OBS (Open Build Service) Setup Guide

This guide explains how to build and distribute Noust packages via the Open Build Service, allowing you to support multiple Linux distributions (Fedora, openSUSE, Debian, Ubuntu, Arch, etc.) from a single source.

Why OBS?

• Multi-distribution: Build for Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, openSUSE, Arch, Mageia, etc. from a single source
• Multi-format: Generate .deb, .rpm, and other package formats automatically
• Automatic builds: Git webhooks can trigger rebuilds automatically
• Free hosting: Repository hosting included at build.opensuse.org
• CI/CD ready: Built-in continuous integration

Quick Start

1. Register Account

Go to https://build.opensuse.org and:

• Click "Sign Up"
• Use GitHub/Google account or create new one
• Verify email

2. Create Your Project

In OBS web interface:

1. Login → "Home Project" (auto-created as home:your_username)
2. Click "Create package"
3. Package name: noust
4. (Optional) Add description

3. Install OSC (OBS Command Line)

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install osc
 
# Fedora
sudo dnf install osc
 
# Or via pip
pip install osc

4. Configure OSC

# Set API URL
osc config set apiurl https://api.opensuse.org
 
# Authenticate (will prompt for username/password)
osc ls

This creates ~/.oscrc with your credentials.

5. Choose Target Distributions

In OBS web interface (your package page):

1. Go to "Repositories" tab
2. Click "Add from a Distribution"
3. Select distributions you want to support:
   • Ubuntu 24.04 (Noble Numbat)
   • Debian 12 (Bookworm)
   • Fedora 40, 41
   • openSUSE Tumbleweed, Leap 15.6
   • Arch Linux

Or add manually in project config (osc meta prj -e home:your_username):

<repository name="Ubuntu_24.04">
  <path project="Ubuntu:24.04" repository="universe"/>
  <arch>x86_64</arch>
</repository>
<repository name="Fedora_40">
  <path project="Fedora:40" repository="standard"/>
  <arch>x86_64</arch>
</repository>

Building and Uploading

Automatic (Recommended)

A release uploads itself: once the release is verified, release.yml calls the Publish to OBS workflow (.github/workflows/obs.yml). To upload a tag that is already published elsewhere, when only this step failed, run it by hand from Actions > Publish to OBS > Run workflow with the tag (vX.Y.Z). It needs the OBS_USER and OBS_PASS secrets of the repository.

The same two scripts run on a machine with a configured osc:

# Lay out exactly the files OBS receives
packaging/obs/stage.sh noust /tmp/obs/noust
 
# Replace the package's sources with that set (home:Perkybeet/noust)
packaging/obs/publish.sh home:Perkybeet noust /tmp/obs/noust "Release vX.Y.Z"

To build the staged set on the host, the way OBS does, before uploading it:

packaging/obs/build.sh deb /tmp/obs/noust /tmp/debs   # or rpm

What they do:

1. stage.sh creates the source tarball from the repository and copies noust.spec, noust.dsc and every obs/debian.* file. It refuses a tree that is not a release (the top entry of obs/debian.changelog must be the version of pyproject.toml); --snapshot stages a pre-release for builds that are tested and never published.
2. publish.sh needs the package to exist (it is created on build.opensuse.org), shows what it holds, removes every file that is not in the staged set, so a stale file uploaded by hand cannot reach a build, and commits the rest.
3. OBS automatically starts building for all configured distributions.

Manual Process

# 1. Lay out the files OBS receives (the tarball, the spec, the dsc and the debian.* files)
packaging/obs/stage.sh noust /tmp/obs/noust
 
# 2. Checkout package
osc checkout home:Perkybeet/noust
cd home:Perkybeet/noust
 
# 3. Copy the staged set over it, and `osc rm` any file it does not have
#    (OBS turns every debian.* file into debian/, so a stale one reaches every build)
cp /tmp/obs/noust/* .
osc addremove
 
# 4. Commit
osc commit -m "Release vX.Y.Z"

Looking at the builds from the Makefile

The Makefile does not upload (the workflow above does); it only looks at what OBS built:

# Check build status
make obs-status
 
# Watch it until it settles
make obs-status-watch
 
# Read the log of one repository
make obs-logs DISTRO=Fedora_40 ARCH=x86_64

Monitoring Builds

Web Interface

View build status at:

https://build.opensuse.org/package/show/home:Perkybeet/noust

Command Line

# Check build results
osc results home:Perkybeet noust
 
# Watch live (updates every 10 seconds)
watch -n 10 "osc results home:Perkybeet noust"
 
# Get build logs for specific distribution
osc buildlog home:Perkybeet noust Fedora_40 x86_64
 
# Download built packages
osc getbinaries home:Perkybeet noust Fedora_40 x86_64

Repository Setup for Users

Once packages are built, users can install from OBS repositories:

Fedora

# Add repository
sudo dnf config-manager --add-repo \
  https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/Perkybeet/Fedora_40/home:Perkybeet.repo
 
# Install
sudo dnf install noust

openSUSE

# Add repository
sudo zypper ar -f \
  https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/Perkybeet/openSUSE_Tumbleweed/ \
  home_Perkybeet
 
# Install
sudo zypper install noust

Ubuntu/Debian

# Add repository key
curl -fsSL https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/Perkybeet/xUbuntu_24.04/Release.key | \
  gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/home_Perkybeet.gpg > /dev/null
 
# Add repository
echo 'deb https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/Perkybeet/xUbuntu_24.04/ /' | \
  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/home_Perkybeet.list
 
# Install
sudo apt update
sudo apt install noust

Arch Linux (via AUR helper or manual)

OBS provides binary packages, but you may want to also publish on AUR.

Automated Git Integration

Method 1: Service File (Recommended)

The obs/_service file enables automatic source fetching:

<services>
  <service name="obs_scm">
    <param name="url">https://github.com/Perkybeet/noust.git</param>
    <param name="scm">git</param>
    <param name="revision">main</param>
  </service>
  <service name="tar" mode="buildtime"/>
  <service name="recompress" mode="buildtime">
    <param name="compression">gz</param>
  </service>
</services>

When you commit, OBS will automatically fetch from GitHub.

Method 2: Webhook (Fully Automated)

Set up GitHub webhook to trigger OBS builds:

1. In OBS: Go to package → "Trigger" → Get webhook URL
2. In GitHub: Settings → Webhooks → "Add webhook"
3. Paste OBS webhook URL
4. Select events: Push and Release
5. Save

Now every push to main automatically triggers OBS builds!

File Structure

noust/
├── rpm/
│   └── noust.spec              # RPM package specification
├── obs/
│   ├── _service                # OBS service configuration (optional)
│   ├── debian.changelog        # Debian changelog
│   ├── debian.control          # Debian package metadata
│   ├── debian.rules            # Debian build rules
│   ├── debian.postinst         # Post-install script
│   ├── debian.postrm           # Post-remove script
│   ├── debian.copyright        # License info
│   ├── noust.dsc               # Debian source control
│   ├── noust.default.yaml      # Default config
│   ├── noust.dirs              # Directories to create
│   ├── noust.manpages          # Man pages list
│   └── source/
│       ├── format              # Source format
│       └── options             # Build options
└── packaging/obs/
    ├── stage.sh                # Lay out the files OBS receives
    ├── build.sh                # Build a staged set on the host (deb or rpm)
    └── publish.sh              # Replace the package's sources on OBS

Differences: .deb vs .rpm Packaging

Troubleshooting

Build Failures

# View build log
osc buildlog home:Perkybeet noust Fedora_40 x86_64
 
# Common issues:
# - Missing BuildRequires in .spec
# - Python dependencies not available
# - File permissions issues

Authentication Issues

# Reconfigure OSC
rm ~/.oscrc
osc config set apiurl https://api.opensuse.org
osc ls  # Will prompt for credentials

Package Not Found

Ensure:

1. Package created in OBS web interface
2. Repositories configured (Fedora_40, Ubuntu_24.04, etc.)
3. Project and package names match in script

Dependencies Not Available

For Python packages not in distribution repos, you may need to:

1. Build them in separate OBS package
2. Add to BuildRequires from PyPI during build
3. Use bundled dependencies (not recommended)

Best Practices

1. Version Tags: Use Git tags (v0.9.1) for releases, OBS can auto-detect
2. Test Locally: Use osc build to test before uploading
3. Watch First Build: Monitor first build of each distro carefully
4. Update Changelog: Keep .spec and debian.changelog updated
5. Sync Versions: Keep version numbers consistent across all package files

Workflow Summary

Next Steps

1. Register at build.opensuse.org
2. Install and configure osc
3. Create package in OBS web UI
4. Add target distributions
5. Run the Publish to OBS workflow (or packaging/obs/stage.sh and packaging/obs/publish.sh)
6. Monitor builds
7. Update README with install instructions

Resources

• OBS Portal: https://build.opensuse.org
• Documentation: https://openbuildservice.org/help/manuals/obs-user-guide/
• Package Guidelines: https://en.opensuse.org/openSUSE:Packaging_guidelines
• RPM Packaging Guide: https://rpm-packaging-guide.github.io/
• OSC Cheat Sheet: https://en.opensuse.org/openSUSE:OSC

Support

For issues with OBS builds, check:

• Build logs: osc buildlog home:Perkybeet noust <distro> <arch>
• OBS forums: https://forums.opensuse.org/
• Matrix: #opensuse-buildservice:opensuse.org