DragonFly On-Line Manual Pages
PKGBUILD(5) Pacman Manual PKGBUILD(5)
NAME
PKGBUILD - Arch Linux package build description file
SYNOPSIS
PKGBUILD
DESCRIPTION
This manual page describes general rules about PKGBUILDs. Once a
PKGBUILD is written, the actual package is built using makepkg and
installed with pacman.
Note
An example PKGBUILD, useful for reference, is located in
/usr/share/pacman along with other example files such as a
ChangeLog and an install script. You can copy the provided
PKGBUILD.proto file to a new package build directory and make
customizations to suit your needs.
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.
If you need to create any custom variables for use in your build
process, it is recommended to prefix their name with an _ (underscore).
This will prevent any possible name clashes with internal makepkg
variables. For example, to store the base kernel version in a variable,
use something similar to $_basekernver.
pkgname (array)
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 or hyphens.
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
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 Arch Linux release. 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 not allowed to contain hyphens.
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.
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.
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.
md5sums_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.
md5sums (array)
This array contains an MD5 hash 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 md5sums, run
"makepkg -g >> PKGBUILD". If desired, move the md5sums line to an
appropriate location.
sha1sums, sha256sums, sha384sums, sha512sums (arrays)
Alternative integrity checks that makepkg supports; these all
behave similar to the md5sums 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').
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. The format for specifying optdepends is:
optdepends=('fakeroot: for makepkg usage as normal user')
Additional architecture-specific optdepends can be added by
appending an underscore and the architecture name e.g.,
optdepends_x86_64=().
conflicts (array)
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.
upx
Compress binary executable files using UPX.
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.
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.
package() Function
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. When specified in
combination with the fakeroot BUILDENV option in makepkg.conf(5),
fakeroot usage will be limited to running the packaging stage. 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 use to compile and/or adjust the
source files in preparation to be installed by the package()
function. This is directly sourced and executed by makepkg, so
anything that Bash or the system has available is available for use
here. Be sure any exotic commands used are covered by the
makedepends array.
If you create any variables of your own in the build() function, it
is recommended to use the Bash local keyword to scope the variable
to inside the build() 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.
All of the above variables such as $pkgname and $pkgver are available
for use in the build() function. In addition, makepkg defines the
following variables for use during the build and install process:
srcdir
This contains the directory where makepkg extracts, or copies, all
source files.
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.
All options and directives for the split packages default to the global
values given in the PKGBUILD. Nevertheless, the following ones can be
overridden within each split package's packaging function: pkgdesc,
arch, url, license, groups, depends, optdepends, provides, conflicts,
replaces, backup, options, install, and changelog.
An optional global directive is available when building a split
package:
pkgbase
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. The
variable is not allowed to begin with a hyphen.
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.
The exact time the script is run varies with each operation, and should
be self-explanatory. Note that during an upgrade operation, none of the
install or remove scripts will be called.
Scripts are passed either one or two "full version strings", where a
full version string is either pkgver-pkgrel or epoch:pkgver-pkgrel, if
epoch is non-zero.
pre_install
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.
To use this feature, create a file such as pkgname.install and put it
in the same directory as the PKGBUILD script. Then use the install
directive:
install=pkgname.install
The install script does not need to be specified in the source array. A
template install file is available in /usr/share/pacman as
proto.install for reference with all of the available functions
defined.
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'). Currently makepkg supports the
Bazaar, Git, Subversion, and Mercurial version control systems. For
other version control systems, manual cloning of upstream repositories
must be done in the prepare() function.
The source URL is divided into three components:
directory
(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. For example, to checkout a given
revision, the source line would have the format
source=(url#revision=123). The available fragments depends on the
VCS being used:
bzr
revision (see 'bzr help revisionspec' for details)
git
branch, commit, tag
hg
branch, revision, tag
svn
revision
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 <joe.user@example.com>
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)
See the pacman website at https://www.archlinux.org/pacman/ for current
information on pacman and its related tools.
BUGS
Bugs? You must be kidding; there are no bugs in this software. But if
we happen to be wrong, send us an email with as much detail as possible
to pacman-dev@archlinux.org.
AUTHORS
Current maintainers:
o Allan McRae <allan@archlinux.org>
o Andrew Gregory <andrew.gregory.8@gmail.com>
o Dan McGee <dan@archlinux.org>
o Dave Reisner <dreisner@archlinux.org>
Past major contributors:
o Judd Vinet <jvinet@zeroflux.org>
o Aurelien Foret <aurelien@archlinux.org>
o Aaron Griffin <aaron@archlinux.org>
o Xavier Chantry <shiningxc@gmail.com>
o Nagy Gabor <ngaba@bibl.u-szeged.hu>
For additional contributors, use git shortlog -s on the pacman.git
repository.
Pacman 4.2.0 2014-12-19 PKGBUILD(5)