1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
3 @setfilename fdroid.info
4 @documentencoding UTF-8
5 @settitle F-Droid Server Manual
9 This manual is for the F-Droid repository server tools.
11 Copyright @copyright{} 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 Ciaran Gultnieks
13 Copyright @copyright{} 2011 Henrik Tunedal, Michael Haas, John Sullivan
15 Copyright @copyright{} 2013 David Black
17 Copyright @copyright{} 2013, 2014, 2015 Daniel MartÃ
19 Copyright @copyright{} 2015 Boris Kraut
22 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
23 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3
24 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;
25 with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.
26 A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU
27 Free Documentation License".
32 @title F-Droid Server Manual
33 @author Ciaran Gultnieks and the F-Droid project
35 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
51 * System Requirements::
53 * Simple Binary Repository::
54 * Building Applications::
55 * Importing Applications::
60 * GNU Free Documentation License::
67 The F-Droid server tools provide various scripts and tools that are used
68 to maintain the main F-Droid application repository. You can use these same
69 tools to create your own additional or alternative repository for publishing,
70 or to assist in creating, testing and submitting metadata to the main
74 @node System Requirements
75 @chapter System Requirements
79 The system requirements for using the tools will vary depending on your
80 intended usage. At the very least, you'll need:
88 The Android SDK Tools and Build-tools.
89 Note that F-Droid does not assume that you have the Android SDK in your
90 @code{PATH}: these directories will be specified in your repository
91 configuration. Recent revisions of the SDK have @code{aapt} located in
92 android-sdk/build-tools/ and it may be necessary to make a symlink to it in
93 android-sdk/platform-tools/
96 If you intend to build applications from source you'll also need most, if not
97 all, of the following:
101 JDK (Debian package openjdk-6-jdk): openjdk-6 is recommended though openjdk-7
104 VCS clients: svn, git, git-svn, hg, bzr
106 A keystore for holding release keys. (Safe, secure and well backed up!)
109 If you intend to use the 'Build Server' system, for secure and clean builds
110 (highly recommended), you will also need:
114 VirtualBox (debian package virtualbox)
116 Ruby (debian packages ruby and rubygems)
118 Vagrant (debian package vagrant - 1.4.x or higher required)
120 vagrant-cachier plugin (unpackaged): `vagrant plugin install vagrant-cachier`
122 Paramiko (debian package python-paramiko)
124 Imaging (debian package python-imaging)
127 On the other hand, if you want to build the apps directly on your system
128 without the 'Build Server' system, you may need:
132 All SDK platforms requested by the apps you want to build
133 (The Android SDK is made available by Google under a proprietary license but
134 within that, the SDK platforms, support library and some other components are
135 under the Apache license and source code is provided.
136 Google APIs, used for building apps using Google Maps, are free to the extent
137 that the library comes pre-installed on the device.
138 Google Play Services, Google Admob and others are proprietary and shouldn't be
139 included in the main F-Droid repository.)
141 A version of the Android NDK
143 Ant with Contrib Tasks (Debian packages ant and ant-contrib)
145 Maven (Debian package maven)
147 JavaCC (Debian package javacc)
149 Miscellaneous packages listed in
150 buildserver/cookbooks/fdroidbuild-general/recipes/default.rb
151 of the F-Droid server repository
157 @cindex setup, installation
159 Because the tools and data will always change rapidly, you will almost
160 certainly want to work from a git clone of the tools at this stage. To
164 git clone https://gitlab.com/fdroid/fdroidserver.git
167 You now have lots of stuff in the fdroidserver directory, but the most
168 important is the 'fdroid' command script which you run to perform all tasks.
169 This script is always run from a repository data directory, so the
170 most sensible thing to do next is to put your new fdroidserver directory
175 To do anything, you'll need at least one repository data directory. It's
176 from this directory that you run the @code{fdroid} command to perform all
177 repository management tasks. You can either create a brand new one, or
178 grab a copy of the data used by the main F-Droid repository:
181 git clone https://gitlab.com/fdroid/fdroiddata.git
184 Regardless of the intended usage of the tools, you will always need to set
185 up some basic configuration details. This is done by creating a file called
186 @code{config.py} in the data directory. You should do this by copying the
187 example file (@code{./examples/config.py}) from the fdroidserver project to
188 your data directory and then editing according to the instructions within.
190 Once configured in this way, all the functionality of the tools is accessed
191 by running the @code{fdroid} command. Run it on its own to get a list of the
192 available sub-commands.
194 You can follow any command with @code{--help} to get a list of additional
195 options available for that command.
202 @node Simple Binary Repository
203 @chapter Simple Binary Repository
207 If you want to maintain a simple repository hosting only binary APKs obtained
208 and compiled elsewhere, the process is quite simple:
212 Set up the server tools, as described in Setup.
214 Make a directory for your repository. This is the directory from which you
215 will do all the work with your repository. Create a config file there, called
216 @code{config.py}, by copying @code{./examples/config.py} from the server
217 project and editing it.
219 Within that, make a directory called @code{repo} and put APK files in it.
221 Run @code{fdroid update}.
223 If it reports that any metadata files are missing, you can create them
224 in the @code{metadata} directory and run it again.
226 To ease creation of metadata files, run @code{fdroid update} with the @code{-c}
227 option. It will create 'skeleton' metadata files that are missing, and you can
228 then just edit them and fill in the details.
230 Then, if you've changed things, run @code{fdroid update} again.
232 Running @code{fdroid update} adds an Icons directory into the repo directory,
233 and also creates the repository index (index.xml, and also index.jar if you've
234 configured the system to use a signed index).
236 Publish the resulting contents of the @code{repo} directory to your web server.
239 Following the above process will result in a @code{repo} directory, which you
240 simply need to push to any HTTP (or preferably HTTPS) server to make it
243 While some information about the applications (and versions thereof) is
244 retrieved directly from the APK files, most comes from the corresponding file
245 in the @code{metadata} directory. The metadata file covering ALL versions of a
246 particular application is named @code{package.id.txt} where package.id is the
247 unique identifier for that package.
249 See the Metadata chapter for details of what goes in the metadata file. All
250 fields are relevant for binary APKs, EXCEPT for @code{Build:} entries, which
254 @node Building Applications
255 @chapter Building Applications
257 Instead of (or as well as) including binary APKs from external sources in a
258 repository, you can build them directly from the source code.
260 Using this method, it is is possible to verify that the application builds
261 correctly, corresponds to the source code, and contains only free software.
