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=== Can I avoid the multiple patches? All my patches are in version control ===

Yes. Just create a file debian/source/local-options with content:

single-debian-patch

This option creates a single "debian-changes" patch in debian/patches, similar to the .diff.gz of the v1 source format. The local-options file is *not* shipped with the source package, so this means that any NMUs or downstream changes will still use a separate patch file. This is a feature, not a bug; it allows you to use your preferred workflow while not impacting others.

Summary

This page summarizes information concerning the switch to the new source package formats "3.0 (quilt)" and "3.0 (native)". This switch is planned to happen in the Debian 6.0 'squeeze' development cycle.

Advantages of new formats

  • Supports bzip2, lzma and xz along with the usual gzip.

    • Note: lzma is not allowed on ftp-master.debian.org.
  • Supports multiple upstream tarballs.
  • Supports inclusion of binary files (no need to uuencode a Debian specific PNG icon for example)
  • You don't have to repack the upstream tarball to strip the debian directory. (The debian directory is automatically replaced by the content of the  .debian.tar.{gz,bz2,lzma,xz}  file at unpack time)

  • Debian-specific changes are no longer stored in a single .diff.gz but in multiple patches in debian/patches/. It is compatible with quilt (hence its name) but does not require its usage as dpkg-source is able to do everything needed by itself. It applies patches at extraction time and update the patch series at build time.

  • NMU workflow is now really: unpack, hack, rebuild (for all 3.0 (quilt) packages).

Implementation

  • Lenny's dpkg has all the support for the new source formats. This is to avoid problems when working in Lenny with Squeeze source packages.
  • DAK (Debian Archive Kit) has been updated to cope with the new source package formats. See 457345 for history.

  • The plan to change the default source format has been dropped. Instead it is planned to make debian/source/format mandatory at some point and to not have any default format.

FAQ

How to convert a source package?

You need to put "3.0 (quilt)" or "3.0 (native)" in debian/source/format to indicate the desired format to dpkg-source (see dpkg-source(1) for more information):

mkdir debian/source ; echo '3.0 (quilt)' > debian/source/format ; dch 'Switch to dpkg-source 3.0 (quilt) format'

Native packages should not need any other change.

When you switch to "3.0 (quilt)", there are other changes that you might want to do:

  • If your .diff.gz modifies upstream files, you should really put those changes in separate quilt patches first, otherwise all those changes will be merged in a single quilt patch named debian/patches/debian-changes-<version>. Consider documenting those patches by following DEP-3.

  • If you use another patch system (dpatch, dbs, cdbs, etc.; with -p0, -p1, or p2), consider switching to the "3.0 (quilt)" format (see 581186 for a conversion helper script). (You can then simplify your debian/rules with "dh $@", see next point).

  • You should remove everything related to quilt in debian/rules (patch/unpatch logic, cleanup of quilt stamp file and its .pc directory).

Does a 3.0 (quilt) source package need to build-depend on quilt?

No because you're supposed to remove the quilt usage in debian/rules (patch/unpatch logic).

Is the README.source file needed with 3.0 (quilt) source packages?

No. Since dpkg-source -x applies the patch, you don't have to explain how the patch system works. If lintian gives you the patch-system-but-no-source-readme warning, upgrade to the latest version in sid.

How to use multiple upstream tarballs in 3.0 (quilt) format?

Simply put a file  <source>_<version>.orig-<component>.tar.{gz,bz2,lzma,xz}  near the traditional  .orig  tarball. The content of that tarball should also be already unpacked in the  component  subdir of the unpacked source package. The next  dpkg-source -b  will pick it up automatically.

You can check this article as well: How to use multiple upstream tarballs in Debian source packages

Note: using a dash in the  component  requires dpkg >= 1.14.27, so you can't upload such packages until lenny's 4th point release (Debian 5.0.4, released 2010-01-30).

Why should I convert my package to 3.0 (quilt) format?

