void-packages/CONTRIBUTING.md

Contributing to void-packages

void-packages is the backbone of the Void Linux distribution. It contains all definitions how packages are built from source.

This document describes how you as a contributor can help adding packages, correcting bugs and adding features to void-packages.

Getting your packages into Void by yourself

If you really want to get a package into Void Linux we recommend you to package it yourself. We provide a comprehensive Manual on how you can create new packages. Also there's a manual about xbps-src which is used to build package files from templates.

For this guide, we assume you have basic knowledge about git and a GitHub Account

Please note that we do not accept any packages containing non-release versions such as specific git- or svn-revisions anymore.

Creating a new template

templates must be placed in void-packages/srcpkgs/<pkgname>/template where pkgname is the same as the pkgname variable in the template.

For deeper insights on the contents of template files consider reading the manual

There's a helper tool for creating new packages in the xtools package:

$ xnew pkgname subpkg1 subpkg2 ...

Committing your changes

Once you have built your template files there are certain rules on how the commit should be named.

• Use the following for newly added packages: New package: <pkgname>-<version> Example

• Use the following if you update a package: <pkgname>: update to <version>. Example

• If you changed something on the template without a version change use <pkgname>: <reason> Example

If you want to describe your changes in more detail, make an empty line and add the description afterwards. Example

This is also described in the manual in deeper detail.

There's a helper tool for committing packages in the xtools package:

$ xbump <pkgname>

Starting a pull request

Once you successfully build the package at least on x86 (building it on armv* is recommended too) you can start a pull request.

Most pull request should only contain a single package and its dependencies which are not part of void-packages yet.

If you make updates to packages containing a soname bump you also need to revbump all packages that are dependant. Those packages should also be part of the same pull request.

When you make changes to your pull request, please do not close and reopen your pull request. Instead, just forcibly git push, overwriting any old commits. Closing and opening your pull requests repeatedly spams the Void maintainers.

Travis

Once you have started a pull request, you will get instant feedback from Travis. It will check if the templates you have changed comply with the our guidelines. At the moment not all packages comply to the rules, so if you update a package, it may happen, that Travis reports errors on places you haven't touched. So feel free to fix those errors too.

You are encouraged to check your templates beforehand using the helper from the xtools package:

$ xlint template

Review

GitHub reports new pull request at our IRC-Channel, so the reviewers will be instantly informed. Most of the time your pull request will contain mistakes. It's nothing bad, it just happens.

The reviewers will comment your pull request and point out which changes are needed before the template can be included.

We recommend having only a single commit for pull request, so if you need to make changes in commits but already have a pull request, use the following commands:

$ git add <file>
$ git commit --amend
$ git push -f

Closing the pull request

Once you have applied all comments, the reviewers will merge your request.

If the pull request gets inactive for some days, the reviewers may or may not warn you when they are about to close it. If it stays inactive further, it'll be closed.

Please abstain from temporary closing a pull request while revising the templates. Only close your pull request if you're sure you don't want your changes to be included.

Publishing the package

Once the reviewers have merged the pull request, our build server is automatically triggered and builds all packages from this pull request for all supported platforms. Once it is finished, the packages are available to all Void Linux users.