262 Unforunately, in the Android world, it seems to be very common for an
263 application supplied as a binary APK to present itself as Free Software
264 when in fact some or all of the following are true:
268 The source code (either for a particular version, or even all versions!) is
269 unavailable or incomplete.
271 The source code is not capable of producing the actual binary supplied.
273 The 'source code' contains binary files of unknown origin, or with proprietary
277 For this reason, source-built applications are the preferred method for the
278 main F-Droid repository, although occasionally for technical or historical
279 reasons, exceptions are made to this policy.
281 When building applications from source, it should be noted that you will be
282 signing them (all APK files must be signed to be installable on Android) with
283 your own key. When an application is already installed on a device, it is not
284 possible to upgrade it in place to a new version signed with a different key
285 without first uninstalling the original. This may present an inconvenience to
286 users, as the process of uninstalling loses any data associated with the
287 previous installation.
289 The process for managing a repository for built-from-source applications is
290 very similar to that described in the Simple Binary Repository chapter,
291 except now you need to:
295 Include Build entries in the metadata files.
297 Run @code{fdroid build} to build any applications that are not already built.
299 Run @code{fdroid publish} to finalise packaging and sign any APKs that have
304 @section More about "fdroid build"
306 When run without any parameters, @code{fdroid build} will build any and all
307 versions of applications that you don't already have in the @code{repo}
308 directory (or more accurately, the @code{unsigned} directory). There are various
309 other things you can do. As with all the tools, the @code{--help} option is
310 your friend, but a few annotated examples and discussion of the more common
313 To build a single version of a single application, you could run the
317 fdroid build org.fdroid.fdroid:16
320 This attempts to build version code 16 (which is version 0.25) of the F-Droid
321 client. Many of the tools recognise arguments as packages, allowing their
322 activity to be limited to just a limited set of packages.
324 If the build above was successful, two files will have been placed in the
325 @code{unsigned} directory:
328 org.fdroid.fdroid_16.apk
329 org.fdroid.fdroid_16_src.tar.gz
332 The first is the (unsigned) APK. You could sign this with a debug key and push
333 it direct to your device or an emulator for testing. The second is a source
334 tarball containing exactly the source that was used to generate the binary.
336 If you were intending to publish these files, you could then run:
342 The source tarball would move to the @code{repo} directory (which is the
343 directory you would push to your web server). A signed and zip-aligned version
344 of the APK would also appear there, and both files would be removed from the
345 @code{unsigned} directory.
347 If you're building purely for the purposes of testing, and not intending to
348 push the results to a repository, at least yet, the @code{--test} option can be
349 used to direct output to the @code{tmp} directory instead of @code{unsigned}.
350 A similar effect could by achieved by simply deleting the output files from
351 @code{unsigned} after the build, but with the risk of forgetting to do so!
353 Along similar lines (and only in conjunction with @code{--test}, you can use
354 @code{--force} to force a build of a Disabled application, where normally it
355 would be completely ignored. Similarly a version that was found to contain
356 ELFs or known non-free libraries can be forced to build. See also —
357 @code{scanignore=} and @code{scandelete=} in the @code{Build:} section.
359 If the build was unsuccessful, you can find out why by looking at the output
360 in the logs/ directory. If that isn't illuminating, try building the app the
361 regular way, step by step: android update project, ndk-build, ant debug.
363 Note that source code repositories often contain prebuilt libraries. If the
364 app is being considered for the main F-Droid repository, it is important that
365 all such prebuilts are built either via the metadata or by a reputable third
369 @section Running "fdroid build" in your app's source
371 Another option for using @code{fdroid build} is to use a metadata file
372 that is included in the app's source itself, rather than in a
373 @code{metadata/} folder with lots of other apps. This metadata file
374 should be in the root of your source repo, and be called
375 @code{.fdroid.json}, @code{.fdroid.xml}, @code{.fdroid.yaml}, or
376 @code{.fdroid.txt}, depending on your preferred data format: JSON,
377 XML, YAML, or F-Droid's @code{.txt} format.
379 Once you have that setup, you can build the most recent version of
380 the app using the whole FDroid stack by running:
386 If you want to build every single version, then specify @code{--all}.
389 @section Direct Installation
391 You can also build and install directly to a connected device or emulator
392 using the @code{fdroid install} command. If you do this without passing
393 packages as arguments then all the latest built and signed version available
394 of each package will be installed . In most cases, this will not be what you
395 want to do, so execution will stop straight away. However, you can override
396 this if you're sure that's what you want, by using @code{--all}. Note that
397 currently, no sanity checks are performed with this mode, so if the files in
398 the signed output directory were modified, you won't be notified.
401 @node Importing Applications
402 @chapter Importing Applications
404 To help with starting work on including a new application, @code{fdroid import}
405 will take a URL and optionally some other parameters, and attempt to construct
406 as much information as possible by analysing the source code. Basic usage is:
409 fdroid import --url=http://address.of.project
412 For this to work, the URL must point to a project format that the script
413 understands. Currently this is limited to one of the following:
417 Gitorious - @code{https://gitorious.org/PROJECTNAME/REPONAME}
419 Github - @code{https://github.com/USER/PROJECT}
421 Google Code - @code{http://code.google.com/p/PROJECT/}
422 Supports git, svn and hg repos.
424 Some Google Code projects have multiple repositories, identified by a
425 dropdown list on the @code{source/checkout} page. To access one other than
426 the default, specify its name using the @code{--repo} switch.
428 Bitbucket - @code{https://bitbucket.org/USER/PROJECT/}
430 Git - @code{git://REPO}
433 Depending on the project type, more or less information may be gathered. For
434 example, the license will be retrieved from a Google Code project, but not a
435 GitHub one. A bare repo url, such as the git:// one, is the least preferable
436 optional of all, since you will have to enter much more information manually.
438 If the import is successful, a metadata file will be created. You will need to
439 edit this further to check the information, and fill in the blanks.
441 If it fails, you'll be told why. If it got as far as retrieving the source
442 code, you can inspect it further by looking in @code{tmp/importer} where a full
445 A frequent cause of initial failure is that the project directory is actually
446 a subdirectory in the repository. In this case, run the importer again using
447 the @code{--subdir} option to tell it where. It will not attempt to determine
448 this automatically, since there may be several options.
456 Information used by update.py to compile the public index comes from two
461 the APK files in the repo directory, and
463 the metadata files in the metadata directory.
466 The original metadata files are simple, easy to edit text files,
467 always named as the application's package ID with '.txt' appended.
468 Additionally, you can use JSON, XML, or YAML for app metadata, using
469 the same fields as the original '.txt' format.
