3 dgit - tutorial for package maintainers, using a workflow centered around git-debrebase(1)
7 This document describes elements of a workflow for maintaining a
8 non-native Debian package using B<dgit>. We maintain the Debian delta
9 as a series of git commits on our master branch. We use
10 git-debrebase(1) to shuffle our branch such that this series of git
11 commits appears at the end of the branch. All the public git history
12 is fast-forwarding, i.e., we do not rewrite and force-push.
14 Some advantages of this workflow:
20 Manipulate the delta queue using the full power of git-rebase(1),
21 instead of relying on quilt(1), and without having to switch back and
22 forth between patches-applied and patches-unapplied branches when
23 committing changes and trying to build, as with gbp-pq(1).
27 If you are using 3.0 (quilt), provide your delta queue as a properly
28 separated series of quilt patches in the source package that you
29 upload to the archive (unlike with dgit-maint-merge(7)).
33 Avoid the git tree being dirtied by the application or unapplication
34 of patches, as they are always applied.
38 Benefit from dgit's safety catches. In particular, ensure that your
39 upload always matches exactly your git HEAD.
43 Provide your full git history in a standard format on B<dgit-repos>,
44 where it can benefit downstream dgit users, such as people using dgit
45 to do an NMU (see dgit-nmu-simple(7) and dgit-user(7)).
49 Minimise the amount you need to know about 3.0 (quilt) in order to
50 maintain Debian source packages which use that format.
54 This workflow is appropriate for packages where the Debian delta
55 contains multiple pieces which interact, or which you don't expect to
56 be able to upstream soon. For packages with simple and/or short-lived
57 Debian deltas, use of git-debrebase(1) might introduce unneeded
58 complexity (for examples, see "BEHAVIOUR TO AVOID" below). For such
59 packages, consider the workflow described in dgit-maint-merge(7).
61 =head1 INITIAL DEBIANISATION
63 This section explains how to start using this workflow with a new
64 package. It should be skipped when converting an existing package to
67 =head2 When upstream tags releases in git
69 Suppose that the latest stable upstream release is 1.2.2, and this has
70 been tagged '1.2.2' by upstream.
74 % git clone -oupstream https://some.upstream/foo.git
76 % git verify-tag 1.2.2
77 % git reset --hard 1.2.2
78 % git branch --unset-upstream
82 The final command detaches your master branch from the upstream
83 remote, so that git doesn't try to push anything there, or merge
84 unreleased upstream commits. To maintain a copy of your packaging
85 branch on B<salsa.debian.org> in addition to B<dgit-repos>, you can do
90 % git remote add -f origin salsa.debian.org:Debian/foo.git
91 % git push --follow-tags -u origin master
95 Now go ahead and Debianise your package. Just make commits on the
96 master branch, adding things in the I<debian/> directory. If you need
97 to patch the upstream source, see "EDITING THE DELTA QUEUE", below.
98 Note that there is no need to maintain a separate 'upstream' branch,
99 unless you also happen to be involved in upstream development. We
100 work with upstream tags rather than any branches, except temporary
101 branches used to prepare patches for forwarding upstream, for example.
103 Finally, you need an orig tarball:
111 See git-deborig(1) if this fails.
113 This tarball is ephemeral and easily regenerated, so we don't commit
114 it anywhere (e.g. with tools like pristine-tar(1)).
116 =head3 Verifying upstream's tarball releases
120 It can be a good idea to compare upstream's released tarballs with the
121 release tags, at least for the first upload of the package. If they
122 are different, you might need to add some additional steps to your
123 I<debian/rules>, such as running autotools.
125 A convenient way to perform this check is to import the tarball as
126 described in the following section, using a different value for
127 'upstream-tag', and then use git-diff(1) to compare the imported
128 tarball to the release tag. If they are the same, you can use
129 upstream's tarball instead of running git-deborig(1).
