NAME
PKGBUILD - Arch Linux package build description fileSYNOPSIS
PKGBUILDDESCRIPTION
This manual page describes general rules about PKGBUILDs. Once a PKGBUILD is written, the actual package is built using makepkg and installed with pacman.OPTIONS AND DIRECTIVES
The following is a list of standard options and directives available for use in a PKGBUILD. These are all understood and interpreted by makepkg, and most of them will be directly transferred to the built package. The mandatory fields for a minimally functional PKGBUILD are pkgname, pkgver, pkgrel and arch.Either the name of the package or an array of
names for split packages. Valid characters for members of this array are
alphanumerics, and any of the following characters: “@ . _ + -”.
Additionally, names are not allowed to start with hyphens or dots.
pkgver
The version of the software as released from
the author (e.g., 2.7.1). The variable is not allowed to contain
colons, forward slashes, hyphens or whitespace.
The pkgver variable can be automatically updated by providing a pkgver()
function in the PKGBUILD that outputs the new package version. This is run
after downloading and extracting the sources and running the prepare()
function (if present), so it can use those files in determining the new
pkgver. This is most useful when used with sources from version control
systems (see below).
pkgrel
This is the release number specific to the
distribution. This allows package maintainers to make updates to the
package’s configure flags, for example. This is typically set to
1 for each new upstream software release and incremented for
intermediate PKGBUILD updates. The variable is a positive integer, with an
optional subrelease level specified by adding another positive integer
separated by a period (i.e. in the form x.y).
epoch
Used to force the package to be seen as newer
than any previous versions with a lower epoch, even if the version number
would normally not trigger such an upgrade. This value is required to be a
positive integer; the default value if left unspecified is 0. This is
useful when the version numbering scheme of a package changes (or is
alphanumeric), breaking normal version comparison logic. See pacman(8)
for more information on version comparisons.
pkgdesc
This should be a brief description of the
package and its functionality. Try to keep the description to one line of text
and to not use the package’s name.
url
This field contains a URL that is associated
with the software being packaged. This is typically the project’s web
site.
license (array)
This field specifies the license(s) that apply
to the package. Commonly used licenses can be found in
/usr/share/licenses/common. If you see the package’s license
there, simply reference it in the license field (e.g., license=('GPL')). If
the package provides a license not available in
/usr/share/licenses/common, then you should include it in the package
itself and set license=('custom') or license=('custom:LicenseName'). The
license should be placed in $pkgdir/usr/share/licenses/$pkgname/ when
building the package. If multiple licenses are applicable, list all of them:
license=('GPL' 'FDL').
install
Specifies a special install script that is to
be included in the package. This file should reside in the same directory as
the PKGBUILD and will be copied into the package by makepkg. It does not need
to be included in the source array (e.g., install=$pkgname.install).
changelog
Specifies a changelog file that is to be
included in the package. The changelog file should end in a single newline.
This file should reside in the same directory as the PKGBUILD and will be
copied into the package by makepkg. It does not need to be included in the
source array (e.g., changelog=$pkgname.changelog).
source (array)
An array of source files required to build the
package. Source files must either reside in the same directory as the
PKGBUILD, or be a fully-qualified URL that makepkg can use to download the
file. To simplify the maintenance of PKGBUILDs, use the $pkgname and $pkgver
variables when specifying the download location, if possible. Compressed files
will be extracted automatically unless found in the noextract array described
below.
Additional architecture-specific sources can be added by appending an underscore
and the architecture name e.g., source_x86_64=(). There must be a
corresponding integrity array with checksums, e.g. cksums_x86_64=().
It is also possible to change the name of the downloaded file, which is helpful
with weird URLs and for handling multiple source files with the same name. The
syntax is: source=('filename::url').
makepkg also supports building developmental versions of packages using sources
downloaded from version control systems (VCS). For more information, see Using
VCS Sources below.
Files in the source array with extensions .sig, .sign or, .asc are recognized by
makepkg as PGP signatures and will be automatically used to verify the
integrity of the corresponding source file.
validpgpkeys (array)
An array of PGP fingerprints. If this array is
non-empty, makepkg will only accept signatures from the keys listed here and
will ignore the trust values from the keyring. If the source file was signed
with a subkey, makepkg will still use the primary key for comparison.
