Arch Linux

edgg

Member

Registered: 2007-02-23

Posts: 8

How can I add a patch to an existing package?

I really want to add a patch to Archlinux klibc package.
http://git.debian.org/?p=kernel/klibc.g … 571d2c979d
http://repos.archlinux.org/viewvc.cgi/k … core-i686/

But the more I read about contributing, the more confusing it gets. Wiki first page would take me to AUR, but it looks like AUR is only for adding new packages. So I find out about ABS which is for creating a custom package, but what steps to take to get the changed package to replace the existing? And should I actually be doing it this way? Maybe there are tools to introduce git patches automatically? I really don't understand...

I realize this is a newbie problem, but the wiki organization is confusing to me, so if anyone would provide links to answer my questions I'd be very happy.

lucke

Member

From: Poland

Registered: 2004-11-30

Posts: 4,018

Re: How can I add a patch to an existing package?

Post in a bugtracker if you think this patch should be added to the official Arch klibc package for some good reason (please note that Arch tries to keep its packages vanilla, if some patches are added, they provide bugfixes, not additional functionality; that one doesn't look as one that would be added).

Simply use ABS to build a patched package for your own use.

tigrmesh

IRC Op

From: Florida, US

Registered: 2007-12-11

Posts: 794

Re: How can I add a patch to an existing package?

what steps to take to get the changed package to replace the existing? And should I actually be doing it this way?

ABS is exactly how you want to do this.

* install and run abs as described in the wiki page
* copy the files in /var/abs/core/klibc to your build directory (I have a builds directory in my home directory)
* edit the PKGBUILD to add your patch (man PKGBUILD will help here)
* make the package with makepkg (there is a wiki page for makepkg)
* use pacman to install it:  pacman -U klibc-blahblah.pkg.tar.gz

The process is shockingly easy.  And the great thing is that, since you've installed the package with pacman, you can use pacman to remove it if you change your mind.  There is also a way to keep pacman from upgrading it when you do pacman -Syu (see pacman.conf).

The process is also described here:  http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/ABS … he_ABS_way