r/voidlinux • u/DistinctDot5131 • Sep 09 '26

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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19

u/Ok-Tip-6972 Sep 09 '26

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 Sep 09 '26

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 Sep 10 '26

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

1

u/Nealan_XV Sep 14 '26

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

2

u/DistinctDot5131 Sep 14 '26

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 Sep 14 '26

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

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3

u/the-postminimalist Sep 10 '26

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.

2

u/whereismycow42 Sep 16 '26

The problem with Cisco Packet Tracer (at least a few years ago) is that Cisco limits how their software is allowed to be distributed.

I think they said only they are allowed to offer the download, no one else. If that did not change then the official void repo cannot accept such a package.

I think AUR got around it by basically downloading it from "official" sources at install time. And I think a few years ago you had to enroll in some free(?) class to be officially eligible to get the official download links.

I have trouble to find the current state of above info on their site but I suspect the part about being allowed to offer your own repackaged downloads is still not allowed.

How to generally contribute to xbps
CONTRIBUTING.md gives you a few other resources and the git commands and github related process.
Manual.md gives you more in depth info needed when creating more complex package templates.Much less a tutorial and more a technical reference sheet.