Only full fingerprints are accepted. They must be uppercase and must not contain
whitespace characters.
noextract (array)
An array of file names corresponding to those
from the source array. Files listed here will not be extracted with the rest
of the source files. This is useful for packages that use compressed data
directly.
cksums (array)
This array contains CRC checksums for every
source file specified in the source array (in the same order). makepkg will
use this to verify source file integrity during subsequent builds. If
SKIP is put in the array in place of a normal hash, the integrity check
for that source file will be skipped. To easily generate cksums, run
“makepkg -g >> PKGBUILD”. If desired, move the cksums line
to an appropriate location. Note that checksums generated by "makepkg
-g" should be verified using checksum values provided by the software
developer.
md5sums, sha1sums, sha224sums, sha256sums, sha384sums, sha512sums, b2sums
(arrays)
Alternative integrity checks that makepkg
supports; these all behave similar to the cksums option described above. To
enable use and generation of these checksums, be sure to set up the
INTEGRITY_CHECK option in makepkg.conf(5).
groups (array)
An array of symbolic names that represent
groups of packages, allowing you to install multiple packages by requesting a
single target. For example, one could install all KDE packages by installing
the kde group.
arch (array)
Defines on which architectures the given
package is available (e.g., arch=('i686' 'x86_64')). Packages that contain no
architecture specific files should use arch=('any'). Valid characters for
members of this array are alphanumerics and “_”.
backup (array)
An array of file names, without preceding
slashes, that should be backed up if the package is removed or upgraded. This
is commonly used for packages placing configuration files in /etc. See
"Handling Config Files" in pacman(8) for more
information.
depends (array)
An array of packages this package depends on
to run. Entries in this list should be surrounded with single quotes and
contain at least the package name. Entries can also include a version
requirement of the form name<>version, where <> is one of
five comparisons: >= (greater than or equal to), <= (less than or equal
to), = (equal to), > (greater than), or < (less than).
If the dependency name appears to be a library (ends with .so), makepkg will try
to find a binary that depends on the library in the built package and append
the version needed by the binary. Appending the version yourself disables
automatic detection.
Additional architecture-specific depends can be added by appending an underscore
and the architecture name e.g., depends_x86_64=().
makedepends (array)
An array of packages this package depends on
to build but are not needed at runtime. Packages in this list follow the same
format as depends.
Additional architecture-specific makedepends can be added by appending an
underscore and the architecture name e.g., makedepends_x86_64=().
checkdepends (array)
An array of packages this package depends on
to run its test suite but are not needed at runtime. Packages in this list
follow the same format as depends. These dependencies are only considered when
the check() function is present and is to be run by makepkg.
Additional architecture-specific checkdepends can be added by appending an
underscore and the architecture name e.g.,
checkdepends_x86_64=().
optdepends (array)
An array of packages (and accompanying
reasons) that are not essential for base functionality, but may be necessary
to make full use of the contents of this package. optdepends are currently for
informational purposes only and are not utilized by pacman during dependency
resolution. Packages in this list follow the same format as depends, with an
optional description appended. The format for specifying optdepends
descriptions is:
Additional architecture-specific optdepends can be added by appending an
underscore and the architecture name e.g., optdepends_x86_64=().
conflicts (array)
optdepends=('python: for library bindings')
An array of packages that will conflict with
this package (i.e. they cannot both be installed at the same time). This
directive follows the same format as depends. Versioned conflicts are
supported using the operators as described in depends.
Additional architecture-specific conflicts can be added by appending an
underscore and the architecture name e.g., conflicts_x86_64=().
provides (array)
An array of “virtual provisions”
this package provides. This allows a package to provide dependencies other
than its own package name. For example, the dcron package can provide
cron, which allows packages to depend on cron rather than
dcron OR fcron.
Versioned provisions are also possible, in the name=version format. For
example, dcron can provide cron=2.0 to satisfy the cron>=2.0
dependency of other packages. Provisions involving the > and < operators
are invalid as only specific versions of a package may be provided.
