📦 debpack

Super simple Debian packages.

Aims to keep Lintian happy and adhere to the Debian Policy Manual where reasonable, without bogging you down with needless ceremony.

Installation

curl -Lo /usr/local/bin/debpack https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hoffa/debpack/master/debpack
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/debpack

You'll also need dpkg-dev:

apt-get install dpkg-dev

Or, if you want to build on macOS:

brew install dpkg fakeroot

Usage

debpack

Package control file fields can be easily modified at build-time:

debpack Version:1.2.3

You can also use the hoffa/debpack Docker image.

Example

First, let's create a program called hello that outputs world:

echo 'echo world' > hello
chmod +x hello

The package will need some metadata. Debian packages keep their metadata in a package control file, located in debian/control:

mkdir debian
cat > debian/control << EOF
Package: hello
Description: writes world to stdout
Maintainer: Jane Doe <jane@doe.com>
Architecture: all
Version: 1.0.0
EOF

Note: you can also add maintainer scripts (such as postinst, which will execute after installation) to the debian directory.

We then create a Debpackfile that specifies where to copy the files when installing the package:

echo -e 'hello\t/usr/bin/' > Debpackfile

Finally, build the package:

debpack

Debpackfile format

• Each line has a source and destination path, separated by a tab character
• Wildcards are allowed in the source path
• Lines that start with # are ignored
• Empty lines are ignored