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stdeb - Python to Debian source package conversion utility

stdeb produces Debian source packages from Python packages via a new distutils command, sdist_dsc. Automatic defaults are provided for the Debian package, but many aspects of the resulting package can be customized (see the customizing section, below). An additional command, bdist_deb, creates a Debian binary package, a .deb file. The install_deb command installs this .deb file. The debianize command builds a debian/ directory directly alongside your setup.py.

Several convenience utilities are also provided:

  • pypi-download will query the Python Package Index (PyPI) for a package and download it.
  • pypi-install will query the Python Package Index (PyPI) for a package, download it, create a .deb from it, and then install the .deb.
  • py2dsc will convert a distutils-built source tarball into a Debian source package.
  • py2dsc-deb will convert a distutils-built source tarball into a Debian source package and then use the Debian machinery to build a .deb file from this.

Contents

Python 3 support

As explained in more detail below, the heart of stdeb is the sdist_dsc distutils command. This command runs once to generate a Debian source package. This Debian source package can specify building packages for Python 2, Python 3, or both. Furthermore, this generation can be done with the Python 2 or Python 3 interpreter. By default, only packages are built for the version of Python being used. To override this, use --with-python2=True or --with-python3=True as an argument to the sdist_dsc distutils command (or use both to be sure). For example, to build only a Python 3 package using the Python 3 interpreter:

python3 setup.py --command-packages=stdeb.command bdist_deb

To build both Python 2 and Python 3 packages using the Python 3 interpreter (and only the Python3 package installs scripts):

python3 setup.py --command-packages=stdeb.command sdist_dsc --with-python2=True --with-python3=True --no-python2-scripts=True bdist_deb