133 =head2 When upstream releases only tarballs
135 We need a virtual upstream branch with virtual release tags.
136 gbp-import-orig(1) can manage this for us. To begin
146 Now create I<debian/gbp.conf>:
151 upstream-branch = upstream
152 debian-branch = master
153 upstream-tag = %(version)s
157 pristine-tar-commit = False
164 gbp-import-orig(1) requires a pre-existing upstream branch:
168 % git add debian/gbp.conf && git commit -m "create gbp.conf"
169 % git checkout --orphan upstream
171 % git commit --allow-empty -m "initial, empty branch for upstream source"
172 % git checkout -f master
176 Then we can import the upstream version:
180 % gbp import-orig --merge-mode=replace ../foo_1.2.2.orig.tar.xz
184 Our upstream branch cannot be pushed to B<dgit-repos>, but since we
185 will need it whenever we import a new upstream version, we must push
186 it somewhere. The usual choice is B<salsa.debian.org>:
190 % git remote add -f origin salsa.debian.org:Debian/foo.git
191 % git push --follow-tags -u origin master upstream
195 You are now ready to proceed as above, making commits to the
196 I<debian/> directory.
198 =head1 CONVERTING AN EXISTING PACKAGE
200 This section explains how to convert an existing Debian package to
201 this workflow. It should be skipped when debianising a new package.
203 =head2 No existing git history
209 % git remote add -f upstream https://some.upstream/foo.git
213 =head2 Existing git history using another workflow
215 First, if you don't already have the git history locally, clone it,
216 and obtain the corresponding orig.tar from the archive:
220 % git clone salsa.debian.org:Debian/foo
226 If your tree is patches-unapplied, you will need to make a commit
227 corresponding to each of the quilt patches. You can use
231 git debrebase convert-from-gbp
235 or manually with gbp-pq(1):
241 % git merge --ff-only patch-queue/master
246 Then make new upstream tags available:
250 % git remote add -f upstream https://some.upstream/foo.git
254 =for dgit-test dpkg-source-ignores begin
256 Now you simply need to ensure that your git HEAD is dgit-compatible,
257 i.e., it is exactly what you would get if you ran
258 B<dpkg-buildpackage -i'(?:^|/)\.git(?:/|$)' -I.git -S>
259 and then unpacked the resultant source package.
261 =for dgit-test dpkg-source-ignores end
263 To achieve this, you might need to delete
264 I<debian/source/local-options>. One way to have dgit check your
265 progress is to run B<dgit build-source>.
267 The first dgit push will require I<--overwrite>. If this is the first
268 ever dgit push of the package, consider passing
269 I<--deliberately-not-fast-forward> instead of I<--overwrite>. This
270 avoids introducing a new origin commit into your git history. (This
271 origin commit would represent the most recent non-dgit upload of the
272 package, but this should already be represented in your git history.)
274 =head1 IMPORTING NEW UPSTREAM RELEASES
276 =head2 Obtaining the release
278 =head3 When upstream tags releases in git
286 =head3 When upstream releases only tarballs
288 You will need the I<debian/gbp.conf> from "When upstream releases only
289 tarballs", above. You will also need your upstream branch. Above, we
290 pushed this to B<salsa.debian.org>. You will need to clone or fetch
291 from there, instead of relying on B<dgit clone>/B<dgit fetch> alone.
297 % gbp import-orig --no-merge ../foo_1.2.3.orig.tar.xz
301 or if you have a working watch file
305 % gbp import-orig --no-merge --uscan
309 =head2 Importing the release
313 % git debrebase new-upstream-v0 1.2.3
314 % dch -v1.2.3-1 New upstream release.
315 % git add debian/changelog && git commit -m changelog
319 You can now review the merge of the new upstream release:
323 git diff debian/1.2.2-1..HEAD -- . ':!debian'
327 Pass I<--stat> just to see the list of changed files, which is useful
328 to determine whether there are any new or deleted files to may need
329 accounting for in your copyright file.
331 If you obtained a tarball from upstream, you are ready to try a build.
332 If you merged a git tag from upstream, you will first need to generate
341 =head1 EDITING THE DELTA QUEUE
343 =head2 Adding new patches
345 Adding new patches is straightforward: just make commits touching only
346 files outside of the I<debian/> directory. You can also use tools
347 like git-revert(1), git-am(1) and git-cherrypick(1).
349 =head2 Editing patches: starting a debrebase
351 git-debrebase(1) is a wrapper around git-rebase(1) which allows us to
352 edit, re-order and delete patches. Run
360 to start an interactive rebase. You can edit, re-order and delete
361 commits just as you would during B<git rebase -i>. Alternatively, you
362 can perform a non-interactive rebase like this:
366 % git debrebase -- [git-rebase options...]
