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This is a hands-on tutorial on writing RPM files, suitable for an impatient
{{autolang|base=yes}}
person who wants to quickly step up to create source and binary software packages. I assume familiarity with using pre-made RPM packages, and with  
This is a short hands-on tutorial on writing RPM files, showing how to quickly step up to create simple source and binary software packages. It assumes  some familiarity with using pre-made RPM packages, and with the FOSS building process.  
the FOSS software building process. More in-depth information on using and building RPM
packages is available from [https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Tools/RPM other sources].


This tutorial demonstrates packaging of the GNU "Hello World" project. While 'Hello World" is a trivial program, the GNU project
For comprehensive information on how to create RPM files, including more detailed tips, refer to [[How to create an RPM package]]. If you plan to create an RPM package for the Fedora repository, follow the process for [[Join the package collection maintainers|How to join the Fedora Package Collection Maintainers]], including following the various Fedora guidance.
contains most of the usual peripheral components associated with a typical FOSS software distribution,
including the configuration/build/install environment, documentation, internationalization, etc.
As you will see, it's a reasonable vehicle to practice building RPMs on.


I wrote this tutorial after reading Christoph Wickert's IRC class on building RPMs.
This tutorial demonstrates packaging of the GNU "Hello World" project. While the C program printing 'Hello World" to standard output is trivial, the GNU version contains most of the usual peripheral components associated with a typical FOSS project, including the configuration/build/install environment, documentation, internationalization, etc. The GNU version, however, traditionally consists of a <code>tar</code> file containing the source code and configure/make scripts, but it does not include the packaging information. Therefore, it's a reasonable vehicle to practice building RPMs on.
Rahul Sundaram suggested using GNU "Hello World" as a test case, and it turns out
that Christian Lyder Jacobsen also had this idea in 2009. Christian is not intending to update
[http://www.absolutepanic.org/blog/2009/07/building-a-gnu-hello-world-rpm his website],
so I decided to publish my  version in this wiki.


== Development environment ==
== Development environment ==


To build RPMs we need a set of development tools. This is a one-time-only setup,
To build RPMs we need a set of development tools. This is a one-time-only setup, installed by running those commands from a system administration (<code>root</code>) account:
installed by running those commands from a system administration (<code>root</code>) account:


<pre>
<pre>
yum groupinstall development-tools
# dnf install fedora-packager @development-tools
yum install rpm-build rpmdevtools
</pre>
</pre>


If you want to test the build procedure in the context of Fedora anonymous package build
To be able to test the build procedure in a clean chroot you need to configure your non-privileged account to be a member of the 'mock' group:
system, you need to configure your non-privileged account to be a member of the 'mock' group:
 
<pre>
<pre>
usermod -a -G mock <yourAccountName>
# usermod -a -G mock <your username>
</pre>
</pre>


Those are the only commands requiring <code>root</code> privileges. All the remaining
Those are the only commands requiring <code>root</code> privileges. All the remaining work should be done from your regular, non-privileged account, or even from a separate account created just for development work. Modern RPM-based systems, including Fedora, are set up to build and test RPM packages purely from within a non-privileged account. The command
work should be done from your regular, non-privileged account. Modern RPM-based
systems, including Fedora, are set up to build and test RPM packages purely from
within a non-privileged account. The command  


<pre>rpmdev-setuptree</pre>
<pre>$ rpmdev-setuptree</pre>


sets up a RPM build
sets up an RPM build area in your <code>~/rpmbuild</code> directory. This directory will contain several subdirectories, for the project source code, RPM configuration files and for the resulting source and binary packages.
area in your <code>~/rpmbuild</code>. This directory will contain several subdirectories,  
for the project source code, RPM configuration files and for the resulting source and binary  
packages.


