3 dgit - tutorial for package maintainers, using a workflow centered around git-merge(1)
7 This document describes elements of a workflow for maintaining a
8 non-native Debian package using B<dgit>. The workflow makes the
9 following opinionated assumptions:
15 Git histories should be the non-linear histories produced by
16 git-merge(1), preserving all information about divergent development
17 that was later brought together.
21 Maintaining convenient and powerful git workflows takes priority over
22 the usefulness of the raw Debian source package. The Debian archive
23 is thought of as an output format.
25 For example, we don't spend time curating a series of quilt patches.
27 in straightforward cases,
28 the information such a series would contain is readily
29 available from B<dgit-repos>.
33 It is more important to have the Debian package's git history be a
34 descendent of upstream's git history than to use exactly the orig.tar
35 that upstream makes available for download.
39 This workflow is less suitable for some packages.
40 When the Debian delta contains multiple pieces which interact,
41 or which you aren't going to be able to upstream soon,
42 it might be preferable to
43 maintain the delta as a rebasing patch series,
45 reviewing/upstreaming/dropping
47 For such a workflow see for example
50 =head1 INITIAL DEBIANISATION
52 This section explains how to start using this workflow with a new
53 package. It should be skipped when converting an existing package to
56 =head2 When upstream tags releases in git
58 Suppose that the latest stable upstream release is 1.2.2, and this has
59 been tagged '1.2.2' by upstream.
63 % git clone -oupstream https://some.upstream/foo.git
65 % git verify-tag 1.2.2
66 % git reset --hard 1.2.2
67 % git branch --unset-upstream
71 The final command detaches your master branch from the upstream remote,
72 so that git doesn't try to push anything there, or merge unreleased
73 upstream commits. If you want to maintain a copy of your packaging
74 branch on B<alioth.debian.org> in addition to B<dgit-repos>, you can
75 do something like this:
79 % git remote add -f origin git.debian.org:/git/collab-maint/foo.git
80 % git push --follow-tags -u origin master
84 Now go ahead and Debianise your package. Just make commits on the
85 master branch, adding things in the I<debian/> directory. If you need
86 to patch the upstream source, just make commits that change files
87 outside of the I<debian/> directory. It is best to separate commits
88 that touch I<debian/> from commits that touch upstream source, so that
89 the latter can be cherry-picked by upstream.
91 Note that there is no need to maintain a separate 'upstream' branch,
92 unless you also happen to be involved in upstream development. We
93 work with upstream tags rather than any branches, except when
94 forwarding patches (see FORWARDING PATCHES UPSTREAM, below).
96 Finally, you need an orig tarball:
104 See git-deborig(1) if this fails.
106 This tarball is ephemeral and easily regenerated, so we don't commit
107 it anywhere (e.g. with tools like pristine-tar(1)).
109 =head3 Verifying upstream's tarball releases
113 It can be a good idea to compare upstream's released tarballs with the
114 release tags, at least for the first upload of the package. If they
115 are different, you might need to add some additional steps to your
116 I<debian/rules>, such as running autotools.
118 A convenient way to perform this check is to import the tarball as
119 described in the following section, using a different value for
120 'upstream-tag', and then use git-diff(1) to compare the imported
121 tarball to the release tag. If they are the same, you can use
122 upstream's tarball instead of running git-deborig(1).
126 =head2 When upstream releases only tarballs
128 We need a virtual upstream branch with virtual release tags.
129 gbp-import-orig(1) can manage this for us. To begin
139 Now create I<debian/gbp.conf>:
144 upstream-branch = upstream
145 debian-branch = master
146 upstream-tag = %(version)s
150 pristine-tar-commit = False
154 Then we can import the upstream version:
158 % git add debian/gbp.conf && git commit -m "create gbp.conf"
159 % gbp import-orig ../foo_1.2.2.orig.tar.xz
163 You are now ready to proceed as above, making commits to both the
164 upstream source and the I<debian/> directory.
166 If you want to maintain a copy of your repository on
167 B<alioth.debian.org>, you should push both the origin and the upstream
172 % git remote add -f origin git.debian.org:/git/collab-maint/foo.git
173 % git push --follow-tags -u origin master upstream
177 =head1 CONVERTING AN EXISTING PACKAGE
179 This section explains how to convert an existing Debian package to
180 this workflow. It should be skipped when debianising a new package.
182 =head2 No existing git history
188 % git remote add -f upstream https://some.upstream/foo.git
192 =head2 Existing git history using another workflow
194 First, dump any existing patch queue:
198 % git rm -rf debian/patches
199 % git commit -m "drop existing quilt patch queue"
203 Then make new upstream tags available:
207 % git remote add -f upstream https://some.upstream/foo.git
211 Now you simply need to ensure that your git HEAD is dgit-compatible,
212 i.e., it is exactly what you would get if you ran B<dpkg-buildpackage
213 -i\.git/ -I.git -S> and then unpacked the resultant source package.
215 To achieve this, you might need to delete
216 I<debian/source/local-options>. One way to have dgit check your
217 progress is to run B<dgit build-source>.
