doc/build_system.md

#Debian package creation

Architecture

The system contains rebuildd, a front-end for pbuilder, some chroot pbuilder for i386, amd64, armhf and reprepro for debian repository system.

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Workflow

There is 3 repositories (unstable, testing & stable):

• Packages from unstable (aka daily) are the latest version from git and are build automatically every night.

• Packages from testing (aka test) allow to set up a new package version to be tested.

• Packages from stable (aka megusta) contains only production versions.

This workflow purpose is to avoid any manual interaction (script launch, ...) on your server and to focus on package management through Github only.

Thus, each yunohost package has three branches, matching the three repositories (unstable, testing et stable). The build server will automatically build and deploy Debian source packages and binaries into the corresponding state on Github

Unstable branch

Commits to the unstable branch will not modify the debian/changelog file because it is automatically updated during daily builds with corresponding date and time.

Any commit that will alter a package behaviour need to be done to the unstable branch first.

TODO Add pre-commit hook to avoid errors ?

Testing et stable branch - standard workflow

No commit can be done directly in those branches. You need to use merges (merge from unstable to testing & merge from testing to stable).

The only specific changes that occur on the repositories are version changes (modification of debian/changelog, then tag).

As a YunoHost application maintainer, you may find specific tools in the repository yunohost-debhelper

git clone https://github.com/YunoHost/yunohost-debhelper
yunohost-debhelper/setup_git_alias.sh

The previous instructions will configure a new git alias named yunobump. It is global and located at ~/.gitconfig, therefore accessible through any local git repository.

**Cauttion:** this helper `yunobump` only works for Ubuntu or Debian Jessie for the moment. You **need** to install `git` and `git-buildpackage` packages in order to make this helper work properly.

Without helper

1. Go into the repository you wish to build
2. Make sure unstable branch contains all modifications you wish to apply
3. Get the current version number: head debian/changelog
4. Move to the testing or stable branch
5. Merge or cherry-pick commits you want to insert into the unstable branch
6. Add to debian/changelog the corresponding commits messages (or use git-dch to do it automatically)
7. Tag the current branch (testing or stable) with the next superior value for version number
8. Push modifications and tags into GitHub repository
9. Go back to unstable branch
10. Merge changelog
11. Push unstable branch

With helper

# You Only Clone Once
$ git clone git@github.com:YunoHost/yunohost.git
$ cd yunohost

# Be sure to be up-to-date, and don't forget to get the tags !
$ git fetch --tags

# Checkout your branch: stable or testing
$ git checkout testing

# Do your 'functional' modifications: either merge unstable in testing, or merge testing in stable
$ git pull origin unstable
# Or just
$ git merge unstable

# What is the current version number in test?
$ dpkg-parsechangelog | grep "^Version" | cut -d ' ' -f 2
# Or just
$ head debian/changelog

# Update changelog and do a proper tag (explained below)
$ git yunobump x.y.z

# Push the branch state AND the tags to the remote repository
$ git push origin --tags testing:testing

# Merge changelog modifications to the `unstable` branch
$ git checkout unstable
$ git merge testing
$ git push origin unstable

TODO Tag format policy: actually $branch/$version to enable the same version into two different branches. Is it necessary?

TODO Under normal circumstances, every push to test or stable, the last commit will result in a changelog commit properly tagged. It should be possible to set a pre-push git hook that prevents from pushing unfinished work

Test and stable branches - hotfix

Exceptionally, you may hotfix (for security purposes for example) stable or test packages, leading to a merge into daily branch which is not acceptable (too much new features in development).

** This MUST remain exceptional **

TODO Describe

TODO Develop a 'git yunohotfix ...' helper that commit into stable and cherry-pick right away into daily? or the opposite?

Not YunoHost packages

« not-YunoHost » packages (python-bottle for example) don't go through unstable repository. Once package tests are completed, they need to be manually transferred into backport repository.

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Version number

So far, YunoHost global base version is 2. The current convention for the version number is 2.x.x.

The second section of the number string is incremented if a major functional change has occured: addition of a new functionality, modification of a behaviour. For now, all packages are versionned 2.1.x.

The third section of the number string is incremented if a bugfix or a minor functional change has occured. For example, you may currently find 2.1.3 or 2.1.5 packages

A fourth section is dedicated for exceptional cases like bugfixes in stable branch. In this case, we want to pass on a unique change directly into stable branch, therefore we add -x to the number string. This may result into something like this: 2.1.3-1.

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Packages management

Daily build

A cron task defined for pbuilder user is executed every day at 01:00. The script will update the packages git repository and submodules (ssowat, moulinette, yunohost & yunohost-admin). Once sources are up to date, the script will rebuild packages that have been updated the day.

Sources packages will then need to be created and moved into /var/www/repo.yunohost.org/daily/incomming folder.

Launch source file addition to the repository. This will automatically launch a rebuildd job (see daily repository configuration: /var/www/repo.yunohost.org/daily/conf/distribustion).

Once packages are built, they are added to the unstable repository.

(Re)build a YunoHost package

You may manualy launch a package build by typing:

$ daily_build -p package_name

Build a not YunoHost package

$ build_deb /path/of/package

TODO Describe : need to bump the version to pass from test to stable

Passing from daily to test

$ push-packages-test -p package_name

You may add the -v argument to manually define the package version.

The script will get the daily sources package and define the version and changelist into the changelog. Build package will be added to the rebuildd jobs list that will pass everything to the test repository.

Attention : Version name must not contain daily otherwise the package will be added to the daily repository.

Passing from test to stable

$ push-package-stable -p package_name

The previous command only passes the package from test to stable repository, without rebuild.

Repository management with reprepro

• Delete a package

$ reprepro -V -b /var/www/repo.yunohost.org/repo_name/ remove megusta package_name

• Add a Debian package into a repository

$ reprepro -V -b /var/www/repo.yunohost.org/repo_name/ includedeb megusta package_name.deb

Backports management

Packages from backports repository can be quickly into Yunohost test repository. To do so, you need to add the package name into the /var/www/repo.yunohost.org/test/conf/list file and type in the following command:

$ reprepro -V -b /var/www/repo.yunohost.org/test update megusta

Now packages will be downloaded and added to test repository.