If the provision name appears to be a library (ends with .so), makepkg will try
to find the library in the built package and append the correct version.
Appending the version yourself disables automatic detection.
Additional architecture-specific provides can be added by appending an
underscore and the architecture name e.g., provides_x86_64=().
replaces (array)
An array of packages this package should
replace. This can be used to handle renamed/combined packages. For example, if
the j2re package is renamed to jre, this directive allows future
upgrades to continue as expected even though the package has moved. Versioned
replaces are supported using the operators as described in depends.
Sysupgrade is currently the only pacman operation that utilizes this field. A
normal sync or upgrade will not use its value.
Additional architecture-specific replaces can be added by appending an
underscore and the architecture name e.g., replaces_x86_64=().
options (array)
This array allows you to override some of
makepkg’s default behavior when building packages. To set an option,
just include the option name in the options array. To reverse the default
behavior, place an “!” at the front of the option. Only specify
the options you specifically want to override, the rest will be taken from
makepkg.conf(5). NOTE: force is a now-removed option in
favor of the top level epoch variable.
strip
Strip symbols from binaries and libraries. If
you frequently use a debugger on programs or libraries, it may be helpful to
disable this option.
docs
Save doc directories. If you wish to delete
doc directories, specify !docs in the array.
libtool
Leave libtool (.la) files in packages. Specify
!libtool to remove them.
staticlibs
Leave static library (.a) files in packages.
Specify !staticlibs to remove them (if they have a shared counterpart).
emptydirs
Leave empty directories in packages.
zipman
Compress man and info pages with gzip.
ccache
Allow the use of ccache during build(). More
useful in its negative form !ccache with select packages that have problems
building with ccache.
distcc
Allow the use of distcc during build(). More
useful in its negative form !distcc with select packages that have problems
building with distcc.
buildflags
Allow the use of user-specific buildflags
(CPPFLAGS, CFLAGS, CXXFLAGS, LDFLAGS) during build() as specified in
makepkg.conf(5). More useful in its negative form !buildflags with
select packages that have problems building with custom buildflags.
makeflags
Allow the use of user-specific makeflags
during build() as specified in makepkg.conf(5). More useful in its
negative form !makeflags with select packages that have problems building with
custom makeflags such as -j2 (or higher).
debug
Add the user-specified debug flags
(DEBUG_CFLAGS, DEBUG_CXXFLAGS) to their counterpart buildflags as specified in
makepkg.conf(5). When used in combination with the
‘strip’ option, a separate package containing the debug symbols
is created.
lto
Enable building packages using link time
optimization. Adds -flto to both CFLAGS and CXXFLAGS.
PACKAGING FUNCTIONS
In addition to the above directives, PKGBUILDs require a set of functions that provide instructions to build and install the package. As a minimum, the PKGBUILD must contain a package() function which installs all the package’s files into the packaging directory, with optional prepare(), build(), and check() functions being used to create those files from source.The package() function is used to install
files into the directory that will become the root directory of the built
package and is run after all the optional functions listed below. The
packaging stage is run using fakeroot to ensure correct file permissions in
the resulting package. All other functions will be run as the user calling
makepkg.
prepare() Function
An optional prepare() function can be
specified in which operations to prepare the sources for building, such as
patching, are performed. This function is run after the source extraction and
before the build() function. The prepare() function is skipped when source
extraction is skipped.
build() Function
The optional build() function is used to
compile and/or adjust the source files in preparation to be installed by the
package() function.
check() Function
An optional check() function can be specified
in which a package’s test-suite may be run. This function is run
between the build() and package() functions. Be sure any exotic commands used
are covered by the checkdepends array.
This contains the directory where makepkg
extracts, or copies, all source files.
All of the packaging functions defined above are run starting inside
$srcdir
pkgdir
This contains the directory where makepkg
bundles the installed package. This directory will become the root directory
of your built package. This variable should only be used in the package()
function.
startdir
This contains the absolute path to the
directory where the PKGBUILD is located, which is usually the output of $(pwd)
when makepkg is started. Use of this variable is deprecated and strongly
discouraged.
