Eclipse How to Maintain Fedora Package User Guide

Fedora Package Process

So, you have decided to become a package maintainer in the Fedora Project? This guide will lead you through your first package submission.

Create Account

If you are a new package maintainer:

Create a new account on Fedora Account System

• First step is to create account on Fedora Account System (FAS).
• Click New account and fill in the blanks.
• After you create your account, please be sure to sign the CLA (if you click on the My Account link in the top right, you should see CLA: CLA Done).
• Also you need to upload a public RSA SSH key. You need to use the matching private key to access Fedora machines via SSH.
  • Here is information on creating SSH key.

Create a Bugzilla Account

Create an account on Red Hat bugzilla.

• The email address that you use for your bugzilla account should be the same email address as you use in the Fedora Account System for all things related to fedora packaging.

• Do not use your @fedoraproject.org address in bugzilla, because you will not get your bugzilla privileges once you are sponsored.

• If you want to use your @fedoraproject.org address, you might try to request at the Fedora Infrastructure Ticket System for an administrator to manually override the bugzilla address connected with your fedora account.

Install the client tools

• 1- You need to generate a client side certificate at the Fedora Account System and save the file in ~/.fedora.cert, where fedpkg will look for it by default.

 yum install fedora-packager 

Then run the following command and simply follow the instructions provided:

 fedora-packager-setup 

• 2- To build Packages for the Fedora Collection or EPEL, you also need Koji. You can now use koji to try to build your RPM packages on platforms (e.g. PPC) or distributions you don't have. Note that you can test out builds ("scratch" builds) even when your package hasn't been approved and you don't have a sponsor.

Here is a simple way to do a scratch build using koji on the command line.

 koji build --arch-override=PLATFORM --scratch TARGET path_to_source_RPM 

Check more information on this koji syntax.

Make a Package

Package the Guidlines

• If you don't know how to create a RPM package, refer to the tutorial at A Short RPM Tutorial or the more advanced and much more detailed how to create an RPM package.

• Make sure it is a new package. Check this list of existing packages.

• Make sure it is a suitable package. Read Packaging Guidelines and Packaging Naming Guidelines.

• Read some other package submissions to learn about packaging and gain familiarity with the process and requirements. One way of doing this is to join the package-review@lists.fedoraproject.org mailing list.

Create an RPM package:

• Select File > New > Other... from the main menu. Choose RPM > RPM Project, click Next.
• Type the Project name. Click Finish.
• Right click on SPECS, select New > Other..., choose RPM > Specfile Based on a Template, click Next.
• Fill out the template or accept the default values and customize it based your package specifications.
  • You can also use RPM-stubby plug-in to create a spec-file stub (for Eclipse feature or maven project).
• To send your SRPM/Spec-file for review, select File > Export from the main munu, choose RPM > Source/Binary RPM, click Next.
• Based on your requirements, select one or both options, click Finish.

Submit For Review

Join the mailing lists

• When a new package maintainer joins the Fedora Project, we request that he/she introduces themselves on the devel@lists.fedoraproject.org. To sign up for the list, visit the devel list signup page . The primary purpose of this is to begin the process of building trust by learning about the package maintainer and increase the chances of your review request being processed sooner.
  • The purpose of all this is to break anonymity and foster real-world community within the project. You are under no obligation to reveal personal secrets. The objective is to establish a level of trust with yourself and the other members of the project.
  • Subject: Self Introduction
  • Body: Add any information you believe is applicable including past experience, a link to the review request you have filed and a brief description of yourself. You can also post your GPG key information if you want to.
• You must join the fedora devel-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org mailing list. It is a low traffic announcements only list, where important development information is posted.
• You can join the fedora devel@lists.fedoraproject.org mailing list, where discussions about the development of Fedora are held. This is a high traffic mailing list.
• You can also consider joining the package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org mailing list -- The commits mailing list gets notifications on all commits in any package in the Fedora repository. This is a very high traffic mailing list. The Fedora package database sends commit mails for packages you (co-)maintain.
• Another mailing list you might consider (at least to view the archives) is packaging@lists.fedoraproject.org. This is the mailing list of the Fedora Packaging Committee, who determine the official packaging guidelines for Fedora projects.

Upload your package

• Upload your SRPM and SPEC files onto the Internet somewhere. This can be anywhere accessible by a URL.
• If you need hosting space, please make a note of it in your ticket submission and someone will take care of you.
• If you have already got a Fedora Account then you can use your storage at <user-name>.fedorapeople.org for this.

Create your review request

• Fill out this form at bugzilla.
• Before submitting your request, be sure there’s not a previous request for the same package.
• Make sure that you put the name of the package (excluding version and release numbers) in the 'Review Summary' field, along with a very brief summary of what the package is.
• Put a description of your package (usually, this can be the same thing as what you put in the spec %description) in the 'Review Description' field.
• Include the URLs to your SRPM and SPEC files.
• If this is your first package, explain it and say that you need a sponsor.

Watch the bugzilla report for feedback

• You should get notifications of changes by email. Fix any blockers that the reviewer(s) point out.

Ready to Ship

Follow these steps after your package is approved by reviewers.

Obtain member sponsorship (to check in and build your package)

• you must separately obtain member sponsorship in order to check in and build your package. Sponsorship is not automatic and may require that you further participate in other ways in order to demonstrate your understanding of the packaging guidelines.
• Key to becoming sponsored is to convince an existing sponsor-level member that you understand and follow the project's guidelines and processes.
• See how to get sponsored into the packager group for more information.

Add package to Source Code Management (SCM) system and Set Owner

When the package is approved by the reviewer, request a git module and branches with the SCM admin requests.

Check out the empty module from SCM

• Once you have the git module, checkout your module from git.
  • Select "import->Git->Projects from Fedora Git" and click on Next.
  • Input the name of the package in the "Package name".
• It is probably a good idea to make a "git" toplevel directory, then check-out your files inside of that. (--Do we need this line?)

Update your SCM

Import and commit your SRPM into master branch

• Right click on your rpm file in SRPMS folder on your local RPM project in eclipse, select "Copy".
• Right click on your cloned project from Fedora Git, select "Paste". (--We can consider making it simpler by just one click on RPM project)
• Right click on pasted file, select "Fedora Packager->Upload this File->Add to Existing Sources".
• Do the same steps for your .spec file.

Build your package

• Select your spec file, right click, select "Fedora Packager->Prepare for local build".

Submit your package as update in Bodhi

• If this package will be built for any version of Fedora that is already released please submit it for inclusion in the 'fedora-updates' repository for those versions of Fedora.
• For doing this, right click on your project, select "Fedora Packager->Create New Bodhi Update".

Close the bugzilla account

• If the package built successfully, you should close it as NEXTRELEASE.

Enable Upstream Release Monitoring

• Fedora has infrastructure available for monitoring new upstream releases of the software you are packaging. Refer to Upstream Release Monitoring for more details.