are alphanumerics, and any of the
433           following characters: “@ . _ + -”. Additionally, the variable is
434           not allowed to start with hyphens or dots.
435

INSTALL/UPGRADE/REMOVE SCRIPTING

437       Pacman has the ability to store and execute a package-specific script
438       when it installs, removes, or upgrades a package. This allows a package
439       to configure itself after installation and perform an opposite action
440       upon removal.
441
442       The exact time the script is run varies with each operation, and should
443       be self-explanatory. Note that during an upgrade operation, none of the
444       install or remove functions will be called.
445
446       Scripts are passed either one or two “full version strings”, where a
447       full version string is either pkgver-pkgrel or epoch:pkgver-pkgrel, if
448       epoch is non-zero.
449
450       pre_install
451           Run right before files are extracted. One argument is passed: new
452           package full version string.
453
454       post_install
455           Run right after files are extracted. One argument is passed: new
456           package full version string.
457
458       pre_upgrade
459           Run right before files are extracted. Two arguments are passed in
460           this order: new package full version string, old package full
461           version string.
462
463       post_upgrade
464           Run after files are extracted. Two arguments are passed in this
465           order: new package full version string, old package full version
466           string.
467
468       pre_remove
469           Run right before files are removed. One argument is passed: old
470           package full version string.
471
472       post_remove
473           Run right after files are removed. One argument is passed: old
474           package full version string.
475
476       To use this feature, create a file such as pkgname.install and put it
477       in the same directory as the PKGBUILD script. Then use the install
478       directive:
479
480           install=pkgname.install
481
482       The install script does not need to be specified in the source array. A
483       template install file is available in /usr/share/pacman as
484       proto.install for reference with all of the available functions
485       defined.
486

USING VCS SOURCES

488       Building a developmental version of a package using sources from a
489       version control system (VCS) is enabled by specifying the source in the
490       form:
491
492           source=('directory::url#fragment?query')
493
494       Currently makepkg supports the Bazaar, Git, Subversion, Fossil and
495       Mercurial version control systems. For other version control systems,
496       manual cloning of upstream repositories must be done in the prepare()
497       function.
498
499       The source URL is divided into four components:
500
501       directory
502           (optional) Specifies an alternate directory name for makepkg to
503           download the VCS source into.
504
505       url
506           The URL to the VCS repository. This must include the VCS in the URL
507           protocol for makepkg to recognize this as a VCS source. If the
508           protocol does not include the VCS name, it can be added by
509           prefixing the URL with vcs+. For example, using a Git repository
510           over HTTPS would have a source URL in the form: git+https://....
511
512       fragment
513           (optional) Allows specifying a revision number or branch for
514           makepkg to checkout from the VCS. A fragment has the form
515           type=value, for example to checkout a given revision the source
516           line would be source=(url#revision=123). The available types
517           depends on the VCS being used:
518
519           bzr
520               revision (see 'bzr help revisionspec' for details)
521
522           fossil
523               branch, commit, tag
524
525           git
526               branch, commit, tag
527
528           hg
529               branch, revision, tag
530
531           svn
532               revision
533
534       query
535           (optional) Allows specifying whether a VCS checkout should be
536           checked for PGP-signed revisions. The source line should have the
537           format source=(url#fragment?signed) or
538           source=(url?signed#fragment). Currently only supported by Git.
539

EXAMPLE

541       The following is an example PKGBUILD for the patch package. For more
542       examples, look through the build files of your distribution’s packages.
543       For those using Arch Linux, consult the Arch Build System (ABS) tree.
544
545           # Maintainer: Joe User <joe.user@example.com>
546
547           pkgname=patch
548           pkgver=2.7.1
549           pkgrel=1
550           pkgdesc="A utility to apply patch files to original sources"
551           arch=('i686' 'x86_64')
552           url="https://www.gnu.org/software/patch/patch.html"
553           license=('GPL')
554           groups=('base-devel')
555           depends=('glibc')
556           makedepends=('ed')
557           optdepends=('ed: for "patch -e" functionality')
558           source=("ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/$pkgname/$pkgname-$pkgver.tar.xz"{,.sig})
559           md5sums=('e9ae5393426d3ad783a300a338c09b72'
560                    'SKIP')
561
562           build() {
563                   cd "$srcdir/$pkgname-$pkgver"
564                   ./configure --prefix=/usr
565                   make
566           }
567
568           package() {
569                   cd "$srcdir/$pkgname-$pkgver"
570                   make DESTDIR="$pkgdir/" install
571           }
572

SEE ALSO

574       makepkg(8), pacman(8), makepkg.conf(5)
575
576       See the pacman website at https://archlinux.org/pacman/ for current
577       information on pacman and its related tools.
578

BUGS

580       Bugs? You must be kidding; there are no bugs in this software. But if
581       we happen to be wrong, submit a bug report with as much detail as
582       possible at the Arch Linux Bug Tracker in the Pacman section.
583

AUTHORS

585       Current maintainers:
586
587       •   Allan McRae <allan@archlinux.org>
588
589       •   Andrew Gregory <andrew.gregory.8@gmail.com>
590
591       •   Eli Schwartz <eschwartz@archlinux.org>
592
593       •   Morgan Adamiec <morganamilo@archlinux.org>
594
595       Past major contributors:
596
597       •   Judd Vinet <jvinet@zeroflux.org>
598
599       •   Aurelien Foret <aurelien@archlinux.org>
600
601       •   Aaron Griffin <aaron@archlinux.org>
602
603       •   Dan McGee <dan@archlinux.org>
604
605       •   Xavier Chantry <shiningxc@gmail.com>
606
607       •   Nagy Gabor <ngaba@bibl.u-szeged.hu>
608
609       •   Dave Reisner <dreisner@archlinux.org>
610
611       For additional contributors, use git shortlog -s on the pacman.git
612       repository.
613
614
615
616Pacman 6.0.2                      2023-07-20                       PKGBUILD(5)
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