How to Create an Ubuntu Package

You now have both a tarball and an extracted copy of the source code. Go into the extracted source code directory and run dh_make to set up sample files for you:

$ cd 

               

                  myprogram-1.0

               

$ dh_make -e 

               

                  user@example.com

                

               -f 

               

                  ../myprogram-1.0.tar.gz

               

dh_make will ask you what sort of package you want to create. In this case, it's a single binary package, so select that option (s, not b). dh_make will then create a debian directory containing all the files necessary to build the package, and the email address you provided will automatically be inserted into the package changelog. Now go into the newly created debian directory and customize some of the files as necessary, but don't run dh_make again: it needs to run only when the package is first set up, and running it again in an already configured package will almost certainly break it. Here are the files you may want to change:

Now that the package source directory has been set up, you can build the actual package. This needs to be done from inside the extracted source directory, so if you are still inside the debian directory after customizing the package scripts, you need to cd .. to back up one level, then run dpkg-buildpackage:

$ dpkg-buildpackage -b -uc -rfakeroot

The -b option specifies that only a binary package should be built. If you also want to build a source package, leave off that option. The -uc option specifies that the changes file in the package should not be GPG-signed, so if you have a GPG key and want to sign the package, you can leave off that option as well. The -rfakeroot option specifies that fakeroot should be used to create the temporary build environment.

Once that process has finished, you will have a couple of new files outside your source directory, including a package named myprogram-1.0_i386.deb or similar. Before going any further, you can use a program called lintian to run some automatic checks on the package to make sure there are no obvious mistakes. lintian performs hundreds of checks to make sure the package complies with the official Debian policy and packaging guidelines, so even though it may generate warnings that you don't care about for packages you create for personal use, it's still a great way to check that you haven't missed any important steps.

Run lintian with the path to the changes file that was created along with your new package:

$ lintian 

               

                  myprogram_1.0.1_i386.changes

               

You can now install and test your new package.

When the software itself is released as a new version, you need to build a new package to suit. Start by copying the new source tarball into your working directory alongside the original version, and then extract it. You should now have two source directories and two tarballs. Copy your customized debian directory from the old source directory to the new one:

$ cp -a 

               

                  myprogram-1.0

               

               /debian 

               

                  myprogram-1.1/

               

Then enter the new source directory and increment the Debian changelog:

$ cd 

               

                  myprogram-1.1

               

$ dch -i

The dch -i command will throw you into an editor and automatically place a new entry at the top of the package changelog; it will also auto-complete your name and email address as well as increment the version number. If the new version number is not correct, just edit it to suit the new upstream version number, write a brief explanation for the new release, and save and exit the editor.

Now rerun the command to build the package:

$ dpkg-buildpackage -b -uc -rfakeroot