PACKAGE SPLITTING
makepkg supports building multiple packages from a single PKGBUILD. This is achieved by assigning an array of package names to the pkgname directive. Each split package uses a corresponding packaging function with name package_foo(), where foo is the name of the split package.The name used to refer to the group of
packages in the output of makepkg and in the naming of source-only tarballs.
If not specified, the first element in the pkgname array is used. Valid
characters for this variable are alphanumerics, and any of the following
characters: “@ . _ + -”. Additionally, the variable is not
allowed to start with hyphens or dots.
INSTALL/UPGRADE/REMOVE SCRIPTING
Pacman has the ability to store and execute a package-specific script when it installs, removes, or upgrades a package. This allows a package to configure itself after installation and perform an opposite action upon removal.Run right before files are extracted. One
argument is passed: new package full version string.
post_install
Run right after files are extracted. One
argument is passed: new package full version string.
pre_upgrade
Run right before files are extracted. Two
arguments are passed in this order: new package full version string, old
package full version string.
post_upgrade
Run after files are extracted. Two arguments
are passed in this order: new package full version string, old package full
version string.
pre_remove
Run right before files are removed. One
argument is passed: old package full version string.
post_remove
Run right after files are removed. One
argument is passed: old package full version string.
install=pkgname.install
USING VCS SOURCES
Building a developmental version of a package using sources from a version control system (VCS) is enabled by specifying the source in the form:source=('directory::url#fragment?query')
(optional) Specifies an alternate directory
name for makepkg to download the VCS source into.
url
The URL to the VCS repository. This must
include the VCS in the URL protocol for makepkg to recognize this as a VCS
source. If the protocol does not include the VCS name, it can be added by
prefixing the URL with vcs+. For example, using a Git repository over HTTPS
would have a source URL in the form: git+https://....
fragment
(optional) Allows specifying a revision number
or branch for makepkg to checkout from the VCS. A fragment has the form
type=value, for example to checkout a given revision the source line would be
source=(url#revision=123). The available types depends on the VCS being used:
bzr
query
revision (see 'bzr help revisionspec' for
details)
fossil
branch, commit, tag
git
branch, commit, tag
hg
branch, revision, tag
svn
revision
(optional) Allows specifying whether a VCS
checkout should be checked for PGP-signed revisions. The source line should
have the format source=(url#fragment?signed) or source=(url?signed#fragment).
Currently only supported by Git.
EXAMPLE
The following is an example PKGBUILD for the patch package. For more examples, look through the build files of your distribution’s packages. For those using Arch Linux, consult the Arch Build System (ABS) tree.# Maintainer: Joe User <[email protected]> pkgname=patch pkgver=2.7.1 pkgrel=1 pkgdesc="A utility to apply patch files to original sources" arch=('i686' 'x86_64') url="https://www.gnu.org/software/patch/patch.html" license=('GPL') groups=('base-devel') depends=('glibc') makedepends=('ed') optdepends=('ed: for "patch -e" functionality') source=("ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/$pkgname/$pkgname-$pkgver.tar.xz"{,.sig}) md5sums=('e9ae5393426d3ad783a300a338c09b72' 'SKIP') build() { cd "$srcdir/$pkgname-$pkgver" ./configure --prefix=/usr make } package() { cd "$srcdir/$pkgname-$pkgver" make DESTDIR="$pkgdir/" install }
SEE ALSO
makepkg(8), pacman(8), makepkg.conf(5)BUGS
Bugs? You must be kidding; there are no bugs in this software. But if we happen to be wrong, submit a bug report with as much detail as possible at the Arch Linux Bug Tracker in the Pacman section.AUTHORS
Current maintainers:•Allan McRae
<[email protected]>
•Andrew Gregory
<[email protected]>
•Eli Schwartz
<[email protected]>
•Morgan Adamiec
<[email protected]>
•Judd Vinet
<[email protected]>
•Aurelien Foret
<[email protected]>
•Aaron Griffin
<[email protected]>
•Dan McGee
<[email protected]>
•Xavier Chantry
<[email protected]>
•Nagy Gabor
<[email protected]>
•Dave Reisner
<[email protected]>
2022-11-21 | Pacman 6.0.2 |