471 Note that although the metadata files are designed to be easily read
472 and writable by humans, they are also processed and written by various
473 scripts. The original '.txt' format can be automatically cleaned up
474 when necessary. The structure and comments will be preserved
475 correctly, although the order of fields will be standardised. (In the
476 event that the original file was in a different order, comments are
477 considered as being attached to the field following them). In fact,
478 you can standardise all the '.txt' metadata in a single command,
479 without changing the functional content, by running:
485 Or just run it on a specific app:
488 fdroid rewritemeta org.adaway
491 The following sections describe the fields recognised within the file.
520 * Update Check Mode::
521 * Update Check Ignore::
522 * Vercode Operation::
523 * Update Check Name::
524 * Update Check Data::
527 * Current Version Code::
534 Any number of categories for the application to be placed in. There is no
535 fixed list of categories - both the client and the web site will automatically
536 show any categories that exist in any applications. However, if your metadata
537 is intended for the main F-Droid repository, you should use one of the
538 existing categories (look at the site/client), or discuss the proposal to add
541 Categories must be separated by a single comma character, ','. For backwards
542 compatibility, F-Droid will use the first category given as <category> element
543 for older clients to at least see one category.
545 This is converted to (@code{<categories>}) in the public index file.
552 The name of the author, either full, abbreviated or pseudonym. If
553 present, it should represent the name(s) as published by upstream,
554 e.g. in their copyright or authors file. This can be omitted (or left
557 This is converted to (@code{<author>}) in the public index file.
560 @section Author Email
564 The e-mail address of the author(s). This can be omitted (or left
567 This is converted to (@code{<email>}) in the public index file.
574 The overall license for the application, or in certain cases, for the
587 GNU GPL version 2 or later
595 GNU GPL version 3 or later
599 An unspecified GPL version. Use this only as a last resort or if there is
600 some confusion over compatiblity of component licenses: particularly the use of
601 Apache libraries with GPLv2 source code.
605 Afferro GPL version 3.
617 BSD license - the original '4-clause' version.
621 BSD license - the new, or modified, version.
625 This is converted to (@code{<license>}) in the public index file.
632 The name of the application as can best be retrieved from the source code.
633 This is done so that the commitupdates script can put a familiar name in the
634 description of commits created when a new update of the application is
635 found. The Auto Name entry is generated automatically when @code{fdroid
636 checkupdates} is run.
643 The name of the application. Normally, this field should not be present since
644 the application's correct name is retrieved from the APK file. However, in a
645 situation where an APK contains a bad or missing application name, it can be
646 overridden using this. Note that this only overrides the name in the list of
647 apps presented in the client; it doesn't changed the name or application label
655 Comma-separated list of application IDs that this app provides. In other
656 words, if the user has any of these apps installed, F-Droid will show this app
657 as installed instead. It will also appear if the user clicks on urls linking
658 to the other app IDs. Useful when an app switches package name, or when you
659 want an app to act as multiple apps.
666 The URL for the application's web site. If there is no relevant web site, this
667 can be omitted (or left blank).
669 This is converted to (@code{<web>}) in the public index file.
676 The URL to view or obtain the application's source code. This should be
677 something human-friendly. Machine-readable source-code is covered in the
680 This is converted to (@code{<source>}) in the public index file.
683 @section Issue Tracker
685 @cindex Issue Tracker
687 The URL for the application's issue tracker. Optional, since not all
688 applications have one.
690 This is converted to (@code{<tracker>}) in the public index file.
697 The URL for the application's changelog. Optional, since not all
698 applications have one.
700 This is converted to (@code{<changelog>}) in the public index file.
707 The URL to donate to the project. This should be the project's donate page
710 It is possible to use a direct PayPal link here, if that is all that is
711 available. However, bear in mind that the developer may not be aware of
712 that direct link, and if they later changed to a different PayPal account,
713 or the PayPal link format changed, things could go wrong. It is always
714 best to use a link that the developer explicitly makes public, rather than
715 something that is auto-generated 'button code'.
717 This is converted to (@code{<donate>}) in the public index file.
724 The project's Flattr (http://flattr.com) ID, if it has one. This should be
725 a numeric ID, such that (for example) https://flattr.com/thing/xxxx leads
726 directly to the page to donate to the project.
728 This is converted to (@code{<flattr>}) in the public index file.
735 A bitcoin address for donating to the project.
737 This is converted to (@code{<bitcoin>}) in the public index file.
744 A litecoin address for donating to the project.
751 A brief summary of what the application is. Since the summary is only allowed
752 one line on the list of the F-Droid client, keeping it to within 80 characters
753 will ensure it fits most screens.
760 A full description of the application, relevant to the latest version.
761 This can span multiple lines (which should be kept to a maximum of 80
762 characters), and is terminated by a line containing a single '.'.
764 Basic MediaWiki-style formatting can be used. Leaving a blank line starts a
765 new paragraph. Surrounding text with @code{''} make it italic, and with
766 @code{'''} makes it bold.
768 You can link to another app in the repo by using @code{[[app.id]]}. The link
769 will be made appropriately whether in the Android client, the web repo
770 browser or the wiki. The link text will be the apps name.
772 Links to web addresses can be done using @code{[http://example.com Text]}.
774 For both of the above link formats, the entire link (from opening to closing
775 square bracket) must be on the same line.
777 Bulletted lists are done by simply starting each item with a @code{*} on
778 a new line, and numbered lists are the same but using @code{#}. There is
779 currently no support for nesting lists - you can have one level only.
781 It can be helpful to note information pertaining to updating from an
782 earlier version; whether the app contains any prebuilts built by the
783 upstream developers or whether non-free elements were removed; whether the
784 app is in rapid development or whether the latest version lags behind the
785 current version; whether the app supports multiple architectures or whether
786 there is a maximum SDK specified (such info not being recorded in the index).
788 This is converted to (@code{<desc>}) in the public index file.
790 @node Maintainer Notes
791 @section Maintainer Notes
793 @cindex Maintainer Notes
795 This is a multi-line field using the same rules and syntax as the description.
796 It's used to record notes for F-Droid maintainers to assist in maintaining and
797 updating the application in the repository.
