Provided by: makepkg_6.0.1-4_amd64 
NAME
PKGBUILD - Arch Linux package build description file
SYNOPSIS
PKGBUILD
DESCRIPTION
This manual page describes general rules about PKGBUILDs. Once a PKGBUILD is written, the
actual package is built using makepkg and installed with pacman.
Note
An example PKGBUILD, useful for reference, is located in /usr/share/pacman along with
other example files such as an install script. You can copy the provided
PKGBUILD.proto file to a new package build directory and make customizations to suit
your needs.
OPTIONS AND DIRECTIVES
The following is a list of standard options and directives available for use in a
PKGBUILD. These are all understood and interpreted by makepkg, and most of them will be
directly transferred to the built package. The mandatory fields for a minimally functional
PKGBUILD are pkgname, pkgver, pkgrel and arch.
If you need to create any custom variables for use in your build process, it is
recommended to prefix their name with an _ (underscore). This will prevent any possible
name clashes with internal makepkg variables. For example, to store the base kernel
version in a variable, use something similar to $_basekernver.
pkgname (array)
Either the name of the package or an array of names for split packages. Valid
characters for members of this array are alphanumerics, and any of the following
characters: “@ . _ + -”. Additionally, names are not allowed to start with hyphens or
dots.
pkgver
The version of the software as released from the author (e.g., 2.7.1). The variable is
not allowed to contain colons, forward slashes, hyphens or whitespace.
The pkgver variable can be automatically updated by providing a pkgver() function in
the PKGBUILD that outputs the new package version. This is run after downloading and
extracting the sources and running the prepare() function (if present), so it can use
those files in determining the new pkgver. This is most useful when used with sources
from version control systems (see below).
pkgrel
This is the release number specific to the distribution. This allows package
maintainers to make updates to the package’s configure flags, for example. This is
typically set to 1 for each new upstream software release and incremented for
intermediate PKGBUILD updates. The variable is a positive integer, with an optional
subrelease level specified by adding another positive integer separated by a period
(i.e. in the form x.y).
epoch
Used to force the package to be seen as newer than any previous versions with a lower
epoch, even if the version number would normally not trigger such an upgrade. This
value is required to be a positive integer; the default value if left unspecified is
0. This is useful when the version numbering scheme of a package changes (or is
alphanumeric), breaking normal version comparison logic. See pacman(8) for more
information on version comparisons.
pkgdesc
This should be a brief description of the package and its functionality. Try to keep
the description to one line of text and to not use the package’s name.
url
This field contains a URL that is associated with the software being packaged. This is
typically the project’s web site.
license (array)
This field specifies the license(s) that apply to the package. Commonly used licenses
can be found in /usr/share/licenses/common. If you see the package’s license there,
simply reference it in the license field (e.g., license=('GPL')). If the package
provides a license not available in /usr/share/licenses/common, then you should
include it in the package itself and set license=('custom') or
license=('custom:LicenseName'). The license should be placed in
$pkgdir/usr/share/licenses/$pkgname/ when building the package. If multiple licenses
are applicable, list all of them: license=('GPL' 'FDL').
install
Specifies a special install script that is to be included in the package. This file
should reside in the same directory as the PKGBUILD and will be copied into the
package by makepkg. It does not need to be included in the source array (e.g.,
install=$pkgname.install).
changelog
Specifies a changelog file that is to be included in the package. The changelog file
should end in a single newline. This file should reside in the same directory as the
PKGBUILD and will be copied into the package by makepkg. It does not need to be
included in the source array (e.g., changelog=$pkgname.changelog).
source (array)
An array of source files required to build the package. Source files must either
reside in the same directory as the PKGBUILD, or be a fully-qualified URL that makepkg
can use to download the file. To simplify the maintenance of PKGBUILDs, use the
$pkgname and $pkgver variables when specifying the download location, if possible.
Compressed files will be extracted automatically unless found in the noextract array
described below.
Additional architecture-specific sources can be added by appending an underscore and
the architecture name e.g., source_x86_64=(). There must be a corresponding integrity
array with checksums, e.g. cksums_x86_64=().
It is also possible to change the name of the downloaded file, which is helpful with
weird URLs and for handling multiple source files with the same name. The syntax is:
source=('filename::url').
makepkg also supports building developmental versions of packages using sources
downloaded from version control systems (VCS). For more information, see Using VCS
Sources below.
Files in the source array with extensions .sig, .sign or, .asc are recognized by
makepkg as PGP signatures and will be automatically used to verify the integrity of
the corresponding source file.
validpgpkeys (array)
An array of PGP fingerprints. If this array is non-empty, makepkg will only accept
signatures from the keys listed here and will ignore the trust values from the
keyring. If the source file was signed with a subkey, makepkg will still use the
primary key for comparison.
