NAME
mini-dinstall - daemon for updating Debian packages in a repository
SYNOPSIS
mini-dinstall [options] [directory]
DESCRIPTION
mini-dinstall is a tool for installing Debian packages into a personal
APT repository; it is very similar to the dinstall tool on auric: it
takes a changes file and installs it into the Debian archive.
The main focus of operation is a changes file. This file specifies a
set of Debian binary packages, and often contains a source package too.
Changes files are intended to group both Debian source and binary
packages together, so that there is a single file to manipulate when
uploading a package.
mini-dinstall takes a changes file in its incoming directory (or on its
command line in batch mode), and installs the files it references into
a directory, and sets up Packages and Sources files for use with APT.
RUNNING
mini-dinstall can run in one of two modes: batch mode or daemon mode.
In batch mode, the queue is process immediately, and the command exits
when it is done. In daemon mode, which is the default, mini-dinstall
runs in the background and continually checks the queue, and will
process it whenever it has changed.
The optional directory argument specifies the root directory of the
queue. If no argument is specified, the value from the configuration
file is used.
The following options can be used:
-v, --verbose
display extra information while running
-q, --quiet
display as little information as possible
-c, --config=FILE
use FILE as the configuration file, instead of
~/.mini-dinstall.conf
-d, --debug
output debugging information to the terminal and to the log
--no-log
don’t write any information to the logs
--no-db
disable lookups on package database. apt-ftparchive run without
--db option
-n, --no-act
don’t perform any changes; useful in combination with the -v
flag
-b, --batch
run in batch mode
-r, --run
tell the currently running daemon to process the queue
immediately
-k, --kill
kill the currently running daemon
--help display a short overview of available options
--version
display the software version
CONFIGURATION
mini-dinstall’s main configuration file is ~/.mini-dinstall.conf. The
file consists of a number of different sections, each one applying to a
different distribution (which corresponds to the Distribution field in
a changes file). There is also a default section (DEFAULT), which
applies to all distributions.
Each section can contain any number of
name = value
combinations, which set a configuration parameter for that distribution
(or the default one). Lists should be separated by commas, strings need
only be enclosed with quotes if they contain spaces or commas, and
boolean values should be 1 for true, and 0 for false.
The configuration parameters available in the DEFAULT section are as
follows:
archivedir
The root of the mini-dinstall archive. Must be set, either here
or on the command line.
extra_keyrings
Additional GnuPG keyrings to use for signature verification.
incoming_permissions
The permissions for the incoming directory. mini-dinstall will
attempt to set the directory’s permissions at startup. A value
of zero (´’0´’ or ´’0000´’) will disable permission setting.
Doing this, you MUST set permission for incoming by hand!
Defaults to 0750.
keyrings
GnuPG keyrings to use for signature verification of changes
files. Setting this parameter will modify the default list; it
is generally better to modify extra_keyrings instead. Defaults
to the keyrings from the debian-keyring package.
logfile
The filename (relative to archivedir) where information will be
logged. Defaults to “mini-dinstall.log”.
mail_log_flush_count
Number of log messages after which queued messages will be sent
to you. Defaults to 10.
mail_log_flush_level
The log level upon which to immediately send all queued log
messages. Valid values are the same as for the mail_log_level
option. Defaults to ERROR.
mail_log_level
The default log level which is sent to you by email. Valid
values include DEBUG, INFO, WARN, ERROR, and CRITICAL. Defaults
to ERROR.
mail_to
The user to whom logs should be mailed. Defaults to the current
user.
mail_subject_template
Style of the email subject. Available substitution variables are
source, version, maintainer, ... (all statements in .changes)
and changes_without_dot (same as changes, but without lines with
only a dot). Default is:
mini-dinstall: Successfully installed %(source)s %(version)s to
%(distribution)s
mail_body_template
Style of the email body. Valid values are the same as for the
mail_subject_template option. Default is:
Package: %(source)s
Maintainer: %(maintainer)s
Changed-By: %(changed-by)s
Changes:
%(changes_without_dot)s
tweet_server
server to push tweets. Possible values are twitter or identica
tweet_user
username to login on tweet server
tweet_password
password to login on tweet server
tweet_template
Style of the tweet body. Valid values are the same as for the
mail_subject_template option. Default is:
Installed %(source)s %(version)s to %(distribution)s
trigger_reindex
In daemon mode, whether or not to recreate the Packages and
Sources files after every upload. If you disable this, you
probably want to enable dynamic_reindex. You may want to disable
this if you install a lot of packages. Defaults to enabled.
use_dnotify
If enabled, uses the dnotify(1) command to monitor directories
for changes. Only relevant if dynamic_reindex is enabled.