799 This information is also published to the wiki.
806 The type of repository - for automatic building from source. If this is not
807 specified, automatic building is disabled for this application. Possible
830 The repository location. Usually a git: or svn: URL, for example.
832 The git-svn option connects to an SVN repository, and you specify the URL in
833 exactly the same way, but git is used as a back-end. This is preferable for
834 performance reasons, and also because a local copy of the entire history is
835 available in case the upstream repository disappears. (It happens!). In
836 order to use Tags as update check mode for this VCS type, the URL must have
837 the tags= special argument set. Likewise, if you intend to use the
838 RepoManifest/branch scheme, you would want to specify branches= as well.
839 Finally, trunk= can also be added. All these special arguments will be passed
840 to "git svn" in order, and their values must be relative paths to the svn repo
842 Here's an example of a complex git-svn Repo URL:
843 http://svn.code.sf.net/p/project/code/svn;trunk=trunk;tags=tags;branches=branches
845 If the Repo Type is @code{srclib}, then you must specify the name of the
846 according srclib .txt file. For example if @code{scrlibs/FooBar.txt} exist
847 and you want to use this srclib, then you have to set Repo to
855 The location of binaries used in verification process.
857 If specified, F-Droid will verify the output apk file of a build against the
858 one specified. You can use %v and %c to point to the version name and version
859 code of the current build. To verify the F-Droid client itself you could use:
860 @code{Binaries:https://f-droid.org/repo/org.fdroid.fdroid_%c.apk}
862 F-Droid will use upstream binaries if the verification succeeded.
869 Any number of these fields can be present, each specifying a version to
870 automatically build from source. The value is a comma-separated list.
875 The above specifies to build version 1.2, which has a version code of 12.
876 The @code{commit=} parameter specifies the tag, commit or revision number from
877 which to build it in the source repository. It is the only mandatory flag,
878 which in this case could for example be @code{commit=v1.2}.
880 In addition to the three, always required, parameters described above,
881 further parameters can be added (in name=value format) to apply further
882 configuration to the build. These are (roughly in order of application):
886 @item disable=<message>
887 Disables this build, giving a reason why. (For backwards compatibility, this
888 can also be achieved by starting the commit ID with '!')
890 The purpose of this feature is to allow non-buildable releases (e.g. the source
891 is not published) to be flagged, so the scripts don't generate repeated
892 messages about them. (And also to record the information for review later).
893 If an apk has already been built, disabling causes it to be deleted once
894 @code{fdroid update} is run; this is the procedure if ever a version has to
898 Specifies to build from a subdirectory of the checked out source code.
899 Normally this directory is changed to before building,
902 Use if the project (git only) has submodules - causes @code{git submodule
903 update --init --recursive} to be executed after the source is cloned.
904 Submodules are reset and cleaned like the main app repository itself before
908 As for 'prebuild', but runs on the source code BEFORE any other processing
911 You can use $$SDK$$, $$NDK$$ and $$MVN3$$ to substitute the paths to the
912 android SDK and NDK directories, and maven 3 executable respectively. The
913 following per-build variables are available likewise: $$VERSION$$,
914 $$VERCODE$$ and $$COMMIT$$.
917 The sdk location in the repo is in an old format, or the build.xml is
918 expecting such. The 'new' format is sdk.dir while the VERY OLD format
919 is sdk-location. Typically, if you get a message along the lines of:
920 "com.android.ant.SetupTask cannot be found" when trying to build, then
921 try enabling this option.
923 @item target=<target>
924 Specifies a particular SDK target for compilation, overriding the value
925 defined in the code by upstream. This has different effects depending on what
926 build system used — this flag currently affects Ant, Maven and Gradle projects
927 only. Note that this does not change the target SDK in the
928 AndroidManifest.xml, which determines the level of features that can be
929 included in the build.
931 In the case of an Ant project, it modifies project.properties of the app and
932 possibly sub-projects. This is likely to cause the whole build.xml to be
933 rewritten, which is fine if it's a 'standard' android file or doesn't already
934 exist, but not a good idea if it's heavily customised.
936 @item update=<auto/dirs>
937 By default, 'android update' is used in Ant builds to generate or update the
938 project and all its referenced projects. Specifying update=no bypasses that.
939 Note that this is useless in builds that don't use Ant.
941 Default value is '@code{auto}', which recursively uses the paths in
942 project.properties to find all the subprojects to update.
944 Otherwise, the value can be a comma-separated list of directories in which to
945 run 'android update' relative to the application directory.
948 Adds a java.encoding property to local.properties with the given
949 value. Generally the value will be 'utf-8'. This is picked up by the
950 SDK's ant rules, and forces the Java compiler to interpret source
951 files with this encoding. If you receive warnings during the compile
952 about character encodings, you probably need this.
954 @item forceversion=yes
955 If specified, the package version in AndroidManifest.xml is replaced
956 with the version name for the build as specified in the metadata.
958 This is useful for cases when upstream repo failed to update it for
959 specific tag; to build an arbitrary revision; to make it apparent that
960 the version differs significantly from upstream; or to make it apparent
961 which architecture or platform the apk is designed to run on.
963 @item forcevercode=yes
964 If specified, the package version code in the AndroidManifest.xml is
965 replaced with the version code for the build. See also forceversion.
967 @item rm=<path1>[,<path2>,...]
968 Specifies the relative paths of files or directories to delete before
969 the build is done. The paths are relative to the base of the build
970 directory - i.e. the root of the directory structure checked out from
971 the source respository - not necessarily the directory that contains
974 Multiple files/directories can be specified by separating them with ','.
975 Directories will be recursively deleted.
977 @item extlibs=<lib1>[,<lib2>,...]
978 Comma-separated list of external libraries (jar files) from the
979 @code{build/extlib} library, which will be placed in the @code{libs} directory
982 @item srclibs=[n:]a@@r,[n:]b@@r1,...
983 Comma-separated list of source libraries or Android projects. Each item is of
984 the form name@@rev where name is the predefined source library name and rev is
985 the revision or tag to use in the respective source control.
987 For Ant projects, you can optionally append a number with a colon at the
988 beginning of a srclib item to automatically place it in project.properties as
989 a library under the specified number. For example, if you specify
990 @code{1:somelib@@1.0}, F-Droid will automatically do the equivalent of the
991 legacy practice @code{prebuild=echo "android.library.reference.1=$$somelib$$"
992 >> project.properties}.
994 Each srclib has a metadata file under srclibs/ in the repository directory,
995 and the source code is stored in build/srclib/.
996 Repo Type: and Repo: are specified in the same way as for apps; Subdir: can be
997 a comma separated list, for when directories are renamed by upstream; Update
998 Project: updates the projects in the working directory and one level down;
999 Prepare: can be used for any kind of preparation: in particular if you need to
1000 update the project with a particular target. You can then also use $$name$$ in
1001 the init/prebuild/build command to substitute the relative path to the library
1002 directory, but it could need tweaking if you've changed into another directory.