== Building a "Hello World" RPM==
== Building a "Hello World" RPM ==


We need the source code of the project we are packaging, often referred
We need the source code of the project we are packaging, often referred
to as the 'upstream' source. We will download it from the project's website  into the <code>~/rpmbuild/SOURCE</code>
to as the 'upstream' source. We will download it from the project's website  into the <code>~/rpmbuild/SOURCE</code>
directory. We are getting the compressed tarball archive, which happens to be a preferred distribution form for  
directory. We are getting the compressed tarball archive, which happens to be the preferred distribution form for  
most FOSS projects.
most FOSS projects.
<pre>
<pre>
cd ~/rpmbuild/SOURCE
$ cd ~/rpmbuild/SOURCES
wget http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/hello/hello-2.5.tar.gz
$ wget http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/hello/hello-2.8.tar.gz
</pre>
</pre>


The RPM package is configured by <code>.spec</code> files. We will create a template
The RPM package is configured by <code>.spec</code> files. We will create a template
file <code> hello.spec</code> in the appropriate directory:
file <code> hello.spec</code> in the appropriate directory:
<pre>
$ cd ~/rpmbuild/SPECS
$ rpmdev-newspec hello
</pre>
Recent versions of <code>Emacs</code> and <code>vi</code> have .spec file editing modes which will also bring up a similar template upon creating a new file. So you can just use the following command for example to use the template automatically.
<pre>
<pre>
cd ~/rpm/SPECS
$ vi hello.spec
rpmdev-newspec hello
</pre>
</pre>


=== Inside a <code>.spec</code> file ===
=== Inside a <code>.spec</code> file ===


The fields in our <code>.spec</code> file need slight editing. Please follow the
The fields in our <code>.spec</code> file need slight editing. Please follow the [[How_to_create_an_RPM_package#Spec_file_pieces_explained|Fedora rules]] for these fields. In our case, the file might start as follows:
[https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/How_to_create_an_RPM_package#Spec_file_pieces_explained Fedora rules]  
for these fields. In our case, the file might start as follows:


<pre>
<pre>
Name: hello
Name:     hello
Version: 2.5
Version: 2.8
Release: 1
Release: 1
Summary: The "Hello World" program
Summary: The "Hello World" program from GNU
License: GPLv3
License: GPLv3+
URL: http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/hello  
URL:     https://www.gnu.org/software/hello
Source0: http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/hello/hello-2.5.tar.gz
Source0: http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/hello/hello-2.8.tar.gz
%description:
 
%description
The "Hello World" program, done with all bells and whistles of a proper FOSS  
The "Hello World" program, done with all bells and whistles of a proper FOSS  
project, including configuration, build, internationalization, helpfiles, etc.
project, including configuration, build, internationalization, help files, etc.


%changelog
%changelog
* Tue Mar 30 2010 The Coon of Ty <Ty@coon.org> 2.5-1
* Thu Jul 07 2011 The Coon of Ty <Ty@coon.org> - 2.8-1
- Initial version of the package%changelog
- Initial version of the package
</pre>


</pre>
The <code>Version</code> should mirror upstream while <code> Release</code> numbers our work within Fedora.


The <code>Version</code> should mirror upstream while <code> Release</code> numbers our work
The first letter of the <code> Summary</code> should be uppercase to avoid <code>rpmlint</code> complaints.  
within Fedora.  


The first letter of the <code> Summary</code> should be uppercase to avoid
It is your responsibility to check the <code>License</code> status of the software, by inspecting the source files and/or their <code>LICENSE</code> files, and/or by talking to the authors.
rpmlint complaints.  


It is your responsibility to check the <code>License</code> status of the software, by
The <code> Group </code> tag was historically used to classify the package in accordance with the list in <code>/usr/share/doc/rpm-<version>/GROUPS</code>. It is being phased out so you will not see it added by default. However, it doesn't hurt to add it anyway.
inspecting the source files and/or their LICENSE files, and/or by talking to the authors.


The <code> Group </code> tag is being phased out, but it doesn't hurt to classify it
The <code> %changelog</code> should document the work on preparing the RPM, especially if there are security and bug patches included on top of the base upstream source.  Changelog data can be displayed by <code>rpm --changelog -q <packagename></code>, which is very useful for instance to find out if specific bug and security patches were included in the installed software, thanks to the diligent Fedora packagers who include this info with the relevant [http://cve.mitre.org/ CVE] numbers.
in accordance to the list in <code>/usr/share/doc/rpm-4.6.0/GROUPS</code>.


The <code> %changelog</code> should document the work on preparing the RPM , and should include the version string to avoid
The <code>%changelog</code> entry should include the version string to avoid <code>rpmlint</code> complaints.  
rpmlint complains.  