News

  • Bugfixes:
    • add sleep between PyPI API calls to avoid rate limit (#173)
  • Improvements:
    • use SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH if set for timestamp in generated changelog to generate reproducbile artifacts (#166)
    • update debhelper compat version from 7 to 9 (#158)
    • added flag --with-dh-systemd (#162)
    • add support for DEBEMAIL envvar (#168)
    • use setuptools "url" field for "Homepage" field in debian/control (#169)
    • dh_virtualenv: specify Python version (#165)
    • added compat flag to modify Debian compatibility level (#163)
  • Cosmetic: * remove excess newlines from debian/control and rules file (#167) * use flake8 to check style in Travis CI, update code to comply (#171)
  • Bugfixes:
    • handle path with spaces in zip tarball (#150)
    • fix map() iterator issue in Python 3 (#152)
    • fix checking for python3-all (instead of python-all) when using only Python 3 (#154)
  • Improvements:
    • get date in Python, avoiding requiring date on macOS (#115)
    • add configuration file option Python2-Depends-Name (#156)
    • add an option --with-dh-virtualenv (#155)
    • add an option named ignore-source-changes (#151)
  • Bugfixes:
    • fix applying patch files under Python 3
  • Improvements:
    • add --sign-results to sdist_dsc and bdist_deb command
    • add --debian-version to CLI program options
    • add support for Breaks / Breaks3 in debian/control
    • add support for Suite3 option
    • support zip files in pypi-install
  • Breaking changes:
    • remove deprecated dh_desktop call
  • 2015-02-18: Version 0.8.5. See the download page. Bugfixes: reverted change that installed into virtualenv when built in virtualenv. Improvements: Added --allow-virtualenv-install-location to allow installing into virtualenv location. Supports Debian Squeeze (6), Debian Wheezy (7), Ubuntu Precise (12.04), Ubuntu Trusty (14.04) and later releases.
  • 2015-02-16: Version 0.8.4. See the download page. Bugfixes: works on Python 3.4 (e.g. Ubuntu Trusty) again. Improvements: Improved customization for Python 3 (Dirk Thomas added force-x-python3-version and X-Python3-Version and Louis for Recommends3, Suggests3, Provides3 and Replaces3 support. Supports Debian Squeeze (6), Debian Wheezy (7), Ubuntu Precise (12.04), Ubuntu Trusty (14.04) and later releases.
  • 2015-02-14: Version 0.8.3. See the download page. This is a bugfix release which fixes several aspects of Unicode support. Tests pass on Debian Squeeze (6), Debian Wheezy (7), and Ubuntu Precise (12.04). Support for Python 3.4 (e.g. Ubuntu Trusty 14.04) was mistakenly broken and was fixed in the 0.8.3 release.
  • 2014-8-14: Version 0.8.2. See the download page. This is a bugfix release fixing a serious issue that would cause a Python 2 package to be built if only a Python 3 package was requested in some circumstances.
  • 2014-8-10: Version 0.8.1. See the download page. Due to bugs in 0.8.0, this release is the first announced from the 0.8 series. Highlights since 0.7.1:
    • Full support for Python 3. This includes being run from Python 3 and generating packages for Python 3. The default is to build Python 3 packages when run with Python 3 and to build Python 2 packages when run from Python 2. Command line options can be used to build packages for the other Python interpreter, too.
    • Build .changes file for source package. While this still must be signed for upload to a PPA, for example, it should still be useful in some cases.
    • Switch to Debian source format 3.0 (quilt). Practically speaking, the .diff.gz file that used to come with a source package is now replaced by a .debian.tar.gz file.
    • Verify SSL certificates when talking to PyPI using Requests. (Verification requires Requests >= 0.8.8.)
    • Many bugfixes.
  • 2014-05-05: Version 0.7.1. See the download page. Highlights for this release (you may also wish to consult the full changelog). Due to bugs in 0.7.0, this release is the first announced from the 0.7 series. Highlights since 0.6.0:
    • New commands: pypi-download and pypi-install to directly download and install packages from PyPI, respectively. py2dsc-deb directly creates a .deb file from a source tarball.
    • New distutils command: install_deb lets you directly install a python package as a standard system package.
    • Many bugfixes, including the new URL for PyPI.
    • Automated runs of test suite, thanks to Travis CI
    • Thanks to many, especially Piotr Ożarowski for help with stdeb.
  • 2010-06-18: Version 0.6.0. See the download page. Highlights for this release (you may also wish to consult the full changelog):
    • A new debianize command to build a debian/ directory alongside your setup.py file.
    • Bugfixes.
  • 2010-01-09: Version 0.5.1. Bugfix release. See the download page, the changelog and release notes.
  • 2009-12-30: Version 0.5.0. See the download page. Highlights for this release (you may also wish to consult the full changelog):
    • A new pypi-install script will automatically download, make a .deb, and install packages from the Python Package Index (PyPI).
    • Removal of the setuptools dependency.
    • New option (--guess-conflicts-provides-replaces) to query original Debian packages for Conflicts/Provides/Replaces information.
    • As a result of these changes and to fix a couple bugs/warts, some minor backwards incompatible changes and deprecations were made. Please check the release notes.
  • 2009-12-28: Version 0.4.3 Released. See the download page. See the changelog and release notes.
  • 2009-11-02: Version 0.4.2 Released. See the download page. See the changelog and release notes.
  • 2009-10-04: Version 0.4.1 Released. See the download page. See the changelog and release notes.
  • 2009-09-27: Version 0.4 Released. See the download page. This version switches to debhelper 7. See the Changelog for 0.4.

Releases up to and including 0.3.2 are compatible with Ubuntu Hardy.

The commands

pypi-download, command-line command

pypi-download takes a package name, queries PyPI for it and downloads it:

pypi-download [options] mypackage

pypi-install, command-line command

pypi-install takes a package name, queries PyPI for it, downloads it, builds a Debian source package and then .deb from it, and this installs it:

pypi-install [options] mypackage

py2dsc, command-line command

py2dsc takes a .tar.gz source package and build a Debian source package from it:

py2dsc [options] mypackage-0.1.tar.gz # uses pre-built Python source package

py2dsc-deb, command-line command

py2dsc-deb takes a .tar.gz source package and build a Debian source package and then a .deb file from it:

py2dsc-deb [options] mypackage-0.1.tar.gz # uses pre-built Python source package

sdist_dsc, distutils command

All methods eventually result in a call to the sdist_dsc distutils command. You may prefer to do so directly:

python setup.py --command-packages=stdeb.command sdist_dsc

A Debian source package is produced from unmodified Python packages. The following files are produced in a newly created subdirectory deb_dist:

  • packagename_versionname.orig.tar.gz
  • packagename_versionname-debianversion.dsc
  • packagename_versionname-debianversion.diff.gz

These can then be compiled into binary packages using the standard Debian machinery (e.g. dpkg-buildpackage).

bdist_deb, distutils command

A bdist_deb distutils command is installed. This calls the sdist_dsc command and then runs dpkg-buildpackage on the result:

python setup.py --command-packages=stdeb.command bdist_deb

install_deb, distutils command

The install_deb distutils command calls the bdist_deb command and then installs the result. You need to run this with superuser privilege:

sudo python setup.py --command-packages=stdeb.command install_deb

debianize, distutils command

The debianize distutils command builds the same debian/ directory as used in the previous command, but the output is placed directly in the project's root folder (alongside setup.py). This is useful for customizing the Debian package directly (rather than using the various stdeb options to tune the generated package).

python setup.py --command-packages=stdeb.command debianize

A note about telling distutils to use the stdeb distutils commands

Distutils command packages can also be specified in distutils configuration files (rather than using the --command-packages command line argument to setup.py), as specified in the distutils documentation. Specifically, you could include this in your ~/.pydistutils.cfg file:

[global]
command-packages: stdeb.command

Examples

These all assume you have stdeb installed in your system Python path. stdeb also works from a non-system Python path (e.g. a virtualenv).

Quickstart 1: Install something from PyPI now, I don't care about anything else

Do this from the command line:

pypi-install mypackage

Warning: Despite doing its best, there is absolutely no way stdeb can guarantee all the Debian package dependencies will be properly fulfilled without manual intervention. Using pypi-install bypasses your ability to customize stdeb's behavior. Read the rest of this document to understand how to make better packages.

Quickstart 2: Just tell me the fastest way to make a .deb

(First, install stdeb as you normally install Python packages.)

Do this from the directory with your setup.py file:

python setup.py --command-packages=stdeb.command bdist_deb

This will make a Debian source package (.dsc, .orig.tar.gz and .diff.gz files) and then compile it to a Debian binary package (.deb) for your current system. The result will be in deb_dist.

Warning: installing the .deb file on other versions of Ubuntu or Debian than the one on which it was compiled will result in undefined behavior. If you have extension modules, they will probably break. Even in the absence of extension modules, bad stuff will likely happen.

For this reason, it is much better to build the Debian source package and then compile that (e.g. using Ubuntu's PPA) for each target version of Debian or Ubuntu.

Quickstart 3: I read the warning, so show me how to make a source package, then compile it

This generates a source package:

pypi-download Reindent --release=0.1.0
py2dsc Reindent-0.1.0.tar.gz

This turns it into a .deb using the standard Debian tools. (Do this on the same source package for each target distribution):

cd deb_dist/reindent-0.1.0/
dpkg-buildpackage -rfakeroot -uc -us

This installs it:

cd ..
sudo dpkg -i python-reindent_0.1.0-1_all.deb

Quickstart 4: Install from a Python package direct to a debian system package

(First, install stdeb as you normally install Python packages.)

Do this from the directory with your setup.py file:

python setup.py --command-packages=stdeb.command install_deb

This will make a Debian source package (.dsc, .orig.tar.gz and .diff.gz files), compile it to a Debian binary package (.deb) for your current system and then install it using dpkg.

Another example, with more explanation

This example is more useful if you don't have a Python source package (.tar.gz file generated by python setup.py sdist). For the sake of illustration, we do download such a tarball, but immediately unpack it (alternatively, use a version control system to grab the unpacked source of a package):

pypi-download Reindent --release=0.1.0
tar xzf Reindent-0.1.0.tar.gz
cd Reindent-0.1.0

The following will generate a directory deb_dist containing the files reindent_0.1.0-1.dsc, reindent_0.1.0.orig.tar.gz and reindent_0.1.0-1.diff.gz, which, together, are a debian source package:

python setup.py --command-packages=stdeb.command sdist_dsc

The source generated in the above way is also extracted (using dpkg-source -x) and placed in the deb_dist subdirectory. To continue the example above:

cd deb_dist/reindent-0.1.0
dpkg-buildpackage -rfakeroot -uc -us

Finally, the generated package can be installed:

cd ..
sudo dpkg -i python-reindent_0.1.0-1_all.deb

For yet another example of use, with still more explanation, see allmydata-tahoe ticket 251.