Only full fingerprints are accepted. They must be uppercase and must not contain
whitespace characters.
noextract (array)
An array of file names corresponding to those from the source array. Files listed here
will not be extracted with the rest of the source files. This is useful for packages
that use compressed data directly.
cksums (array)
This array contains CRC checksums for every source file specified in the source array
(in the same order). makepkg will use this to verify source file integrity during
subsequent builds. If SKIP is put in the array in place of a normal hash, the
integrity check for that source file will be skipped. To easily generate cksums, run
“makepkg -g >> PKGBUILD”. If desired, move the cksums line to an appropriate location.
Note that checksums generated by "makepkg -g" should be verified using checksum values
provided by the software developer.
md5sums, sha1sums, sha224sums, sha256sums, sha384sums, sha512sums, b2sums (arrays)
Alternative integrity checks that makepkg supports; these all behave similar to the
cksums option described above. To enable use and generation of these checksums, be
sure to set up the INTEGRITY_CHECK option in makepkg.conf(5).
groups (array)
An array of symbolic names that represent groups of packages, allowing you to install
multiple packages by requesting a single target. For example, one could install all
KDE packages by installing the kde group.
arch (array)
Defines on which architectures the given package is available (e.g., arch=('i686'
'x86_64')). Packages that contain no architecture specific files should use
arch=('any'). Valid characters for members of this array are alphanumerics and “_”.
backup (array)
An array of file names, without preceding slashes, that should be backed up if the
package is removed or upgraded. This is commonly used for packages placing
configuration files in /etc. See "Handling Config Files" in pacman(8) for more
information.
depends (array)
An array of packages this package depends on to run. Entries in this list should be
surrounded with single quotes and contain at least the package name. Entries can also
include a version requirement of the form name<>version, where <> is one of five
comparisons: >= (greater than or equal to), <= (less than or equal to), = (equal to),
> (greater than), or < (less than).
If the dependency name appears to be a library (ends with .so), makepkg will try to
find a binary that depends on the library in the built package and append the version
needed by the binary. Appending the version yourself disables automatic detection.
Additional architecture-specific depends can be added by appending an underscore and
the architecture name e.g., depends_x86_64=().
makedepends (array)
An array of packages this package depends on to build but are not needed at runtime.
Packages in this list follow the same format as depends.
Additional architecture-specific makedepends can be added by appending an underscore
and the architecture name e.g., makedepends_x86_64=().
checkdepends (array)
An array of packages this package depends on to run its test suite but are not needed
at runtime. Packages in this list follow the same format as depends. These
dependencies are only considered when the check() function is present and is to be run
by makepkg.
Additional architecture-specific checkdepends can be added by appending an underscore
and the architecture name e.g., checkdepends_x86_64=().
optdepends (array)
An array of packages (and accompanying reasons) that are not essential for base
functionality, but may be necessary to make full use of the contents of this package.
optdepends are currently for informational purposes only and are not utilized by
pacman during dependency resolution. Packages in this list follow the same format as
depends, with an optional description appended. The format for specifying optdepends
descriptions is:
optdepends=('python: for library bindings')
Additional architecture-specific optdepends can be added by appending an underscore
and the architecture name e.g., optdepends_x86_64=().
conflicts (array)
An array of packages that will conflict with this package (i.e. they cannot both be
installed at the same time). This directive follows the same format as depends.
Versioned conflicts are supported using the operators as described in depends.
Additional architecture-specific conflicts can be added by appending an underscore and
the architecture name e.g., conflicts_x86_64=().
provides (array)
An array of “virtual provisions” this package provides. This allows a package to
provide dependencies other than its own package name. For example, the dcron package
can provide cron, which allows packages to depend on cron rather than dcron OR fcron.
Versioned provisions are also possible, in the name=version format. For example, dcron
can provide cron=2.0 to satisfy the cron>=2.0 dependency of other packages. Provisions
involving the > and < operators are invalid as only specific versions of a package may
be provided.
If the provision name appears to be a library (ends with .so), makepkg will try to
find the library in the built package and append the correct version. Appending the
version yourself disables automatic detection.
Additional architecture-specific provides can be added by appending an underscore and
the architecture name e.g., provides_x86_64=().
replaces (array)
An array of packages this package should replace. This can be used to handle
renamed/combined packages. For example, if the j2re package is renamed to jre, this
directive allows future upgrades to continue as expected even though the package has
moved. Versioned replaces are supported using the operators as described in depends.
Sysupgrade is currently the only pacman operation that utilizes this field. A normal
sync or upgrade will not use its value.