Multi-line sections like <code> %changelog</code> or <code> %description</code> start on a line under
Multi-line sections like <code> %changelog</code> or <code> %description</code> start on a line under the directive, and end with a blank line.  
the directive, and end with an empty line.


Lines which aren't needed (e.g. <code>BuildRequires</code> and <code>Requires</code>) can be commented out with a hash ('#') for now.
Lines which aren't needed (e.g. <code>BuildRequires</code> and <code>Requires</code>) can be commented out with a hash ('#') for now.
Line 112: Line 97:


<pre>
<pre>
rpmbuild -ba hello.spec
$ rpmbuild -ba hello.spec
</pre>
</pre>


It will complain and list the unpackaged files, i.e. the files that would be  
It will complain and list the unpackaged files, i.e. the files that would be installed in the system that weren't  declared as belonging to the package. We need to declare them in the <code>%files</code> section. Do not hardcode names like <code>/usr/bin/</code>, but use macros, like <code>%{_bindir}/hello</code> instead. The manual pages should be declared in the <code>%doc</code> subsection: <code>%doc %{_mandir}/man1/hello.1.*</code>.
installed in the system that weren't  declared as belonging to the package. We need to declare them in the
<code>%files</code> section. Do not hardcode names like  
<code>/usr/bin/</code>, but use macros, like <code>%{_bindir}/hello</code> instead.
The manual pages should be declared in the <code>%doc</code> subsection:
<code>%doc %{_mandir}/man1/hello.1.gz</code>.


This is an iterative process: after editing the <code>.spec</code> file, rerun rpmbuild.
This is an iterative process: after editing the <code>.spec</code> file, rerun <code>rpmbuild</code>.


Since our program uses translations and internationalization, we are getting a lot of  
Since our program uses translations and internationalization, we are seeing a lot of undeclared i18 files. The [[Packaging:Guidelines#Handling_Locale_Files|recommended method]] to declare them is:
undeclared i18 files. The  
[https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging/Guidelines#Handling_Locale_Files recommended method]:
to declare them is:


* find the filenames in the <code>%install</code> step: <code> %find_lang ${name}</code>
* find the filenames in the <code>%install</code> step: <code> %find_lang %{name}</code>
* add the required build dependencies: <code>BuildRequires: gettext</code>
* add the required build dependencies: <code>BuildRequires: gettext</code>
* use the found filenames <code>%files -f ${name}.lang</code>
* use the found filenames <code>%files -f %{name}.lang</code>


If the program uses GNU info files, you need to make sure the installation and unistallation
If the program uses GNU <code>info</code> files, you need to make sure the installation and uninstallation
of the package does not interfere with other software on the system:
of the package does not interfere with other software on the system, by using this boilerplate:


* delete the 'dir' file in %install:  <code>rm -f $RPM_BUILD_ROOT/usr/share/info/dir</code>
* delete the <code>dir</code> file in <code>%install</code>:  <code>rm -f %{buildroot}/%{_infodir}/dir</code>
* <code>Requires(post): info</code> and <code>Requires(preun): info</code>
* <code>Requires(post): info</code> and <code>Requires(preun): info</code>
* add those steps:
* add those steps:
Line 149: Line 126:
</pre>
</pre>


=== A complete .spec file ===
This snippet is copied directly from [[Packaging:ScriptletSnippets#Texinfo]]. That page contains solutions to many common packaging tasks. If possible, try to copy a solution from there instead of devising your own.
 
=== A complete <code>hello.spec</code> file ===


Here's the initial version of a .spec file:
Here's the initial version of <code>hello.spec</code>:


<pre>
<pre>
Name:          hello
Name:          hello
Version:        2.5
Version:        2.8
Release:        1%{?dist}
Release:        1%{?dist}
Summary:        The "hello world" program from GNU
Summary:        The "Hello World" program from GNU


Group:          Applications/Text
License:        GPLv3+
License:        GPLv3
URL:            http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/%{name}
URL:            http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/hello
Source0:        http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/%{name}/%{name}-%{version}.tar.gz
Source0:        http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/hello/hello-2.5.tar.gz
BuildRoot:      %{_tmppath}/%{name}-%{version}-%{release}-root-%(%{__id_u} -n)


BuildRequires: gettext
BuildRequires: gettext
# Requires:        
        
Requires(post): info
Requires(post): info
Requires(preun): info
Requires(preun): info


%description  
%description  
The "hello world" program from GNU, with bells and whistles
The "Hello World" program, done with all bells and whistles of a proper FOSS
 
project, including configuration, build, internationalization, help files, etc.