Download

Files are available at the download page (for ancient releases, see the old download page).

The git repository is available at http://github.com/astraw/stdeb

Install (or, using stdeb to create an stdeb installer)

For a bit of fun, here's how to install stdeb using stdeb. Note that stdeb is also in Debian and Ubuntu, so this recipe is only necessary to install a more recent stdeb.

STDEB_VERSION="0.10.0"

# Download stdeb
pypi-download stdeb --release=$STDEB_VERSION

# Extract it
tar xzf stdeb-$STDEB_VERSION.tar.gz

# Enter extracted source package
cd stdeb-$STDEB_VERSION

# Build .deb (making use of stdeb package directory in sys.path).
python setup.py --command-packages=stdeb.command bdist_deb

# Install it
sudo dpkg -i deb_dist/python-stdeb_$STDEB_VERSION-1_all.deb

Background

For the average Python package, its source distribution (python_package.tar.gz created with python setup.py sdist) contains nearly everything necessary to make a Debian source package. This near-equivalence encouraged me to write this distutils extension, which executes the setup.py file to extract relevant information. setuptools may optionally be used.

I wrote this initially to Debianize several Python packages of my own, but I have the feeling it could be generally useful. It appears similar, at least in theory, to easydeb, Logilab's Devtools, bdist_dpkg, bdist_deb, pkgme and dh-virtualenv.

Features

  • Create a package for all Python versions supported by python-support. (Limiting this range is possible with the XS-Python-Version: config option.)
  • Automatic conversion of Python package names into valid Debian package names.
  • Attempt to automatically convert version numbers such that ordering is maintained. See also the config option Forced-Upstream-Version.
  • Fine grained control of version numbers. (Debian-Version, Forced-Upstream-Version, Upstream-Version-Prefix, Upstream-Version-Suffix config options.)
  • Install .desktop files. (MIME-Desktop-Files config option.)
  • Install .mime and .sharedmimeinfo files. (MIME-File and Shared-MIME-File config options.)
  • Install copyright files. (Copyright-File config option.)
  • Apply patches to upstream sources. (Stdeb-Patch-File config option.)
  • Pass environment variables to setup.py script. (Setup-Env-Vars config option.)

Customizing the produced Debian source package (config options)

stdeb will attempt to provide reasonable defaults, but these are only guesses.

There are two ways to customize the Debian source package produced by stdeb. First, you may provide options to the distutils commands. Second, you may provide an stdeb.cfg file.

stdeb distutils command options

The sdist_dsc command takes command-line options to the distutils command. For example:

python setup.py --command-packages=stdeb.command sdist_dsc --debian-version 0MyName1

This creates a Debian package with the Debian version set to "0MyName1".

These options can also be set via distutils configuration files. (These are the setup.cfg file alongside setup.py and the ~/.pydistutils.cfg file.) In that case, put the arguments in the [sdist_dsc] section. For example, a project's ~/.setup.cfg file might have this:

[sdist_dsc]
debian-version: 0MyName1

To pass these commands to sdist_dsc when calling bdist_deb, do this:

python setup.py sdist_dsc --debian-version 0MyName1 bdist_deb
Command line option Effect
--with-python2 build Python 2 package (default=True)
--with-python3 build Python 3 package (default=False)
--no-python2-scripts disable installation of Python 2 scripts (default=False)
--no-python3-scripts disable installation of Python 3 scripts (default=False)
--force-x-python3-version Override default minimum python3:any dependency with value from x-python3- version
--allow-virtualenv-install-location Allow installing into /some/random/virtualenv-path
--with-dh-virtualenv Build the package using dh_virtualenv, so all dependencies are embedded into the packages.
--with-dh-systemd Add the systemd addon that will add dh_systemd_enable and dh_systemd_start helpers at the correct time during build.
--sign-results Use gpg to sign the resulting .dsc and .changes file
--sign-key Specify signing key
--dist-dir (-d) directory to put final built distributions in (default='deb_dist')
--patch-already-applied (-a) patch was already applied (used when py2dsc calls sdist_dsc)
--default-distribution deprecated (see --suite)
--compat debian compatibility level (default=9)
--suite (-z) distribution name to use if not specified in .cfg (default='unstable')
--default-maintainer deprecated (see --maintainer)
--maintainer (-m) maintainer name and email to use if not specified in .cfg (default from setup.py)
--extra-cfg-file (-x) additional .cfg file (in addition to stdeb.cfg if present)
--patch-file (-p) patch file applied before setup.py called (incompatible with file specified in .cfg)
--patch-level (-l) patch file applied before setup.py called (incompatible with file specified in .cfg)
--patch-posix (-q) apply the patch with --posix mode
--remove-expanded-source-dir (-r) remove the expanded source directory
--ignore-install-requires (-i) ignore the requirements from requires.txt in the egg-info directory
--ignore-source-changes ignore all changes on source when building source package (add -i.* option to dpkg-source)
--no-backwards-compatibility This option has no effect, is here for backwards compatibility, and may be removed someday.
--guess-conflicts-provides-replaces If True, attempt to guess Conflicts/Provides/Replaces in debian/control based on apt-cache output. (Default=False).
--use-premade-distfile (-P) use .zip or .tar.gz file already made by sdist command
--source debian/control Source: (Default: <source-debianized-setup-name>)
--package debian/control Package: (Default: python-<debianized-setup-name>)
--suite suite (e.g. stable, lucid) in changelog (Default: unstable)
--maintainer debian/control Maintainer: (Default: <setup-maintainer-or-author>)
--debian-version debian version (Default: 1)
--section debian/control Section: (Default: python)
--epoch version epoch
--forced-upstream-version forced upstream version
--upstream-version-prefix upstream version prefix
--upstream-version-suffix upstream version suffix
--uploaders uploaders
--copyright-file copyright file
--build-depends debian/control Build-Depends:
--build-conflicts debian/control Build-Conflicts:
--stdeb-patch-file file containing patches for stdeb to apply
--stdeb-patch-level patch level provided to patch command
--depends debian/control Depends:
--suggests debian/control Suggests:
--recommends debian/control Recommends:
--xs-python-version debian/control XS-Python-Version:
--x-python3-version debian/control X-Python3-Version:
--dpkg-shlibdeps-params parameters passed to dpkg-shlibdeps
--conflicts debian/control Conflicts:
--provides debian/control Provides:
--replaces debian/control Replaces:
--mime-desktop-files MIME desktop files
--mime-file MIME file
--shared-mime-file shared MIME file
--setup-env-vars environment variables passed to setup.py
--udev-rules file with rules to install to udev

You may also pass any arguments described below for the stdeb.cfg file via distutils options. Passing the arguments this way (either on the command line, or in the [sdist_dsc] section of a distutils .cfg file) will take precedence. The option name should be given in lower case.

stdeb.cfg configuration file

You may write config files of the format understood by ConfigParser. When building each package, stdeb looks for the existence of a stdeb.cfg in the directory with setup.py. You may specify an additional config file with the command-line option --extra-cfg-file. The section should should either be [DEFAULT] or [package_name], which package_name is specified as the name argument to the setup() command. An example stdeb.cfg file is:

[DEFAULT]
Depends: python-numpy
XS-Python-Version: >= 2.6

All available options:

Config file option Effect
Source debian/control Source: (Default: <source-debianized-setup-name>)
Package debian/control Package: (Default: python-<debianized-setup-name>)
Package3 debian/control Package: for python3 (Default: python3-<debianized-setup-name>)
Suite suite (e.g. stable, lucid) in changelog (Default: unstable)
Suite3 suite (e.g. stable, lucid) for python3 (Default: uses value of Suite option)
Maintainer debian/control Maintainer: (Default: <setup-maintainer-or-author>)
Debian-Version debian version (Default: 1)
Section debian/control Section: (Default: python)
Epoch version epoch
Forced-Upstream-Version forced upstream version
Upstream-Version-Prefix upstream version prefix
Upstream-Version-Suffix upstream version suffix
Uploaders uploaders
Copyright-File copyright file
Build-Depends debian/control Build-Depends:
Build-Conflicts debian/control Build-Conflicts:
Stdeb-Patch-File file containing patches for stdeb to apply
Stdeb-Patch-Level patch level provided to patch command
Depends debian/control Depends:
Depends3 debian/control Depends: for python3
Suggests debian/control Suggests:
Suggests3 debian/control Suggests: for python3
Recommends debian/control Recommends:
Recommends3 debian/control Recommends: for python3
XS-Python-Version debian/control XS-Python-Version:
X-Python3-Version debian/control X-Python3-Version:
Dpkg-Shlibdeps-Params parameters passed to dpkg-shlibdeps
Conflicts debian/control Conflicts:
Conflicts3 debian/control Conflicts: for python3
Breaks debian/control Breaks:
Breaks3 debian/control Breaks: for python3
Provides debian/control Provides:
Provides3 debian/control Provides: for python3
Replaces debian/control Replaces:
Replaces3 debian/control Replaces: for python3
MIME-Desktop-Files MIME desktop files
MIME-File MIME file
Shared-MIME-File shared MIME file
Setup-Env-Vars environment variables passed to setup.py
Udev-Rules file with rules to install to udev
Python2-Depends-Name override Python 2 Debian package name in ${python:Depends}

The option names in stdeb.cfg files are not case sensitive.

Reproducible builds

By default stdeb uses the current time for the the timestamp in the generated changelog file. This results in a non-reproducible build since every invocation generates a different changelog / .deb. The environment variable SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH can be set to a fixed timestamp (e.g. when the version was tagged or of the last commit was made) which will be used in the changelog instead. This will ensure that the produced .deb is reproducible on repeated invocations.

For more information about reproducible builds and this specific environment variable please see https://reproducible-builds.org/docs/source-date-epoch/

Prerequisites

  • Python 2.7 or Python 3.x
  • Standard Debian utilities such as date, dpkg-source and Debhelper 7 (use stdeb 0.3.x if you need to support older distributions without dh7)
  • If your setup.py uses the setuptools features setup_requires or install_requires, you must run apt-file update prior to running any stdeb command.

TODO

  • Make output meet Debian Python Policy specifications or the new python policy. This will include several things, among which are:
    • the ability to make custom changelogs
    • the ability to include project-supplied documentation as a -doc package
    • include license information in debian/copyright
    • the ability to include project-supplied examples, tests, and data as a separate package
    • much more not listed
  • Create (better) documentation
  • Log output using standard distutils mechanisms
  • Refactor the source code to have a simpler, more sane design

Call for volunteers

I don't have a lot of time for this. This project stands a very real chance of being only a shadow of its potential self unless people step up and contribute. There are numerous ways in which people could help. In particular, I'd be interested in finding a co-maintainer or maintainer if the project generates any interest. Secondarily, I would appreciate advice from Debian developers or Ubuntu MOTUs about the arcane details of Python packaging.

Mailing list

Please address all questions to the distutils-SIG

License

MIT-style license. Copyright (c) 2006-2015 stdeb authors.

See the LICENSE.txt file provided with the source distribution for full details.

Authors

Additional Credits

  • Zooko O'Whielacronx for the autofind-depends patch.
  • Brett (last name unknown) for the --ignore-install-requires patch.
  • Ximin Luo for a bug fix.
  • Alexander D. Sedov for bug fixes and suggestions.
  • Michele Mattioni for bug fix.
  • Alexander V. Nikolaev for the debhelper buildsystem specification.
  • Roland Sommer for the description field bugfix.
  • Barry Warsaw for suggesting the debianize command.
  • Asheesh Laroia for updating the PyPI URL.
  • Piotr Ożarowski for implementing dh_python2 support.
  • Nikita Burtsev for unicode tests and fixes
  • Mikołaj Siedlarek for a bugfix
  • Dirk Thomas for --force-x-python3-version and X-Python3-Version
  • Louis for Recommends3, Suggests3, Provides3 and Replaces3 support
  • kzwin for interop with virtualenv
  • GitHub for hosting services.
  • WebFaction (aka python-hosting) for previous hosting services.
  • TravisCI for continuous integration
Join the chat at https://gitter.im/astraw/stdeb

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produce Debian packages from Python packages

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