1004 Currently srclibs are necessary when upstream uses jar files or pulls
1005 dependencies from non-trusted repositories. While there is no guarantee that
1006 those binaries are free and correspondent to the source code, F-Droid allows
1007 the following known repositories until a source-built alternative is available:
1012 @samp{mavenCentral} - the original repo, hardcoded in Maven and Gradle.
1015 @samp{jCenter} - hardcoded in Gradle, this repo by Bintray tries to provide
1016 easier handling. It should sync with mavenCentral from time to time.
1019 @samp{OSS Sonatype} - maintained by the people behind mavenCentral, this
1020 repository focuses on hosting services for open source project binaries.
1023 @samp{JitPack.io} - builds directly from Github repositories. However,
1024 they do not provide any option to reproduce or verify the resulting
1025 binaries. Builds pre-release versions in some cases.
1028 @samp{Clojars} - Clojure libraries repo.
1031 @samp{CommonsWare} - repo holding a collection of open-source libs.
1036 Apply patch(es). 'x' names one (or more - comma-seperated) files within a
1037 directory below the metadata, with the same name as the metadata file but
1038 without the extension. Each of these patches is applied to the code in turn.
1041 Specifies a shell command (or commands - chain with &&) to run before the
1042 build takes place. Backslash can be used as an escape character to insert
1043 literal commas, or as the last character on a line to join that line with the
1044 next. It has no special meaning in other contexts; in particular, literal
1045 backslashes should not be escaped.
1047 The command runs using bash.
1049 Note that nothing should be built during this prebuild phase - scanning of the
1050 code and building of the source tarball, for example, take place after this.
1051 For custom actions that actually build things or produce binaries, use 'build'
1054 You can use $$name$$ to substitute the path to a referenced srclib - see
1055 the @code{srclib} directory for details of this.
1057 You can use $$SDK$$, $$NDK$$ and $$MVN3$$ to substitute the paths to the
1058 android SDK and NDK directories, and Maven 3 executable respectively e.g.
1059 for when you need to run @code{android update project} explicitly. The
1060 following per-build variables are available likewise: $$VERSION$$, $$VERCODE$$
1063 @item scanignore=<path1>[,<path2>,...]
1064 Enables one or more files/paths to be excluded from the scan process.
1065 This should only be used where there is a very good reason, and
1066 probably accompanied by a comment explaining why it is necessary.
1068 When scanning the source tree for problems, matching files whose relative
1069 paths start with any of the paths given here are ignored.
1071 @item scandelete=<path1>[,<path2>,...]
1072 When running the scan process, any files that trigger errors - like binaries -
1073 will be removed. It acts just like scanignore=, but instead of ignoring the
1074 files, it removes them.
1076 Useful when a source code repository includes binaries or other unwanted files
1077 which are not needed for the build. Instead of removing them manually via rm=,
1078 using scandelete= is easier.
1081 As for 'prebuild', but runs during the actual build phase (but before the
1082 main Ant/Maven build). Use this only for actions that do actual building.
1083 Any prepartion of the source code should be done using 'init' or 'prebuild'.
1085 Any building that takes place before build= will be ignored, as either Ant,
1086 mvn or gradle will be executed to clean the build environment right before
1087 build= (or the final build) is run.
1089 You can use $$SDK$$, $$NDK$$ and $$MVN3$$ to substitute the paths to the
1090 android SDK and NDK directories, and maven 3 executable respectively. The
1091 following per-build variables are available likewise: $$VERSION$$,
1092 $$VERCODE$$ and $$COMMIT$$.
1094 @item buildjni=[yes|no|<dir list>]
1095 Enables building of native code via the ndk-build script before doing
1096 the main Ant build. The value may be a list of directories relative
1097 to the main application directory in which to run ndk-build, or 'yes'
1098 which corresponds to '.' . Using explicit list may be useful to build
1099 multi-component projects.
1101 The build and scan processes will complain (refuse to build) if this
1102 parameter is not defined, but there is a @code{jni} directory present.
1103 If the native code is being built by other means like a Gradle task, you
1104 can specify @code{no} here to avoid that. However, if the native code is
1105 actually not required or used, remove the directory instead (using
1106 @code{rm=jni} for example). Using @code{buildjni=no} when the jni code
1107 isn't used nor built will result in an error saying that native
1108 libraries were expected in the resulting package.
1111 Version of the NDK to use in this build. Defaults to the latest NDK release
1112 that included legacy toolchains, so as to not break builds that require
1113 toolchains no longer included in current versions of the NDK.
1115 The buildserver supports r9b with its legacy toolchains and the latest release
1116 as of writing this document, r10e. You may add support for more versions by
1117 adding them to 'ndk_paths' in your config file.
1119 @item gradle=<flavour1>[,<flavour2>,...]
1120 Build with Gradle instead of Ant, specifying what flavours to use. Flavours
1121 are case sensitive since the path to the output apk is as well.
1123 If only one flavour is given and it is 'yes', no flavour will be used.
1124 Note that for projects with flavours, you must specify at least one
1125 valid flavour since 'yes' will build all of them separately.
1127 @item maven=yes[@@<dir>]
1128 Build with Maven instead of Ant. An extra @@<dir> tells F-Droid to run Maven
1129 inside that relative subdirectory. Sometimes it is needed to use @@.. so that
1130 builds happen correctly.
1132 @item preassemble=<task1>[,<task2>,...]
1133 List of Gradle tasks to be run before the assemble task in a Gradle project
1136 @item gradleprops=<prop1>[,<prop2>,...]
1137 List of Gradle properties to pass via the command line to Gradle. A property
1138 can be of the form @code{foo} or of the form @code{key=value}.
1140 For example: @code{gradleprops=enableFoo,someSetting=bar} will result in
1141 @code{gradle -PenableFoo -PsomeSetting=bar}.
1143 @item antcommands=<target1>[,<target2>,...]
1144 Specify an alternate set of Ant commands (target) instead of the default
1145 'release'. It can't be given any flags, such as the path to a build.xml.
1147 @item output=glob/to/output.apk
1148 Specify a glob path where the resulting unsigned release apk from the
1149 build should be. This can be used in combination with build methods like
1150 @code{gradle=yes} or @code{maven=yes}, but if no build method is
1151 specified, the build is manual. You should run your build commands, such
1152 as @code{make}, in @code{build=}.
1155 Don't check that the version name and code in the resulting apk are
1156 correct by looking at the build output - assume the metadata is
1157 correct. This takes away a useful level of sanity checking, and should
1158 only be used if the values can't be extracted.
