Kathenas - Difficulty

Debian - Import a new package into Salsa

philip.wyett@kathenas.org (Phil Wyett) — Sat, 02 Aug 2025 16:58:00 +0100

Install required packages

Packages that need to be installed on your system are git and git-buildpackage.

Create Project

Create an empty Salsa project for your package.

Note: Be sure to deselect '''Initialize repository with a README'''.

Clone Project

Clone the created empty Salsa repository.

git clone git@salsa.debian.org:SALSA_USER/PACKAGE.git

Import Project

cd into the directory of the salsa project you created and just cloned. Now import your package into the newly created Salsa repository (local).

gbp import-dsc --pristine-tar PATH_TO_PACKAGE_DSC_FILE

Push Project

Push your package with branches and tags to Salsa (remote).

git push -u --all --follow-tags

Debian - Installing and using pbuilder

philip.wyett@kathenas.org (Phil Wyett) — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 03:59:00 +0100

Though sbuild is the primary build agent for Debian, pbuilder is still very popular and has some features yet to be found in sbuild, the --twice switch for example.

This tutorial will detail the installation, configuration and use of pbuilder.

First we install pbuilder.

sudo apt install pbuilder

Now we will generate the pbuilder base system tarball for Debian unstable.

sudo pbuilder create --debootstrapopts --variant=buildd --distribution unstable

That simple... Let's build a package.

dget https://deb.debian.org/debian/pool/main/d/ddcutil/ddcutil_2.2.0-2.dsc

sudo pbuilder build ddcutil_2.2.0-2.dsc

The build should complete with success. Let's check below.

ls -1 /var/cache/pbuilder/result/

Output:

philwyett@debian:~$ ls -1 /var/cache/pbuilder/result/
ddcutil_2.2.0-2_amd64.buildinfo
ddcutil_2.2.0-2_amd64.changes
ddcutil_2.2.0-2_amd64.deb
ddcutil_2.2.0-2.debian.tar.xz
ddcutil_2.2.0-2.dsc
ddcutil_2.2.0-2_source.changes
ddcutil-dbgsym_2.2.0-2_amd64.deb
libddcutil5_2.2.0-2_amd64.deb
libddcutil5-dbgsym_2.2.0-2_amd64.deb
libddcutil-dev_2.2.0-2_amd64.deb

Updating your base system tarball

To update your the pbuilder base system tarball with the latest package versions, you can simply run the command below.

sudo pbuilder update

These are the basics.

Building the package for i386

First we clean up after our previous build.

sudo pbuilder clean all

sudo rm -f /var/cache/pbuilder/result/*

Now we remove our previously generated unstable base.

sudo rm -f /var/cache/pbuilder/base.tgz

Now we will generate our unstable i386 base system tarball.

sudo pbuilder create --debootstrapopts --variant=buildd --distribution unstable --architecture i386

Let's now do the i386 build of the package we previously built.

sudo pbuilder build ddcutil_2.2.0-2.dsc

The build should complete with success. Let's check below.

ls -1 /var/cache/pbuilder/result/

Output:

philwyett@debian:~$ ls -1 /var/cache/pbuilder/result/
ddcutil_2.2.0-2.debian.tar.xz
ddcutil_2.2.0-2.dsc
ddcutil_2.2.0-2_i386.buildinfo
ddcutil_2.2.0-2_i386.changes
ddcutil_2.2.0-2_i386.deb
ddcutil_2.2.0-2_source.changes
ddcutil-dbgsym_2.2.0-2_i386.deb
libddcutil5_2.2.0-2_i386.deb
libddcutil5-dbgsym_2.2.0-2_i386.deb
libddcutil-dev_2.2.0-2_i386.deb

As simple as that.

Build after successful build

As you explore Debian and look at more bug reports you will see bugs that are failures to build after successful build. With pbuilder we can use the --twice switch and attempt to do two builds back to back. We do this with the command below.

sudo pbuilder build --twice ddcutil_2.2.0-2.dsc

Try it for yourself.