370 A third alternative is to have git-debrebase(1) shuffle all the Debian
371 changes to the end of your branch, and then manipulate them yourself
372 using git-rebase(1). For example,
376 % git debrebase launder
377 % git rebase -i HEAD~5 # there are 4 Debian patches
381 If you take this approach, you should be very careful not to start the
382 rebase earlier than the beginning of the delta queue.
384 =head2 Editing patches: finishing a debrebase
386 After completing the git rebase, your branch will not be a
387 fast-forward of the git HEAD you had before the rebase. This means
388 that we cannot push the branch anywhere. If you are ready to upload,
389 B<dgit push> or B<dgit push-source> will take care of fixing this up
392 If you are not yet ready to upload, and want to push your branch to a
393 git remote such as B<salsa.debian.org>,
397 % git debrebase launder
398 % git debrebase stitch
402 Note that each time you stitch a debrebase you introduce a pseudomerge
403 into your git history, which may make it harder to read. Try to do
404 all of the editing of the delta queue that you think will be needed
405 for this upload in a single debrebase, so that there is a single
408 A strategy is to debrebase only right before you upload. Before that
409 point, instead of editing the existing delta queue, you append fixup
410 commits (and reversions of commits) that alter the upstream source to
411 the required state. You can freely push and pull from
412 B<salsa.debian.org> during this. Just before uploading, you debrebase
413 to tidy everything up.
415 =head1 BUILDING AND UPLOADING
417 Use B<dgit build>, B<dgit sbuild>, B<dgit push> and B<dgit
418 push-source> as detailed in dgit(1). If any command fails, dgit will
419 provide a carefully-worded error message explaining what you should
420 do. If it's not clear, file a bug against dgit. Remember to pass
421 I<--new> for the first upload.
423 After dgit pushing, be sure to git push to B<salsa.debian.org>, if
426 As an alternative to B<dgit build> and friends, you can use a tool
427 like gitpkg(1). This works because like dgit, gitpkg(1) enforces that
428 HEAD has exactly the contents of the source package. gitpkg(1) is
429 highly configurable, and one dgit user reports using it to produce and
430 test multiple source packages, from different branches corresponding
431 to each of the current Debian suites.
433 If you want to skip dgit's checks while iterating on a problem with
434 the package build (for example, you don't want to commit your changes
435 to git), you can just run dpkg-buildpackage(1) or debuild(1) instead.
437 =head2 Laundering the delta queue before uploading
439 Just before you B<dgit push> or B<dgit push-source>, you might want to
440 have git-debrebase(1) shuffle your branch such that the Debian delta
441 queue appears at the end:
445 % git debrebase launder
450 Note that this will introduce a new pseudomerge.
452 =head1 HANDLING DFSG-NON-FREE MATERIAL
454 This covers only DFSG-non-free material. Material which is legally
455 dangerous (for example, files which are actually illegal) cannot be
458 If you encounter possibly-legally-dangerous material in the upstream
459 source code you should seek advice. It is often best not to make a
460 fuss on a public mailing list (at least, not at first). Instead,
461 email your archive administrators. For Debian that is
462 To: dgit-owner@debian.org, ftpmaster@ftp-master.debian.org
464 =head2 When upstream tags releases in git
466 We create a DFSG-clean tag to import to master:
470 % git checkout -b pre-dfsg 1.2.3
472 % git commit -m "upstream version 1.2.3 DFSG-cleaned"
473 % git tag -s 1.2.3+dfsg
474 % git checkout master
475 % git branch -D pre-dfsg
479 =head2 When upstream releases only tarballs
481 The easiest way to handle this is to add a B<Files-Excluded> field to
482 I<debian/copyright>, and a B<uversionmangle> setting in
483 I<debian/watch>. See uscan(1). Alternatively, see the I<--filter>
484 option detailed in gbp-import-orig(1).
486 =head1 INCORPORATING NMUS
494 If the NMUer added new commits modifying the upstream source, you will
495 probably want to debrebase before your next upload to tidy those up.
497 For example, the NMUer might have used git-revert(1) to unapply one of
498 your patches. A debrebase will strip both the patch and the reversion
499 from the delta queue.
507 This tutorial was written and is maintained by Sean Whitton
508 <spwhitton@spwhitton.name>. It contains contributions from other dgit
509 contributors too - see the dgit copyright file.