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

Author

mini-dinstall was originally written by Colin Walters  <walters@debian.org>  and  is  now  maintained  by
       Christoph Goehre <christoph.goehre@gmx.de>.

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, and strings need only be enclosed with quotes if they contain spaces or
commas.

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 ´'0o000´') will disable permission setting.
Doing this, you MUST set permission for incoming by hand! Defaults to 0o750.

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 identicatweet_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/

restrict_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”.

backport_release
If enabled, automatically install package upgrades from this repository only if the installed
version of the package is higher than the version of the package in other sources. Defaults to
false.

experimental_release
If enabled, packages will not automatically install or upgrade to newer versions from this
repository

If this option is set, it overrides the option backport_release. Defaults to false.

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.

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.

Name

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

Running

mini-dinstall  can  run  in  one  of  two  modes:  batch mode or daemon mode. In batch mode, the queue is
       processed 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

       -f, --foreground
              run in daemon mode but do not detach from the console

       --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

Synopsis

mini-dinstall [options] [directory]

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