Building using local packages

On occasion you may need to build a package that depends on one or more packages that is not yet in Debian. To do this we need to some additional configuration.

Add a file called .pbuilderrc to your HOME directory.

In the new .pbuilderrc add the text below and save the file.

#
# The hook dir may already be set/populated!
#
HOOKDIR="$HOME/.config/pbuilder/hooks/"
if [ -n "$DEPS" ] ; then
export DEPSBASE=/var/cache/pbuilder/local_packages
BINDMOUNTS=$DEPSBASE
fi

The folder /var/cache/pbuilder/local_packages is my personal base directory to use, but you may change it to whatever you wish. For now we will create this directory.

sudo mkdir -p /var/cache/pbuilder/local_packages

We next create a directory for the packages as below, you may name it as you wish.

sudo mkdir -p /var/cache/pbuilder/local_packages/kathenas

Next we create the necessary hook.

Create the following directory.

mkdir -p ~/.config/pbuilder/hooks

In the above directory create the file named D05deps.

In the file D05deps add the text below and save the file.

DEPSPATH="$DEPSBASE/$DEPS"
if [ -n "$DEPS" ] && [ -d "$DEPSPATH" ] ; then
apt install --assume-yes apt-utils
( cd "$DEPSPATH"; apt-ftparchive packages . > Packages )
echo "deb [trusted=yes] file://$DEPSPATH ./" >> /etc/apt/sources.list
apt update
fi

We must make this hook file executable. This can be done with the command below.

chmod +x ~/.config/pbuilder/hooks/D05deps

Now we are able to build packages with local dependencies:

1. Build the package you wish to use that is not in Debian.
2. Copy the .deb files from /var/cache/pbuilder/result to /var/cache/pbuilder/local_packages/kathenas
3.Build your package now using the dependencies in /var/cache/pbuilder/local_packages/kathenas using the reference command below.

sudo -E DEPS=kathenas pbuilder build PACKAGE_NAME_AND_VERSION.dsc

I hope you find this tutorial useful and have a good rest of your day.

Reload UDEV rules without rebooting

philip.wyett@kathenas.org (Phil Wyett) — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 12:37:00 +0100

Sometimes we make changes to UDEV rules and need to make those changes active without the need to reboot your system. To do this you can use the commands below.

sudo udevadm control --reload-rules

sudo udevadm trigger

Flatpak - Remove unused packages and repair

philip.wyett@kathenas.org (Phil Wyett) — Sun, 13 Jul 2025 11:00:00 +0100

Using flatpak is very useful for when you need a package or few and not pollute your main or any machines file system.

Removing unused packages is simply performed by using the command below in your terminal fo choice.

flatpak uninstall --unused

Verifying and/or repairing your flatpak packages can be done using the command below.

flatpak repair

Debian - Importing a new package into Salsa

philip.wyett@kathenas.org (Phil Wyett) — Sat, 28 Jun 2025 06:59:00 +0100

As part of my Debian contribution, I do a great deal as a Debian Mentor. During this I have been asked many times how to import a new package into Debian's Salsa (GitLab instance).

I wrote a little tutorial to help here. Please use the link below to the tutorial on my part of the Debian wiki.

Importing a new package into Salsa

Watching yours or any Salsa (GitLab) repositories for changes

philip.wyett@kathenas.org (Phil Wyett) — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 08:27:00 +0100

Many ask how can you see/be notified of changes in a particular Salsa (GitLab) repository.

Firstly log in to Salsa.

Go to the repository you wish to watch.

Look for the Notificatiion Bell pictured above.

Click on the bell and change the selection to Watch.

That's it.

Updating and Cleaning using 'apt' and 'dpkg' on the command line

philip.wyett@kathenas.org (Phil Wyett) — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 07:54:00 +0100

The following are the commands I use to update my Debian (or any apt) system. These commands will help you update your system and then clean update after, including any cruft.

sudo apt update

sudo apt full-upgrade

sudo apt autoremove

sudo apt purge `dpkg --list | grep ^rc | awk '{ print $2; }'`

sudo apt clean all

Hope this helps you update then clean up afterwards.