Additional architecture-specific replaces can be added by appending an underscore and
the architecture name e.g., replaces_x86_64=().
options (array)
This array allows you to override some of makepkg’s default behavior when building
packages. To set an option, just include the option name in the options array. To
reverse the default behavior, place an “!” at the front of the option. Only specify
the options you specifically want to override, the rest will be taken from
makepkg.conf(5). NOTE: force is a now-removed option in favor of the top level epoch
variable.
strip
Strip symbols from binaries and libraries. If you frequently use a debugger on
programs or libraries, it may be helpful to disable this option.
docs
Save doc directories. If you wish to delete doc directories, specify !docs in the
array.
libtool
Leave libtool (.la) files in packages. Specify !libtool to remove them.
staticlibs
Leave static library (.a) files in packages. Specify !staticlibs to remove them
(if they have a shared counterpart).
emptydirs
Leave empty directories in packages.
zipman
Compress man and info pages with gzip.
ccache
Allow the use of ccache during build(). More useful in its negative form !ccache
with select packages that have problems building with ccache.
distcc
Allow the use of distcc during build(). More useful in its negative form !distcc
with select packages that have problems building with distcc.
buildflags
Allow the use of user-specific buildflags (CPPFLAGS, CFLAGS, CXXFLAGS, LDFLAGS)
during build() as specified in makepkg.conf(5). More useful in its negative form
!buildflags with select packages that have problems building with custom
buildflags.
makeflags
Allow the use of user-specific makeflags during build() as specified in
makepkg.conf(5). More useful in its negative form !makeflags with select packages
that have problems building with custom makeflags such as -j2 (or higher).
debug
Add the user-specified debug flags (DEBUG_CFLAGS, DEBUG_CXXFLAGS) to their
counterpart buildflags as specified in makepkg.conf(5). When used in combination
with the ‘strip’ option, a separate package containing the debug symbols is
created.
lto
Enable building packages using link time optimization. Adds -flto to both CFLAGS
and CXXFLAGS.
PACKAGING FUNCTIONS
In addition to the above directives, PKGBUILDs require a set of functions that provide
instructions to build and install the package. As a minimum, the PKGBUILD must contain a
package() function which installs all the package’s files into the packaging directory,
with optional prepare(), build(), and check() functions being used to create those files
from source.
This is directly sourced and executed by makepkg, so anything that Bash or the system has
available is available for use here. Be sure any exotic commands used are covered by the
makedepends array.
If you create any variables of your own in any of these functions, it is recommended to
use the Bash local keyword to scope the variable to inside the function.
package() Function
The package() function is used to install files into the directory that will become
the root directory of the built package and is run after all the optional functions
listed below. The packaging stage is run using fakeroot to ensure correct file
permissions in the resulting package. All other functions will be run as the user
calling makepkg.
prepare() Function
An optional prepare() function can be specified in which operations to prepare the
sources for building, such as patching, are performed. This function is run after the
source extraction and before the build() function. The prepare() function is skipped
when source extraction is skipped.
build() Function
The optional build() function is used to compile and/or adjust the source files in
preparation to be installed by the package() function.
check() Function
An optional check() function can be specified in which a package’s test-suite may be
run. This function is run between the build() and package() functions. Be sure any
exotic commands used are covered by the checkdepends array.
All of the above variables such as $pkgname and $pkgver are available for use in the
packaging functions. In addition, makepkg defines the following variables:
srcdir
This contains the directory where makepkg extracts, or copies, all source files.
All of the packaging functions defined above are run starting inside $srcdir
pkgdir
This contains the directory where makepkg bundles the installed package. This
directory will become the root directory of your built package. This variable should
only be used in the package() function.
startdir
This contains the absolute path to the directory where the PKGBUILD is located, which
is usually the output of $(pwd) when makepkg is started. Use of this variable is
deprecated and strongly discouraged.
PACKAGE SPLITTING
makepkg supports building multiple packages from a single PKGBUILD. This is achieved by
assigning an array of package names to the pkgname directive. Each split package uses a
corresponding packaging function with name package_foo(), where foo is the name of the
split package.
All options and directives for the split packages default to the global values given in
the PKGBUILD. Nevertheless, the following ones can be overridden within each split
package’s packaging function: pkgdesc, arch, url, license, groups, depends, optdepends,
provides, conflicts, replaces, backup, options, install, and changelog.
Note that makepkg does not consider split package depends when checking if dependencies
are installed before package building and with --syncdeps. All packages required to make
the package are required to be specified in the global depends and makedepends arrays.
An optional global directive is available when building a split package:
pkgbase
The name used to refer to the group of packages in the output of makepkg and in the
naming of source-only tarballs. If not specified, the first element in the pkgname
array is used. Valid characters for this variable are alphanumerics, and any of the
following characters: “@ . _ + -”. Additionally, the variable is not allowed to start
with hyphens or dots.