%prep
%prep
%setup -q
%autosetup
 


%build
%build
%configure
%configure
make %{?_smp_mflags}
make %{?_smp_mflags}


%install
%install
rm -rf $RPM_BUILD_ROOT
%make_install
make install DESTDIR=$RPM_BUILD_ROOT
%find_lang %{name}
%find_lang %{name}
rm -f $RPM_BUILD_ROOT/usr/share/info/dir
rm -f %{buildroot}/%{_infodir}/dir


%post
%post
Line 196: Line 170:
/sbin/install-info --delete %{_infodir}/%{name}.info %{_infodir}/dir || :
/sbin/install-info --delete %{_infodir}/%{name}.info %{_infodir}/dir || :
fi
fi
%clean
rm -rf $RPM_BUILD_ROOT


%files -f %{name}.lang
%files -f %{name}.lang
%defattr(-,root,root,-)
%{_mandir}/man1/hello.1.*
%{_infodir}/hello.info.*
%{_bindir}/hello
%{_bindir}/hello
%doc %{_mandir}/man1/hello.1.gz
 
%doc %{_infodir}/%{name}.info.gz
%doc AUTHORS ChangeLog NEWS README THANKS TODO
%license COPYING


%changelog
%changelog
* Tue Mar 30 2010 The Coon of Ty <Ty@coon.org> 2.5-1
* Tue Sep 06 2011 The Coon of Ty <Ty@coon.org> 2.8-1
- Initial version of the package
- Initial version of the package
</pre>
</pre>


With this spec file, you should be able to successfully complete the
With this <code>.spec</code> file, you should be able to successfully complete the build process, and create the source and binary RPM packages.  
build process, and create the source and binary RPM packages.  


Next you should check them for conformance with RPM design
Next you should check them for conformance with RPM design rules, by running <code>rpmlint</code> on the <code>.spec</code> file and all RPMs:  
rules, by running <code>rpmlint</code> on the spec file and all RPMs:  


<pre>
<pre>
rpmlint hello.spec ../SRPMS/hello* ../RPMS/*/hello*
$ rpmlint hello.spec ../SRPMS/hello* ../RPMS/*/hello*
</pre>
</pre>


If there are no warnings or errors, we've succeeded. Otherwise,  
If there are no warnings or errors, we've succeeded. Otherwise, use <code>rpmlint -i</code> or <code>rpmlint -I &lt;error_code&gt;</code> to see a more verbose description of the <code>rpmlint</code> diagnostics.
append the error messages to the <code>rpmlint -I</code>  
command to see a more verbose description of the <code>rpmlint</code> diagnostics.


=== The <code>mock</code> builds ===
=== The <code>mock</code> builds ===


To check that the package build will succeed in the Fedora restricted
To check that the package build will succeed in the Fedora restricted build environment, check it with <code>mock</code>.  The default <code>mock</code> configuration builds the package against Rawhide - the Fedora development branch.
build environment, check it with mock.


<pre>
<pre>
mock -r fedora-12-i386 --rebuild ../SRPMS/hello-2.5-1.fc12.src.rpm
$ mock --verbose ../SRPMS/hello-2.8-1.fc20.src.rpm
</pre>
</pre>
== References ==
* [[How to create an RPM package]]
* [[Building RPM packages (20090405)]]
* [[Using Mock to test package builds]]
* [[Using the Koji build system]]
== History ==
Przemek Klosowski wrote this tutorial when he worked through [[Building_RPM_packages_%2820090405%29|Christoph Wickert's IRC session on building RPMs]] using Rahul Sundaram suggestion of GNU "Hello World" as a test case. After he wrote up his experience, he found out about the excellent and extensive [[How to create an RPM package]] page on this wiki, as well as the [http://www.absolutepanic.org/blog/2009/07/building-a-gnu-hello-world-rpm Christian Lyder Jacobsen's website]. However, Christian isn't planning to update his site, and it seemed that a 5-minute 'fast food' alternative to the more extensive article might suit some people. More in-depth information on using and building RPM packages is available from [[Yum|other sources]].
[[Category:Package Maintainers]][[Category:How to]]

Revision as of 15:49, 28 May 2016

This is a short hands-on tutorial on writing RPM files, showing how to quickly step up to create simple source and binary software packages. It assumes some familiarity with using pre-made RPM packages, and with the FOSS building process.