219 The first dgit push will require I<--overwrite>.
221 =head1 SOURCE PACKAGE CONFIGURATION
223 =head2 debian/source/options
225 We set some source package options such that dgit can transparently
226 handle the "dropping" and "refreshing" of changes to the upstream
236 You don't need to create this file if you are using the version 1.0
237 source package format.
239 =head2 Sample text for debian/source/patch-header
241 It is a good idea to explain how a user can obtain a break down of the
242 changes to the upstream source:
246 The Debian packaging of foo is maintained in git,
247 using the merging workflow described in dgit-maint-merge(7).
248 An automatically generated representation of the Debian changes follows.
250 A detailed break down of these changes is available from their
251 canonical representation -
252 git commits in the packaging repository.
253 For example, to see the changes made by the Debian maintainer in the
254 first upload of upstream version 1.2.3, you could use:
258 % git clone https://git.dgit.debian.org/
260 % git log --oneline 1.2.3..debian/1.2.3-1 -- . ':!debian'
264 See dgit-maint-merge(7) for more information.
265 (If you have dgit, use dgit clone foo,
266 rather than plain git clone.)
270 Alternatively, this text could be added to README.source. However,
271 this might distract from more important information present in the
274 =head1 BUILDING AND UPLOADING
276 Use B<dgit build>, B<dgit sbuild>, B<dgit build-source>, and B<dgit
277 push> as detailed in dgit(1). If any command fails, dgit will provide
278 a carefully-worded error message explaining what you should do. If
279 it's not clear, file a bug against dgit. Remember to pass I<--new>
280 for the first upload.
282 As an alternative to B<dgit build> and friends, you can use a tool
283 like gitpkg(1). This works because like dgit, gitpkg(1) enforces that
284 HEAD has exactly the contents of the source package. gitpkg(1) is
285 highly configurable, and one dgit user reports using it to produce and
286 test multiple source packages, from different branches corresponding
287 to each of the current Debian suites.
289 If you want to skip dgit's checks while iterating on a problem with
290 the package build (for example, you don't want to commit your changes
291 to git), you can just run dpkg-buildpackage(1) or debuild(1) instead.
293 =head1 NEW UPSTREAM RELEASES
295 =head2 When upstream tags releases in git
297 It's a good idea to preview the merge of the new upstream release.
298 First, just check for any new or deleted files that may need
299 accounting for in your copyright file:
304 % git diff --stat master..1.2.3 -- . ':!debian'
308 You can then review the full merge diff:
312 % git merge-tree `git merge-base master 1.2.3` master 1.2.3 | $PAGER
316 Once you're satisfied with what will be merged, update your package:
321 % dch -v1.2.3-1 New upstream release.
322 % git add debian/changelog && git commit -m changelog
327 and you are ready to try a build.
329 =head2 When upstream releases only tarballs
331 You will need the I<debian/gbp.conf> from "When upstream releases only
338 % gbp import-orig ../foo_1.2.2.orig.tar.xz
342 or if you have a working watch file
346 % gbp import-orig --uscan
350 =head1 HANDLING DFSG-NON-FREE MATERIAL
352 =head2 When upstream tags releases in git
354 We create a DFSG-clean tag to merge to master:
358 % git checkout -b pre-dfsg 1.2.3
360 % git commit -m "upstream version 1.2.3 DFSG-cleaned"
361 % git tag -s 1.2.3+dfsg
362 % git checkout master
363 % git branch -D pre-dfsg
367 Before merging the new 1.2.3+dfsg tag to master, you should first
368 determine whether it would be legally dangerous for the non-free
369 material to be publicly accessible in the git history on
372 If it would be dangerous, there is a big problem;
373 in this case please consult your archive administrators
374 (for Debian this is the dgit administrator dgit-owner@debian.org
375 and the ftpmasters ftpmaster@ftp-master.debian.org).
377 =head2 When upstream releases only tarballs
379 The easiest way to handle this is to add a B<Files-Excluded> field to
380 I<debian/copyright>, and a B<uversionmangle> setting in
381 I<debian/watch>. See uscan(1). Alternatively, see the I<--filter>
382 option detailed in gbp-import-orig(1).
384 =head1 FORWARDING PATCHES UPSTREAM
392 Create a new branch based off upstream's master branch.
396 git-cherry-pick(1) commits from your master branch onto your new
401 Push the branch somewhere and ask upstream to merge it, or use
402 git-format-patch(1) or git-request-pull(1).
406 For example (and it is only an example):
410 % # fork foo.git on GitHub
411 % git remote add -f fork git@github.com:spwhitton/foo.git
412 % git checkout -b fix-error upstream/master
413 % git config branch.fix-error.pushRemote fork
414 % git cherry-pick master^2
416 % # submit pull request on GitHub
420 Note that when you merge an upstream release containing your forwarded
421 patches, git and dgit will transparently handle "dropping" the patches
422 that have been forwarded, "retaining" the ones that haven't.
424 =head1 INCORPORATING NMUS
432 Alternatively, you can apply the NMU diff to your repository. The
433 next push will then require I<--overwrite>.
441 This tutorial was written and is maintained by Sean Whitton <spwhitton@spwhitton.name>. It contains contributions from other dgit contributors too - see the dgit copyright file.