1162 Another example, using extra parameters:
1164 @samp{Build Version:1.09.03,10903,45,subdir=Timeriffic,oldsdkloc=yes}
1167 @section AntiFeatures
1169 @cindex AntiFeatures
1171 This is optional - if present, it contains a comma-separated list of any of
1172 the following values, describing an anti-feature the application has.
1173 It is a good idea to mention the reasons for the anti-feature(s) in the
1179 @samp{Ads} - the application contains advertising.
1182 @samp{Tracking} - the application tracks and reports your activity to
1183 somewhere without your consent. It's commonly used for when developers
1184 obtain crash logs without the user's consent, or when an app is useless
1185 without some kind of authentication.
1188 @samp{NonFreeNet} - the application relies on computational services that
1189 are impossible to replace or that the replacement cannot be connected to
1190 without major changes to the app.
1193 @samp{NonFreeAdd} - the application promotes non-free add-ons, such that the
1194 app is effectively an advert for other non-free software and such software is
1195 not clearly labelled as such.
1198 @samp{NonFreeDep} - the application depends on a non-free application (e.g.
1199 Google Maps) - i.e. it requires it to be installed on the device, but does not
1203 @samp{UpstreamNonFree} - the application is or depends on non-free software.
1204 This does not mean that non-free software is included with the app: Most
1205 likely, it has been patched in some way to remove the non-free code. However,
1206 functionality may be missing.
1209 @samp{NonFreeAssets} - the application contains and makes use of non-free
1210 assets. The most common case is apps using artwork - images, sounds, music,
1211 etc - under a non-commercial license.
1220 If this field is present, the application does not get put into the public
1221 index. This allows metadata to be retained while an application is temporarily
1222 disabled from being published. The value should be a description of why the
1223 application is disabled. No apks or source code archives are deleted: to purge
1224 an apk see the Build Version section or delete manually for developer builds.
1225 The field is therefore used when an app has outlived it's usefulness, because
1226 the source tarball is retained.
1229 @section Requires Root
1231 @cindex Requires Root
1233 Set this optional field to "Yes" if the application requires root
1234 privileges to be usable. This lets the client filter it out if the
1235 user so desires. Whether root is required or not, it is good to give
1236 a paragraph in the description to the conditions on which root may be
1237 asked for and the reason for it.
1239 @node Archive Policy
1240 @section Archive Policy
1242 @cindex Archive Policy
1244 This determines the policy for moving old versions of an app to the archive
1245 repo, if one is configured. The configuration sets a default maximum number
1246 of versions kept in the main repo, after which older ones are moved to the
1247 archive. This app-specific policy setting can override that.
1249 Currently the only supported format is "n versions", where n is the number
1250 of versions to keep.
1252 @node Update Check Mode
1253 @section Update Check Mode
1255 @cindex Update Check Mode
1257 This determines the method using for determining when new releases are
1258 available - in other words, the updating of the Current Version and Current
1259 Version Code fields in the metadata by the @code{fdroid checkupdates} process.
1265 @code{None} - No checking is done because there's no appropriate automated way
1266 of doing so. Updates should be checked for manually. Use this, for example,
1267 when deploying betas or patched versions; when builds are done in a directory
1268 different to where the AndroidManifest.xml is; if the developers use the
1269 Gradle build system and store version info in a separate file; if the
1270 developers make a new branch for each release and don't make tags; or if you've
1271 changed the package name or version code logic.
1273 @code{Static} - No checking is done - either development has ceased or new versions
1274 are not desired. This method is also used when there is no other checking method
1275 available and the upstream developer keeps us posted on new versions.
1277 @code{RepoManifest} - At the most recent commit, the AndroidManifest.xml file
1278 is looked for in the directory where it was found in the the most recent build.
1279 The appropriateness of this method depends on the development process used by
1280 the application's developers. You should not specify this method unless you're
1281 sure it's appropriate. For example, some developers bump the version when
1282 commencing development instead of when publishing.
1283 It will return an error if the AndroidManifest.xml has moved to a different
1284 directory or if the package name has changed.
1285 The current version that it gives may not be accurate, since not all
1286 versions are fit to be published. Therefore, before building, it is often
1287 necessary to check if the current version has been published somewhere by the
1288 upstream developers, either by checking for apks that they distribute or for
1289 tags in the source code repository.
1291 It currently works for every repository type to different extents, except
1292 the srclib repo type. For git, git-svn and hg repo types, you may use
1293 "RepoManifest/yourbranch" as UCM so that "yourbranch" would be the branch used
1294 in place of the default one. The default values are "master" for git,
1295 "default" for hg and none for git-svn (it stays in the same branch).
1296 On the other hand, branch support hasn't been implemented yet in bzr and svn,
1297 but RepoManifest may still be used without it.
1299 @code{RepoTrunk} - For svn and git-svn repositories, especially those who
1300 don't have a bundled AndroidManifest.xml file, the Tags and RepoManifest
1301 checks will not work, since there is no version information to obtain. But,
1302 for those apps who automate their build process with the commit ref that HEAD
1303 points to, RepoTrunk will set the Current Version and Current Version Code to
1306 @code{Tags} - The AndroidManifest.xml file in all tagged revisions in the
1307 source repository is checked, looking for the highest version code. The
1308 appropriateness of this method depends on the development process used by the
1309 application's developers. You should not specify this method unless you're sure
1310 it's appropriate. It shouldn't be used if the developers like to tag betas or
1311 are known to forget to tag releases. Like RepoManifest, it will not return the
1312 correct value if the directory containing the AndroidManifest.xml has moved.
1313 Despite these caveats, it is the often the favourite update check mode.
1315 It currently only works for git, hg, bzr and git-svn repositories. In the case
1316 of the latter, the repo URL must contain the path to the trunk and tags or
1317 else no tags will be found.
1319 Optionally append a regex pattern at the end - separated with a space - to
1320 only check the tags matching said pattern. Useful when apps tag non-release
1321 versions such as X.X-alpha, so you can filter them out with something like
1322 @code{.*[0-9]$} which requires tag names to end with a digit.
1324 @code{HTTP} - HTTP requests are used to determine the current version code and
1325 version name. This is controlled by the @code{Update Check Data} field, which
1326 is of the form @code{urlcode|excode|urlver|exver}.
1328 Firstly, if @code{urlcode} is non-empty, the document from that URL is
1329 retrieved, and matched against the regular expression @code{excode}, with the
1330 first group becoming the version code.
1332 Secondly, if @code{urlver} is non-empty, the document from that URL is
1333 retrieved, and matched against the regular expression @code{exver}, with the
1334 first group becoming the version name. The @code{urlver} field can be set to
1335 simply '.' which says to use the same document returned for the version code
1336 again, rather than retrieving a different one.