Defaults to false.
verify_sigs
Whether or not to verify signatures on changes files. Defaults
to enabled if the debian-keyring package is installed, disabled
otherwise.
The configuration parameters that can be set in the DEFAULT section and
the distribution-specific sections are:
alias A list of alternative distribution names.
architectures
A list of architectures to create subdirectories for. Defaults
to “all, i386, powerpc, sparc”.
archive_style
Either “flat” or “simple-subdir”. A flat archive style puts all
of the binary packages into one subdirectory, while the simple
archive style splits up the binary packages by architecture.
Must be set.
Sources for the “flat” style should look like:
deb file:///home/walters/debian/ unstable/
deb-src file:///home/walters/debian/ unstable/
deb file:///home/walters/debian/ experimental/
deb-src file:///home/walters/debian/ experimental/
Sources for the “subdir” style should look like:
deb http://localhost/~walters/debian/ local/$(ARCH)/
deb http://localhost/~walters/debian/ local/all/
deb-src http://localhost/~walters/debian/ local/source/
chown_changes_files
Determines if the changes files should be made unreadable by
others. This is enabled by default, and is a good thing, since
somebody else could unexpectedly upload your package. Think
carefully before changing this.
dynamic_reindex
If enabled, directories are watched for changes and new Packages
and Sources files are created as needed. Only used in daemon
mode. Defaults to true.
generate_release
Causes a Release file to be generated (see release_* below) if
enabled. Disabled by default.
keep_old
Whether or not old packages should be kept, instead of deleting
them when newer versions of the same packages are uploaded.
Defaults to false.
mail_on_success
Whether to mail on successful installation. Defaults to true.
tweet_on_success
Whether to tweet (e.g. on twitter/identi.ca) on successful
installation. Defaults to false.
max_retry_time
The maximum amount of time to wait for an incomplete upload
before rejecting it. Specified in seconds. Defaults to two days.
poll_time
How often to poll directories (in seconds) for changes if
dynamic_reindex is enabled. Defaults to 30 seconds.
post_install_script
This script is run after the changes file is installed, with the
full path of the changes file as its argument.
pre_install_script
This script is run before the changes file is installed, with
the full path of the changes file as its argument. If it exits
with an error, the changes file is skipped.
release_codename
The Codename field in the Release file. Defaults to “None”.
release_description
The Description field in the Release file. Defaults to “None”.
release_label
The Label field in the Release file. Defaults to the current
user’s username.
release_origin
The Origin field in the Release file. Defaults to the current
user’s username.
release_suite
The Suite field in the Release file. Defaults to “None”.
experimental_release
The experimental_release field mark the release as experimental.
Defaults to “None”.
release_signscript
If specified, this script will be called to sign Release files.
It will be invoked in the directory containing the Release file,
and should accept the filename of the Release file to sign as
the first argument (note that it is passed a temporary filename,
not Release). It should generate a detached signature in a file
named Release.gpg.
USING DPUT
One convenient way to use mini-dinstall is in combination with dput’s
“local” method. The author generally tests his Debian packages by using
dput to upload them to a local repository, and then uses APT’s “file”
method to retrieve them locally. Here’s a sample dput stanza:
[local]
fqdn = space-ghost.verbum.private
incoming = /src/debian/mini-dinstall/incoming
method = local
run_dinstall = 0
post_upload_command = mini-dinstall -r
Obviously, you should replace the “fqdn” and “incoming” values with
whatever is appropriate for your machine. Some sample APT methods were
listed in the configuration section.
Now, all you have to do to test your Debian packages is:
$ dpkg-buildpackage
$ dput local ../program_1.2.3-1_powerpc.changes
# wait a few seconds
$ apt-get update
$ apt-get install program
AUTHOR
mini-dinstall was originally written by Colin Walters
<walters@debian.org> and is now maintained by Christoph Goehre
<christoph.goehre@gmx.de>.
SEE ALSO
apt-get(8), dnotify(1), dput(1), gpg(1)