mini-dinstall - daemon for updating Debian packages in a repository

mini-dinstall [options] [directory]

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.

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

-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

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. 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.

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:

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.

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”.

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.

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

mini-dinstall was originally written by Colin Walters <walters@debian.org> and is now maintained by Graham Wilson <graham@debian.org>.

apt-get(8), dnotify(1), dput(1), gpg(1)