[SOLVED] Create local repository

Question

Hello everyone!
First of all, I'd like to apologize for the terminology. I'm still not sure about what are the names I should use. That said, here's my problem: I want to set up a local repository to place all the packages I've ever built with makepkg. The main reason that has motivated me to do so is that, when building a package, I often need to install make dependencies, such as, for example, xorg-server-devel. That package in particular comes from xorg-server, which I have built by myself. Thus, if a package required it, I should install the correspondent package (the one I've built), and not the generic one coming from the repositories (this case may not be a good example, but, well, just think about kernel headers).
In order to set up the repository, I read Allan McRae's articles about makepkg, repo-add and package signing. I generated a key with GPG as explained here, taking the defaults, and added it to the pacman's keyring:
gpg --export Kalrish > Kalrish.key
pacman-key -a Kalrish.key
I also edited /etc/makepkg.conf as follows:
BUILDENV=(fakeroot !distcc color !ccache check sign)
Note that I've enabled sign.
I decided to maintain my "local repository" (please, correct me if I'm not making use of the correct terminology) in /var/abs/local. For that purpose, I edited /etc/makepkg.conf:
$ grep -m1 PKGDEST /etc/makepkg.conf
PKGDEST=/var/abs/local
I then built dhcpcd (which is relatively small), just to try out. makepkg put the package file in /var/abs/local as I intended; then, I did this:
repo-add 'local.db.tar.gz' 'dhcpcd-5.6.8-3-x86_64.pkg.tar.xz'
It asked me for the password to unlock my secret key. After entering it, all went well:
==> Adding package 'dhcpcd-5.6.8-3-x86_64.pkg.tar.xz'
-> Adding package signature...
-> Computing checksums...
-> Creating 'desc' db entry...
-> Creating 'depends' db entry...
==> Creating updated database file 'local.db.tar.gz'
And finally added the repo in /etc/pacman.conf (I'm only showing the relevant part of the file):
[local]
Server = file:///var/abs/local
I updated the package databases just fine with pacman -Syy. But, after removing the previously-downloaded packages from /var/cache/pacman/pkg, when trying to install the package:
$ pacman -Sy dhcpcd
:: Synchronizing package databases...
local is up to date
core is up to date
extra is up to date
community is up to date
multilib is up to date
:: dhcpcd is in IgnorePkg/IgnoreGroup. Install anyway? [Y/n] y
warning: dhcpcd-5.6.8-3 is up to date -- reinstalling
resolving dependencies...
looking for inter-conflicts...
Packages (1): dhcpcd-5.6.8-3
Total Installed Size: 0.23 MiB
Net Upgrade Size: 0.00 MiB
:: Proceed with installation? [Y/n] y
(1/1) checking keys in keyring [######################] 100%
(1/1) checking package integrity [######################] 100%
error: dhcpcd: signature from "Kalrish (Kalrish Bäakjen) <[email protected]>" is invalid
:: File /var/cache/pacman/pkg/dhcpcd-5.6.8-3-x86_64.pkg.tar.xz is corrupted (invalid or corrupted package (PGP signature)).
Do you want to delete it? [Y/n] n
error: failed to commit transaction (invalid or corrupted package (PGP signature))
Errors occurred, no packages were upgraded.
So it seems that I have not added my key properly. Can anybody please help me? Any answer, even if it explained why I shouldn't be trying to do this or why I should try other alternatives, will be welcomed.
Best regards,
Kalrish
Last edited by Kalrish (2013-06-28 18:26:30)

Answer 1

drcouzelis wrote:... if you built the package on that machine yourself then all of the dependencies are already installed.
I was talking about make dependencies, not runtime dependencies. I always build with makepkg -sr :)
drcouzelis wrote:I hope I'm not being too critical. I just don't want you to work harder than you need to. :)
Of course not, don't worry.
Kalrish wrote:Any answer, even if it explained why I shouldn't be trying to do this or why I should try other alternatives, will be welcomed.
I love thought-provoking answers as well as personal opinions. Who knows when an unexpected explanation may change my mind and make me think different? You're right: it may not be worth it. But, well, you yourself pointed the "elegant" reason out:
drcouzelis wrote:I think the only benefit of creating a local repository is so you can use "pacman -S" instead of "pacman -U".
If pacman found the packages by itself, I wouldn't have to execute pacman -U --asdeps for every make dependency that is required by a package - but rather execute makepkg -sr and simply let pacman pick those packages I've built by myself from my local repository, and the rest from the official repos.