For comprehensive information on how to create RPM files, including more detailed tips, refer to How to create an RPM package. If you plan to create an RPM package for the Fedora repository, follow the process for How to join the Fedora Package Collection Maintainers, including following the various Fedora guidance.

This tutorial demonstrates packaging of the GNU "Hello World" project. While the C program printing 'Hello World" to standard output is trivial, the GNU version contains most of the usual peripheral components associated with a typical FOSS project, including the configuration/build/install environment, documentation, internationalization, etc. The GNU version, however, traditionally consists of a tar file containing the source code and configure/make scripts, but it does not include the packaging information. Therefore, it's a reasonable vehicle to practice building RPMs on.

Development environment

To build RPMs we need a set of development tools. This is a one-time-only setup, installed by running those commands from a system administration (root) account:

# dnf install fedora-packager @development-tools

To be able to test the build procedure in a clean chroot you need to configure your non-privileged account to be a member of the 'mock' group:

# usermod -a -G mock <your username>

Those are the only commands requiring root privileges. All the remaining work should be done from your regular, non-privileged account, or even from a separate account created just for development work. Modern RPM-based systems, including Fedora, are set up to build and test RPM packages purely from within a non-privileged account. The command

$ rpmdev-setuptree

sets up an RPM build area in your ~/rpmbuild directory. This directory will contain several subdirectories, for the project source code, RPM configuration files and for the resulting source and binary packages.

Building a "Hello World" RPM

We need the source code of the project we are packaging, often referred to as the 'upstream' source. We will download it from the project's website into the ~/rpmbuild/SOURCE directory. We are getting the compressed tarball archive, which happens to be the preferred distribution form for most FOSS projects.

$ cd ~/rpmbuild/SOURCES
$ wget http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/hello/hello-2.8.tar.gz

The RPM package is configured by .spec files. We will create a template file hello.spec in the appropriate directory:

$ cd ~/rpmbuild/SPECS
$ rpmdev-newspec hello

Recent versions of Emacs and vi have .spec file editing modes which will also bring up a similar template upon creating a new file. So you can just use the following command for example to use the template automatically.

$ vi hello.spec

Inside a .spec file

The fields in our .spec file need slight editing. Please follow the Fedora rules for these fields. In our case, the file might start as follows:

Name:     hello
Version:  2.8
Release:  1
Summary:  The "Hello World" program from GNU
License:  GPLv3+
URL:      https://www.gnu.org/software/hello/   
Source0:  http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/hello/hello-2.8.tar.gz

%description
The "Hello World" program, done with all bells and whistles of a proper FOSS 
project, including configuration, build, internationalization, help files, etc.

%changelog
* Thu Jul 07 2011 The Coon of Ty <Ty@coon.org> - 2.8-1
- Initial version of the package

The Version should mirror upstream while Release numbers our work within Fedora.

The first letter of the Summary should be uppercase to avoid rpmlint complaints.

It is your responsibility to check the License status of the software, by inspecting the source files and/or their LICENSE files, and/or by talking to the authors.

The Group tag was historically used to classify the package in accordance with the list in /usr/share/doc/rpm-<version>/GROUPS. It is being phased out so you will not see it added by default. However, it doesn't hurt to add it anyway.

The %changelog should document the work on preparing the RPM, especially if there are security and bug patches included on top of the base upstream source. Changelog data can be displayed by rpm --changelog -q <packagename>, which is very useful for instance to find out if specific bug and security patches were included in the installed software, thanks to the diligent Fedora packagers who include this info with the relevant CVE numbers.

The %changelog entry should include the version string to avoid rpmlint complaints.

Multi-line sections like %changelog or %description start on a line under the directive, and end with a blank line.