INSTALL/UPGRADE/REMOVE SCRIPTING
Pacman has the ability to store and execute a package-specific script when it installs,
removes, or upgrades a package. This allows a package to configure itself after
installation and perform an opposite action upon removal.
The exact time the script is run varies with each operation, and should be
self-explanatory. Note that during an upgrade operation, none of the install or remove
functions will be called.
Scripts are passed either one or two “full version strings”, where a full version string
is either pkgver-pkgrel or epoch:pkgver-pkgrel, if epoch is non-zero.
pre_install
Run right before files are extracted. One argument is passed: new package full version
string.
post_install
Run right after files are extracted. One argument is passed: new package full version
string.
pre_upgrade
Run right before files are extracted. Two arguments are passed in this order: new
package full version string, old package full version string.
post_upgrade
Run after files are extracted. Two arguments are passed in this order: new package
full version string, old package full version string.
pre_remove
Run right before files are removed. One argument is passed: old package full version
string.
post_remove
Run right after files are removed. One argument is passed: old package full version
string.
To use this feature, create a file such as pkgname.install and put it in the same
directory as the PKGBUILD script. Then use the install directive:
install=pkgname.install
The install script does not need to be specified in the source array. A template install
file is available in /usr/share/pacman as proto.install for reference with all of the
available functions defined.
USING VCS SOURCES
Building a developmental version of a package using sources from a version control system
(VCS) is enabled by specifying the source in the form:
source=('directory::url#fragment?query')
Currently makepkg supports the Bazaar, Git, Subversion, Fossil and Mercurial version
control systems. For other version control systems, manual cloning of upstream
repositories must be done in the prepare() function.
The source URL is divided into four components:
directory
(optional) Specifies an alternate directory name for makepkg to download the VCS
source into.
url
The URL to the VCS repository. This must include the VCS in the URL protocol for
makepkg to recognize this as a VCS source. If the protocol does not include the VCS
name, it can be added by prefixing the URL with vcs+. For example, using a Git
repository over HTTPS would have a source URL in the form: git+https://....
fragment
(optional) Allows specifying a revision number or branch for makepkg to checkout from
the VCS. A fragment has the form type=value, for example to checkout a given revision
the source line would be source=(url#revision=123). The available types depends on the
VCS being used:
bzr
revision (see 'bzr help revisionspec' for details)
fossil
branch, commit, tag
git
branch, commit, tag
hg
branch, revision, tag
svn
revision
query
(optional) Allows specifying whether a VCS checkout should be checked for PGP-signed
revisions. The source line should have the format source=(url#fragment?signed) or
source=(url?signed#fragment). Currently only supported by Git.
EXAMPLE
The following is an example PKGBUILD for the patch package. For more examples, look
through the build files of your distribution’s packages. For those using Arch Linux,
consult the Arch Build System (ABS) tree.
# Maintainer: Joe User <joe.user@example.com>
pkgname=patch
pkgver=2.7.1
pkgrel=1
pkgdesc="A utility to apply patch files to original sources"
arch=('i686' 'x86_64')
url="https://www.gnu.org/software/patch/patch.html"
license=('GPL')
groups=('base-devel')
depends=('glibc')
makedepends=('ed')
optdepends=('ed: for "patch -e" functionality')
source=("ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/$pkgname/$pkgname-$pkgver.tar.xz"{,.sig})
md5sums=('e9ae5393426d3ad783a300a338c09b72'
'SKIP')
build() {
cd "$srcdir/$pkgname-$pkgver"
./configure --prefix=/usr
make
}
package() {
cd "$srcdir/$pkgname-$pkgver"
make DESTDIR="$pkgdir/" install
}
SEE ALSO
makepkg(8), pacman(8), makepkg.conf(5)
See the pacman website at https://archlinux.org/pacman/ for current information on pacman
and its related tools.
BUGS
Bugs? You must be kidding; there are no bugs in this software. But if we happen to be
wrong, submit a bug report with as much detail as possible at the Arch Linux Bug Tracker
in the Pacman section.
AUTHORS
Current maintainers:
• Allan McRae <allan@archlinux.org>
• Andrew Gregory <andrew.gregory.8@gmail.com>
• Eli Schwartz <eschwartz@archlinux.org>
• Morgan Adamiec <morganamilo@archlinux.org>
Past major contributors:
• Judd Vinet <jvinet@zeroflux.org>
• Aurelien Foret <aurelien@archlinux.org>
• Aaron Griffin <aaron@archlinux.org>
• Dan McGee <dan@archlinux.org>
• Xavier Chantry <shiningxc@gmail.com>
• Nagy Gabor <ngaba@bibl.u-szeged.hu>
• Dave Reisner <dreisner@archlinux.org>
For additional contributors, use git shortlog -s on the pacman.git repository.