Pick the reasons that matter to you:

  • by keeping patches separate and properly documented (with DEP-3):

    • the Debian changes are more likely to be reviewed (for example thanks to http://patch-tracker.debian.org)

    • any upstream contributor is more likely to find and merge the patches (if you haven't forwarded it properly)
    • other distributions can reuse our patches
  • even if you don't have any upstream patch right now, next time that someone must NMU your package, they can cleanly add a patch (with a proper DEP-3 header) without having to modify the build system
  • same applies for derivative distributions that have to modify your packages... you're more likely to be able to find something valuable to merge if their changes are kept as separate patches instead of merged within the .diff.gz
  • debian/rules can be simplified by getting rid of the patching/unpatching code (or the uuencoding/uudecoding code if you ship a supplementary binary file like an icon)
  • the upstream tarball is bzip2-compressed and you don't want to have to convert it
  • the upstream tarball contains a debian directory and you don't want to repackage it just to remove that directory
  • the upstream author releases the software in multiple tarballs
  • you don't have to add -i -I every time that you manually build the package from the VCS repository (the VCS-specific files are ignored by default)
  • in the long run it's best to standardize on a single patch system (new contributors need to learn a single system, more people can help you, etc.) and quilt appears to be that patch system.

I converted my package but it fails to build or fails to unpack on all buildds

If you get a failure like:

dpkg-source: info: applying XXXX
1 out of 1 hunk FAILED -- saving rejects to file xxx.rej

You probably have quilt patches that only applies with fuzz (i.e. they only apply if patch ignores context lines). quilt applies those without failing but dpkg-source doesn't. The solution is to refresh the patches, for example with those commands :

quilt pop -a
while quilt push; do quilt refresh -p ab; done

dpkg-dev 1.15.5.3 and later prevent you from building source packages with such patches.

Why aren't -p0 patch supported in 3.0 (quilt) format?

See sub-thread starting here.

How many packages have already been converted?

http://upsilon.cc/~zack/stuff/dpkg-v3/

But, how do I actually work with the 3.0 (quilt) format?

To actually take advantage of this new format, see

They explain how to add and edit patches and integrate things in your workflow.

Are there more docs?

Try:

How to convert back to 1.0?

We have no idea why you should want this, but DpkgV3toV1 has the instructions from the old backports.org site.

Can I avoid the multiple patches? All my patches are in version control

Yes. Just create a file debian/source/local-options with content:

single-debian-patch

This option creates a single "debian-changes" patch in debian/patches, similar to the .diff.gz of the v1 source format. The local-options file is *not* shipped with the source package, so this means that any NMUs or downstream changes will still use a separate patch file. This is a feature, not a bug; it allows you to use your preferred workflow while not impacting others.

Validation of all tools with new source formats

For all applications, please be sure to test the 3 important cases:

  • 3.0 (native)
  • 3.0 (quilt)
  • 3.0 (quilt) with multiple upstream tarballs

It's also interesting to test with various compressions methods (gz, bz2, lzma, xz).

Some sample source packages are available here. You can add it to /etc/apt/sources.list with deb-src http://people.debian.org/~hertzog/packages/ debsrc3.0/. They have the following characteristics:

  • sample1: 3.0 (quilt) with orig.tar.gz / debian.tar.gz and additional tarballs with all compressions schemes
  • sample2: 3.0 (quilt) with orig.tar.bz2 / debian.tar.bz2
  • sample3: 3.0 (quilt) with orig.tar.lzma / debian.tar.lzma
  • sample4: 3.0 (native) with tar.gz
  • sample5: 3.0 (native) with tar.bz2
  • sample6: 3.0 (native) with tar.lzma

Current test results:

Possible improvements:

  • other devscripts tools ?
    • A new debreview tool would be welcome to replace zless *.diff.gz: 575394

  • devscripts dquilt
    • Wishlist: wrapper for quilt. 624556

Please try using new source packages with all your usual tools (in particular if you maintain them) and file bugs if you encounter problems and usertag them appropriately (user hertzog@debian.org / tag 3.0-quilt-by-default). Also update the list above with any relevant information (including pointers to bugs).


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