1339 @node Vercode Operation
1340 @section Vercode Operation
1342 @cindex Vercode Operation
1344 Operation to be applied to the vercode obtained by the defined @code{Update
1345 Check Mode}. @code{%c} will be replaced by the actual vercode, and the whole
1346 string will be passed to python's @code{eval} function.
1348 Especially useful with apps that we want to compile for different ABIs, but
1349 whose vercodes don't always have trailing zeros. For example, with
1350 @code{Vercode Operation} set at something like @code{%c*10 + 4}, we will be
1351 able to track updates and build up to four different versions of every
1354 @node Update Check Ignore
1355 @section Update Check Ignore
1357 @cindex Update Check Ignore
1359 When checking for updates (via @code{Update Check Mode}) this can be used to
1360 specify a regex which, if matched against the version name, causes that version
1361 to be ignored. For example, 'beta' could be specified to ignore version names
1362 that include that text.
1364 @node Update Check Name
1365 @section Update Check Name
1367 @cindex Update Check Name
1369 When checking for updates (via @code{Update Check Mode}) this can be used to
1370 specify the package name to search for. Useful when apps have a static package
1371 name but change it programmatically in some app flavors, by e.g. appending
1372 ".open" or ".free" at the end of the package name.
1374 You can also use @code{Ignore} to ignore package name searching. This should
1375 only be used in some specific cases, for example if the app's build.gradle
1376 file does not contain the package name.
1378 @node Update Check Data
1379 @section Update Check Data
1381 @cindex Update Check Data
1383 Used in conjunction with @code{Update Check Mode} for certain modes.
1385 @node Auto Update Mode
1386 @section Auto Update Mode
1388 @cindex Auto Update Mode
1390 This determines the method using for auto-generating new builds when new
1391 releases are available - in other words, adding a new Build Version line to the
1393 This happens in conjunction with the 'Update Check Mode' functionality - i.e.
1394 when an update is detected by that, it is also processed by this.
1400 @code{None} - No auto-updating is done
1402 @code{Version} - Identifies the target commit (i.e. tag) for the new build based
1403 on the given version specification, which is simply text in which %v and %c are
1404 replaced with the required version name and version code respectively.
1406 For example, if an app always has a tag "2.7.2" corresponding to version 2.7.2,
1407 you would simply specify "Version %v". If an app always has a tag "ver_1234"
1408 for a version with version code 1234, you would specify "Version ver_%c".
1410 Additionally, a suffix can be added to the version name at this stage, to
1411 differentiate F-Droid's build from the original. Continuing the first example
1412 above, you would specify that as "Version +-fdroid %v" - "-fdroid" is the suffix.
1416 @node Current Version
1417 @section Current Version
1419 @cindex Current Version
1421 The name of the version that is current. There may be newer versions of the
1422 application than this (e.g. betas), and there will almost certainly be older
1423 ones. This should be the one that is recommended for general use.
1424 In the event that there is no source code for the current version, or that
1425 non-free libraries are being used, this would ideally be the latest
1426 version that is still free, though it may still be expedient to
1427 retain the automatic update check — see No Source Since.
1429 This field is normally automatically updated - see Update Check Mode.
1431 This is converted to (@code{<marketversion>}) in the public index file.
1433 @node Current Version Code
1434 @section Current Version Code
1436 @cindex Current Version Code
1438 The version code corresponding to the Current Version field. Both these fields
1439 must be correct and matching although it's the current version code that's
1440 used by Android to determine version order and by F-Droid client to determine
1441 which version should be recommended.
1443 This field is normally automatically updated - see Update Check Mode.
1445 If not set or set to @code{0}, clients will recommend the highest version they
1446 can, as if the @code{Current Version Code} was infinite.
1448 This is converted to (@code{<marketvercode>}) in the public index file.
1450 @node No Source Since
1451 @section No Source Since
1453 @cindex No Source Since
1455 In case we are missing the source code for the Current Version reported by
1456 Upstream, or that non-free elements have been introduced, this defines the
1457 first version that began to miss source code.
1458 Apps that are missing source code for just one or a few versions, but provide
1459 source code for newer ones are not to be considered here - this field is
1460 intended to illustrate which apps do not currently distribute source code, and
1461 since when have they been doing so.
1463 @node Update Processing
1464 @chapter Update Processing
1468 There are various mechanisms in place for automatically detecting that updates
1469 are available for applications, with the @code{Update Check Mode} field in the
1470 metadata determining which method is used for a particular application.
1472 Running the @code{fdroid checkupdates} command will apply this method to each
1473 application in the repository and update the @code{Current Version} and
1474 @code{Current Version Code} fields in the metadata accordingly.
1476 As usual, the @code{-p} option can be used with this, to restrict processing
1477 to a particular application.
1479 Note that this only updates the metadata such that we know what the current
1480 published/recommended version is. It doesn't make that version available in
1481 the repository - for that, see the next section.
1485 Adding updates (i.e. new versions of applications already included in the
1486 repository) happens in two ways. The simple case is applications where the
1487 APK files are binaries, retrieved from a developer's published build. In this
1488 case, all that's required is to place the new binary in the @code{Repo}
1489 directory, and the next run of @code{fdroid update} will pick it up.
1491 For applications built from source, it is necessary to add a new
1492 @code{Build Version} line to the metadata file. At the very least, the version
1493 name, version code and commit will be different. It is also possible that the
1494 additional build flags will change between versions.
1496 For processing multiple updates in the metadata at once, it can be useful to
1497 run @code{fdroid update --interactive}. This will check all the applications
1498 in the repository, and where updates are required you will be prompted to
1499 [E]dit the metadata, [I]gnore the update, or [Q]uit altogether.
1502 @chapter Build Server
1504 The Build Server system isolates the builds for each package within a clean,
1505 isolated and secure throwaway virtual machine environment.
1509 Building applications in this manner on a large scale, especially with the
1510 involvement of automated and/or unattended processes, could be considered
1511 a dangerous pastime from a security perspective. This is even more the case
1512 when the products of the build are also distributed widely and in a
1513 semi-automated ("you have updates available") fashion.
1515 Assume that an upstream source repository is compromised. A small selection
1516 of things that an attacker could do in such a situation:
1520 Use custom Ant build steps to execute virtually anything as the user doing
1523 Access the keystore.
1525 Modify the built apk files or source tarballs for other applications in the
1528 Modify the metadata (which includes build scripts, which again, also includes
1529 the ability to execute anything) for other applications in the repository.
