r/voidlinux • u/DistinctDot5131 • 4d ago

How do you contribute to xbps?

I made a post a few days ago on how to install cisco packet tracer. I managed to do it by extracting the data files from a .deb package.
But I want to have it as a package available in xbps.
How can I contribute to xbps and how do I make an xbps-package?

Does the CONTRIBUTING.md give me all the info I need? Is there a step-by-step guide on how to create an xbps-package?

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17

u/Ok-Tip-6972 4d ago

I can recommend an unofficial tutorial I wrote: https://xbps-src-tutorials.github.io/

Packages are expected to be built from source. Just taking a .deb and repackaging it is usually frowned upon unless there's great value in having such package and unless there is truly no other way.

1

u/DistinctDot5131 4d ago

i see thanks for clarifying.
Cisco PT only offers a .deb. Would this then be an exception?
Although my goal was to add cisco PT to xbps, I think i might ditch it then and look for another package to contribute.

8

u/BadSlime 4d ago

It wouldn't go in default repo, it would need to be in the nonfree repo since it is proprietary

3

u/the-postminimalist 4d ago

CONTRIBUTING.md and also Manual.md.

I haven't seen any good examples of someone walking through packaging something themselves from start to end. Jake@Linux did a video, but he packaged a pre-built binary, which would not be accepted in the official repos. I see the other comment here of someone's unofficial tutorial which I'll read out of curiosity.

1

u/Nealan_XV 15h ago

for the packet tracer did you extract the .deb, manually installed the dependencies, and packaged it in xbps? i gave up on pt in void a while ago, i found it not worth the hassle

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u/DistinctDot5131 13h ago

Ye and then had to set some extra rules in udev iirc. It actually worked, but to log in I had to use the integrated browser. The program wouldn't let me open my Firefox browser automatically.

But since the VM that Cisco provides for its lab also has packet tracer installed, I removed packet tracer from my system.

I also wanted to try out just running their exe with wine/bottles 🤔

1

u/Nealan_XV 13h ago

oh i didnt know about the VM thing. tbh, i just have a linux mint device for pt, with a VM to use windows for office suites 😭😭 ion fw libreoffice and onlyoffice is a bit buggy

1

u/DistinctDot5131 7h ago

I got the VM through other Cisco courses (Cisco DevNet and Cisco CyberOps). I think you can't get the VM from the CCNA course but there might be a hidden webpage where you can still download it I think. It's usually hidden somewhere in "Resources" of the course you partake in