1DEBBUILD(8) System Manager's Manual DEBBUILD(8)
2
6 debbuild — Build Debian-compatible .deb packages from RPM .spec files
7
9 2005-2015 © Kris Deugau <kdeugau@deepnet.cx>
10 2015-2019 © Andreas Scherer <https://ascherer.github.io/>
11 2015-2019 © Neal Gompa ngompa13@gmail.com
12 2017-2019 © Datto, Inc. <https://datto.com>
13
15 Build .deb packages from RPM-style .spec files.
16 debbuild supports most package-building options rpmbuild does.
17
19 Build options with [ <specfile> | <tarball> | <source package> ]:
20 -b. build from <specfile> ...
22 -t. build from <tarball> ...
23 -r. build from <source package> ...
24 -.p ... through %prep (unpack sources and apply patches)
25 -.c ... through %build (%prep, then compile)
26 -.i ... through %install (%prep, %build, then install)
27 -.l verify %files section
28 -.a ... source and binary packages
29 -.b ... binary package only
30 -.s ... source package only
31 --rebuild (-rb) build binary package from <source package>
32 --recompile (-ri) build through %install from <source package>
33 --buildroot=DIRECTORY override build root
34 --short-circuit skip straight to specified stage (only c,i)
35 Common options:
37 -D, --define='MACRO EXPR' define MACRO with value EXPR
39 --with/--without FLAG define build conditionals from FLAG
40 -S, --scm=SCM short for '--define "__scm SCM"'
41 debbuild-specific options:
43 -i, --install Unpack a .sdeb in the %_topdir tree
45 --showpkgs Show package names that would be built.
46 --nobuild Parse <specfile>, but do no processing
47
49 debbuild attempts to build Debian-friendly semi-native packages from
50 RPM spec files, RPM-friendly tarballs, and RPM source packages
51 (.src.rpm files). It accepts most of the options rpmbuild does, and
52 should be able to interpret most spec files usefully. Perl modules
53 should be handled via CPAN+dh-make-perl instead as it’s simpler than
54 even tweaking a .spec template.
55 As far as possible, the command-line options are identical to those
57 from rpmbuild, although several rpmbuild options are not supported:
58 --clean
60 --rmsource
61 --rmspec
62 --target
63 Some of these could probably be trivially added. Feel free to send me
65 a patch. ;)
66 Complex spec files will most likely not work well, if at all. Rewrite
68 them from scratch – you’ll have to make heavy modifications anyway.
69 If you see something you don’t like, mail me. Send a patch if you feel
71 inspired. I don’t promise I’ll do anything other than say “Yup, that’s
72 broken” or “Got your message”.
73 The source package container I invented for debbuild, the .sdeb file,
75 can be installed with "debbuild -i" exactly the same way as a .src.rpm
76 can be installed with "rpm -i". Both will unpack the file and place
77 the source(s) and .spec file in the appropriate places in
78 %_topdir/SOURCES and %_topdir/SPECS respectively.
79
81 As with rpmbuild, debbuild makes some assumptions about your system.
82 • Either you have rights to do as you please under /usr/src/debian,
84 or you have created a file ~/.debmacros containing a suitable
85 “%_topdir” definition.
86 Both rpmbuild and debbuild require the directories
88 %_topdir/{BUILD,SOURCES,SPECS}. However, where rpmbuild requires
89 the %_topdir/{RPMS,SRPMS} directories, debbuild requires
90 %_topdir/{DEBS,SDEBS} instead. Create them in advance; some
91 subdirectories are created automatically as needed, but most are
92 not.
93 • /var/tmp must allow script execution – rpmbuild and debbuild both
95 rely on creating and executing shell scripts for much of their
96 functionality. By default, debbuild also creates install trees
97 under /var/tmp – however this is (almost) entirely under the
98 control of the package’s .spec file.
99 • If you wish to --rebuild a .src.rpm file, your %_topdir for both
101 debbuild and rpmbuild must either match, or be suitably symlinked
102 one direction or another so that both programs are effectively
103 working in the same tree. (Or you could just manually wrestle
104 files around your system.)
105 You could symlink ~/.rpmmacros to ~/.debmacros (or vice versa) and
107 save yourself some hassle if you need to rebuild .src.rpm packages
108 on a regular basis.
109
111 debbuild deliberately does a few things differently from rpmbuild.
112 Finding out what packages should be built (--showpkgs)
114 rpmbuild does not include any convenient method I know of to list the
115 packages a spec file will produce. Since I needed this ability for
116 another tool, I added it.
117 It requires the .spec file for the package, and produces a list of full
119 package filenames (without path data) that would be generated by one of
120 --rebuild, -ta, -tb, -ra, -rb, -ba, or -bb. This includes the .sdeb
121 source package.
122
124 debbuild was written by Kris Deugau. The present version was developed
125 by Andreas Scherer, Neal Gompa, and others. It is available at
126 <http://github.com/debbuild/debbuild>.
127
129 Funky Things Happen if you forget a command-line option or two. I’ve
130 been too lazy to bother fixing this.
131 Many macro expansions are supported, some are incompletely supported,
133 some not at all.
134 The generated scriptlets don’t quite match those from rpmbuild exactly.
136 There are extra environment variables and preprocessing that I haven't
137 needed (yet).
138 Documentation, such as it is, will likely remain perpetually out of
140 date (in which way it follows in RPM’s tradition).
141 %_topdir and the five “working” directories under %_topdir could
143 arguably be created by debbuild. However, rpmbuild doesn't create
144 these directories either.
145
147 rpm(8), rpmbuild(8), and pretty much any document describing how to
148 write a .spec file.
149Release 20.04.0 2023-07-19 DEBBUILD(8)