PACKAGE STYLE GUIDE
This document is a style guide which will double as documentation for a possible package linter in the future. Every package in the Official repositories and the Community repository adheres to this style guide.
NOTE: Exceptions are made where it makes sense.
Index
MAINTAINERSHIP
Each package has a set maintainer stored via git commits. Use 'git log' or 'kiss-maintainer pkg' to find the maintainer's contact information.
Only the maintainer of a package has the ability to make changes to said package. Any pull requests by a non-maintainer for a package will be closed.
If you would like to make a change to an existing package, contact the maintainer and they will do so on your behalf.
If the maintainer leaves a package out of date and does not respond in a reasonable time frame, the package will be orphaned and up for grabs.
If no one steps forward to adopt an orphaned package, it will be dropped from the repositories.
GENERAL
Some packages are not suitable for inclusion in the Community repository.
Examples: ConsoleKit, dbus, electron, gettext, gtk2, intltool, libsn, logind, pam, python2, polkit, pulseaudio, systemd and all Desktop Environments.
The same rules above may apply to other software at the discretion of maintainers.
Packages which are binaries must contain the suffix '-bin' to reflect this fact. Similarly, packages which pull from git should contain the suffix '-git'. The version of git packages must also be set to 'git'.
BUILD
This guide should be used alongside shellcheck and not in place of it.
All shell code must pass the shellcheck linter. Any false-positives or intended behavior must have a rationale attached with the exclusion.
# Disable warning as CFLAGS must work this way.
# shellcheck disable=2086
"${CC:-cc}" $CFLAGS ...
Use 4 spaces for indentation.
Lines should not exceed 80 characters in length.
All packages must use the POSIX shell shebang with '-e' to exit on error. Additionally, '-ef' can be used if word-splitting is required.
There must also be a blank line directly below the shebang.
#!/bin/sh -e
# Code starts here.
All comments should start with a capital letter and use proper spelling, grammar and punctuation.
# This is a comment.
Leave comments to explain why the code is needed and not what it does.
Bad:
# Create a directory.
mkdir -p "$1/usr/bin"
Good:
# 'make install' doesn't create the directory.
mkdir -p "$1/usr/bin"
Avoid adding braces around variables if unneeded.
Bad: printf '%s\n' "${var}"
Good: printf '%s\n' "$var"
Good: printf '%s\n' "${var}.${var2}"
Avoid quotes when unneeded.
Bad: [ "$var" = "test" ]
Good: [ "$var" = test ]
Bad: cp "file" "$1/usr/bin/file"
Good: cp file "$1/usr/bin/file"
Quote entire strings instead of variables.
Bad: cp -f cat "$1"/usr/bin/cat
Good: cp -f cat "$1/usr/bin/cat"
Align arguments in blocks of command calls.
Bad:
cp file.h "$1/usr/include/file.h"
cp libfile.so "$1/usr/lib/libfile.so"
Good:
cp file.h "$1/usr/include/file.h"
cp libfile.so "$1/usr/lib/libfile.so"
Use mkdir and cp instead of install.
Bad:
install -Dm755 ls "$1/usr/bin/ls"
Good:
mkdir -p "$1/usr/bin"
cp ls "$1/usr/bin/"
NOTE: since Dylan wrote this style guide, he changed opinions on this point since install isn't POSIX. Both styles are accepted in the community repo.
Prefer $CC to ...
Bad: gcc -o file file.c
Good: "${CC:-cc}" -o file file.c
Always use -p with mkdir.
Always use printf. Do not use echo.
GNU AUTOTOOLS
Use the following style:
./configure \
--prefix=/usr \
--more_args_here
make
make DESTDIR="$1" install
Avoid running ./autogen.sh, autoreconf or similar tools prior to starting the build process. If there are no pre-generated configure or Makefiles, an alternate source must be sought.
An exception can be made for packages in which no such source exists. If autogen.sh or autoreconf are required, prefer autoreconf.
MESON
Use the following style:
export DESTDIR="$1"
meson setup \
-Dprefix=/usr \
-Dexample=false \
output
ninja -C output
ninja -C output install
CMAKE
Use the following style:
export DESTDIR="$1"
cmake -B build \
-DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr \
-DFLAG=1
cmake --build build
cmake --install build
MAKE
Use one of the following style when applicable:
make
make DESTDIR="$1" PREFIX=/usr install
make PREFIX=/usr
make DESTDIR="$1" install
make PREFIX=/usr
make DESTDIR="$1" PREFIX=/usr install
For packages which require a few variables be set, prefer this style.
make \
PREFIX=/usr \
SBINDIR=/usr/bin \
OPT="$CFLAGS"
make \
DESTDIR="$1" \
PREFIX=/usr \
install
For packages which require the variables be set for all calls to make, prefer this style.
mk() {
make \
PREFIX=/usr \
DESTDIR="$1" \
EXAMPLE=1 \
"$@"
}
mk
mk install
RUST
Use the following style:
cargo build --release
install -Dm755 target/release/rg "$1/usr/bin/rg"
GO
Use the following style:
export GOPATH="$PWD/go"
export GO111MODULE=on
go build \
-modcacherw \
-trimpath
install -Dm755 lazygit "$1/usr/bin/lazygit"
NOTE: If the directory 'vendor' is available in the root directory of the source, the preferred method is to omit GOPATH and GO111MODULE and use:
go build \
-mod=vendor \
-further-options
to prevent cluttering $HOME and enable offline building.
PYTHON
Use the following style:
python setup.py build
python setup.py install --prefix=/usr --root="$1"
DEPENDS
If dependency is unneeded, then it must be removed.
Some packages are assumed to always be available. Such dependency must be removed.
Examples: gcc, make, musl.
Build-time dependencies must be marked as 'make' dependencies.
Examples: autoconf, automake, cmake, meson.
Runtime dependencies must not be marked as 'make' dependencies.
The depends file must be sorted.
If depends file is empty, then it must be removed.
SOURCES
Use a HTTPS source if at all possible.
Don't specify patches remotely. Store them as a part of the package's repository files.
Bad: https://example.com/fix-build.patch
Good: patches/fix-build.patch
Don't use a git repository in place of a release tarball unless it makes sense to do so.
Drop www. and .git from all sources if possible.
VERSION
Package version must be latest upstream version.
Use 'git' in place of '9999'.
The version file must contain relative version number.
Bad: 1.0.0
Good: 1.0.0 1
PATCHES
Use the following style:
patch -p1 < patch.patch
# If there is more than one patch.
for patch in *.patch; do
patch -p1 < "$patch"
done
All patches should use the same strip amount. If this is not possible, modify the patches. Strip amount is controlled by the -p flag.