Lines which aren't needed (e.g. BuildRequires and Requires) can be commented out with a hash ('#') for now.

Many lines in the template don't need to be changed at all in many cases, at least for the initial attempt.

Building the package

We are ready for the first run to build source, binary and debugging packages:

$ rpmbuild -ba hello.spec

It will complain and list the unpackaged files, i.e. the files that would be installed in the system that weren't declared as belonging to the package. We need to declare them in the %files section. Do not hardcode names like /usr/bin/, but use macros, like %{_bindir}/hello instead. The manual pages should be declared in the %doc subsection: %doc %{_mandir}/man1/hello.1.*.

This is an iterative process: after editing the .spec file, rerun rpmbuild.

Since our program uses translations and internationalization, we are seeing a lot of undeclared i18 files. The recommended method to declare them is:

  • find the filenames in the %install step: %find_lang %{name}
  • add the required build dependencies: BuildRequires: gettext
  • use the found filenames %files -f %{name}.lang

If the program uses GNU info files, you need to make sure the installation and uninstallation of the package does not interfere with other software on the system, by using this boilerplate:

  • delete the dir file in %install: rm -f %{buildroot}/%{_infodir}/dir
  • Requires(post): info and Requires(preun): info
  • add those steps:
%post
/sbin/install-info %{_infodir}/%{name}.info %{_infodir}/dir || :

%preun
if [ $1 = 0 ] ; then
/sbin/install-info --delete %{_infodir}/%{name}.info %{_infodir}/dir || :
fi

This snippet is copied directly from Packaging:ScriptletSnippets#Texinfo. That page contains solutions to many common packaging tasks. If possible, try to copy a solution from there instead of devising your own.

A complete hello.spec file

Here's the initial version of hello.spec:

Name:           hello
Version:        2.8
Release:        1%{?dist}
Summary:        The "Hello World" program from GNU

License:        GPLv3+
URL:            http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/%{name}
Source0:        http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/%{name}/%{name}-%{version}.tar.gz

BuildRequires: gettext
      
Requires(post): info
Requires(preun): info

%description 
The "Hello World" program, done with all bells and whistles of a proper FOSS 
project, including configuration, build, internationalization, help files, etc.

%prep
%autosetup

%build
%configure
make %{?_smp_mflags}

%install
%make_install
%find_lang %{name}
rm -f %{buildroot}/%{_infodir}/dir

%post
/sbin/install-info %{_infodir}/%{name}.info %{_infodir}/dir || :

%preun
if [ $1 = 0 ] ; then
/sbin/install-info --delete %{_infodir}/%{name}.info %{_infodir}/dir || :
fi

%files -f %{name}.lang
%{_mandir}/man1/hello.1.*
%{_infodir}/hello.info.*
%{_bindir}/hello

%doc AUTHORS ChangeLog NEWS README THANKS TODO
%license COPYING

%changelog
* Tue Sep 06 2011 The Coon of Ty <Ty@coon.org> 2.8-1
- Initial version of the package

With this .spec file, you should be able to successfully complete the build process, and create the source and binary RPM packages.

Next you should check them for conformance with RPM design rules, by running rpmlint on the .spec file and all RPMs:

$ rpmlint hello.spec ../SRPMS/hello* ../RPMS/*/hello*

If there are no warnings or errors, we've succeeded. Otherwise, use rpmlint -i or rpmlint -I <error_code> to see a more verbose description of the rpmlint diagnostics.

The mock builds

To check that the package build will succeed in the Fedora restricted build environment, check it with mock. The default mock configuration builds the package against Rawhide - the Fedora development branch.

$ mock --verbose ../SRPMS/hello-2.8-1.fc20.src.rpm

References

History

Przemek Klosowski wrote this tutorial when he worked through Christoph Wickert's IRC session on building RPMs using Rahul Sundaram suggestion of GNU "Hello World" as a test case. After he wrote up his experience, he found out about the excellent and extensive How to create an RPM package page on this wiki, as well as the Christian Lyder Jacobsen's website. However, Christian isn't planning to update his site, and it seemed that a 5-minute 'fast food' alternative to the more extensive article might suit some people. More in-depth information on using and building RPM packages is available from other sources.