How We Created Our Repository

How to Create a Metapackage

You need to make a directory that resembles the structure of a .deb package for use with "dpkg-deb".

• Make a directory to create your package in
• Add any files in there that you want to appear in the file system, with your package directory as /
• Add a "DEBIAN" directory in there
• Add a "control" file inside "DEBIAN" like:

Package: bristolwireless
Section: misc
Priority: extra
Architecture: all
Depends: xfce4 (>= 4.3.99.2)
Maintainer: Ben Green <ben@bristolwireless.com>
Version: 1:0.0.1
Description: Bristol Wireless metapackage and themes.
 This is the Bristol Wireless metapackage designed to install
 additional packages on top of a Debian `Etch' base install. It also
 contains themes and artworks associated with Bristol Wireless.
 .
 Install this package if you want an full featured XFCE4 desktop,
 with lots of handy utilities and a usability tested main menu.

Then to build the package (this basically tars it up in a particular format).

dpkg-deb --build bristolwireless/ bristolwireless_0.0.1_all.deb

You should now have a working .deb package, test with dpkg -i.

How to create a repository

• Install "reprepro"
• Find a place to put the repo
• Add a "conf" directory in it
• Add a file "distributions" inside that:

Origin: Debian
Label: Bristol Wireless
Suite: stable
Codename: etch
Version: 4.0
Architectures: i386 amd64 sparc
Components: main
Description: The Bristol Wireless Repository

 This is the Bristol Wireless metapackage designed to install
 additional packages on top of a Debian `Etch' base install. It also
 contains themes and artworks associated with Bristol Wireless.
 .
 Install this package if you want an full featured XFCE4 desktop,
 with lots of handy utilities and a usability tested main menu.

"all" is a special architecture meaning "architecture independent". Then to add a file to the repository:

reprepro --priority 1 -Vb . includedeb etch ../somewhere/bristolwireless_0.0.1_all.deb