1532 Through complete isolation, the repurcussions are at least limited to the
1533 application in question. Not only is the build environment fresh for each
1534 build, and thrown away afterwards, but it is also isolated from the signing
1537 Aside from security issues, there are some applications which have strange
1538 requirements such as custom versions of the NDK. It would be impractical (or
1539 at least extremely messy) to start modifying and restoring the SDK on a
1540 multi-purpose system, but within the confines of a throwaway single-use
1541 virtual machine, anything is possible.
1543 All this is in addition to the obvious advantage of having a standardised
1544 and completely reproducible environment in which builds are made. Additionally,
1545 it allows for specialised custom build environments for particular
1548 @section Setting up a build server
1550 In addition to the basic setup previously described, you will also need
1551 a Vagrant-compatible Debian Testing base box called 'jessie32' (or jessie64
1552 for a 64-bit VM, if you want it to be much slower, and require more disk
1555 You can use a different version or distro for the base box, so long as you
1556 don't expect any help making it work. One thing to be aware of is that
1557 working copies of source trees are moved from the host to the guest, so
1558 for example, having subversion v1.6 on the host and v1.7 on the guest
1561 @subsection Creating the Debian base box
1563 The output of this step is a minimal Debian VM that has support for remote
1564 login and provisioning.
1566 Unless you're very trusting, you should create one of these for yourself
1567 from verified standard Debian installation media. However, by popular
1568 demand, the @code{makebuildserver} script will automatically download a
1569 prebuilt image unless instructed otherwise. If you choose to use the
1570 prebuilt image, you may safely skip the rest of this section.
1572 Documentation for creating a base box can be found at
1573 @url{http://docs.vagrantup.com/v1/docs/base_boxes.html}.
1575 In addition to carefully following the steps described there, you should
1576 consider the following:
1580 It is advisable to disable udev network device persistence, otherwise any
1581 movement of the VM between machines, or reconfiguration, will result in
1584 For a Debian/Ubuntu default install, just
1585 @code{touch /etc/udev/rules.d/75-persistent-net-generator.rules} to turn
1586 off rule generation, and at the same time, get rid of any rules it's
1587 already created in @code{/etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules}.
1589 Unless you want the VM to become totally inaccessible following a failed
1590 boot, you need to set @code{GRUB_RECORDFAIL_TIMEOUT} to a value other than
1591 -1 in @code{/etc/grub/default} and then run @code{update-grub}.
1594 @subsection Creating the F-Droid base box
1596 The next step in the process is to create @code{makebs.config.py},
1597 using @code{./examples/makebs.config.py} as a reference - look at the settings and
1598 documentation there to decide if any need changing to suit your environment.
1599 There is a path for retrieving the base box if it doesn't exist, and an apt
1600 proxy definition, both of which may need customising for your environment.
1601 You can then go to the @code{fdroidserver} directory and run this:
1607 This will take a long time, and use a lot of bandwidth - most of it spent
1608 installing the necessary parts of the Android SDK for all the various
1609 platforms. Luckily you only need to do it occasionally. Once you have a
1610 working build server image, if the recipes change (e.g. when packages need
1611 to be added) you can just run that script again and the existing one will
1612 be updated in place.
1614 The main sdk/ndk downloads will automatically be cached to speed things
1615 up the next time, but there's no easy way of doing this for the longer
1616 sections which use the SDK's @code{android} tool to install platforms,
1617 add-ons and tools. However, instead of allowing automatic caching, you
1618 can supply a pre-populated cache directory which includes not only these
1619 downloads, but also .tar.gz files for all the relevant additions. If the
1620 provisioning scripts detect these, they will be used in preference to
1621 running the android tools. For example, if you have
1622 @code{buildserver/addons/cache/platforms/android-19.tar.gz} that will be
1623 used when installing the android-19 platform, instead of re-downloading it
1624 using @code{android update sdk --no-ui -t android-19}. It is possible to
1625 create the cache files of this additions from a local installation of the
1626 SDK including these:
1629 cd /path/to/android-sdk/platforms
1630 tar czf android-19.tar.gz android-19
1631 mv android-19.tar.gz /path/to/buildserver/addons/cache/platforms/
1634 If you have already built a buildserver it is also possible to get this
1635 files directly from the buildserver:
1638 vagrant ssh -- -C 'tar -C ~/android-sdk/platforms czf android-19.tar.gz android-19'
1639 vagrant ssh -- -C 'cat ~/android-sdk/platforms/android-19.tar.gz' > /path/to/fdroidserver/buildserver/cache/platforms/android19.tar.gz
1642 Once it's complete you'll have a new base box called 'buildserver' which is
1643 what's used for the actual builds. You can then build packages as normal,
1644 but with the addition of the @code{--server} flag to @code{fdroid build} to
1645 instruct it to do all the hard work within the virtual machine.
1647 The first time a build is done, a new virtual machine is created using the
1648 'buildserver' box as a base. A snapshot of this clean machine state is saved
1649 for use in future builds, to improve performance. You can force discarding
1650 of this snapshot and rebuilding from scratch using the @code{--resetserver}
1651 switch with @code{fdroid build}.
1656 There are two kinds of signing involved in running a repository - the signing
1657 of the APK files generated from source builds, and the signing of the repo
1658 index itself. The latter is optional, but very strongly recommended.
1660 @section Repo Index Signing
1662 When setting up the repository, one of the first steps should be to generate
1663 a signing key for the repository index. This will also create a keystore, which
1664 is a file that can be used to hold this and all other keys used. Consider the
1665 location, security and backup status of this file carefully, then create it as
1668 @code{keytool -genkey -v -keystore my.keystore -alias repokey -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000}
1670 In the above, replace 'my.keystore' with the name of the keystore file to be
1671 created, and 'repokey' with a name to identify the repo index key by.
1673 You'll be asked for a password for the keystore, AND a password for the key.
1674 They shouldn't be the same. In between, you'll be asked for some identifying
1675 details which will go in the certificate.
1677 The two passwords entered go into @code{config.py}, as @code{keystorepass} and
1678 @code{keypass} respectively. The path to the keystore file, and the alias you
1679 chose for the key also go into that file, as @code{keystore} and
1680 @code{repo_keyalias} respectively.
1682 @section Package Signing
1684 With the repo index signing configured, all that remains to be done for package
1685 signing to work is to set the @code{keydname} field in @code{config.py} to
1686 contain the same identifying details you entered before.
1688 A new key will be generated using these details, for each application that is
1689 built. (If a specific key is required for a particular application, this system
1690 can be overridden using the @code{keyaliases} config settings.
1693 @node GNU Free Documentation License
1694 @appendix GNU Free Documentation License