how to create a directory in RPM SPEC file?
 

To create the directory for our linux driver, the spec file has:
install --directory %{installdir}/linux_driver
which works fine and RPM makes the directory <whatever>/linux_driver

I also need to create the directory /var/mystuff but I can't figure out how to do that.
I tried:
install --directory /var
install --directory /var/mystuff
but (on our build machine, not my development machine) that gets rejected with the message:
+ install --directory /var
install: cannot change permissions of `/var': Operation not permitted

I also tried without making /var first, with just the second line alone, like this:
install --directory /var/mystuff
but that is also rejected. Maybe our build machine doesn't have a /var directory, or maybe it's restricted in some way -- it's not accessible to me, I only get the logs of the build.

So how can the spec file tell RPM to make a directory /var/mystuff?

Thanks for any clues

When you're building packages you should be (building as unprivileged user and) confining your work to ${RPM_BUILD_ROOT} and create and place everything there. Next to that most phases accept shell scripting so in the %install phase using 'mkdir ${RPM_BUILD_ROOT}/var' should work too. Make sure you list "/var/mystuff" in %files with the right %attr. If that's not it, please post more details.

Thanks loads!

In this realm I'm so ignorant that I need to ask:
> Make sure you list "/var/mystuff" in %files with the right %attr.
Given that mystuff needs to be a directory (it might already exist, but if not it must be created) what would be the right %attr ?

Also, will the install fail if mkdir fails due to the directory already being present? That is, is a test required?

thanks again

Depends, but since it's a directory that'll be something like octal mode 750 (and the user and group you allow access, if any particular one).


Indeed it is better to test than to assume but the %install phase really drives package creation (and in a temp dir for that matter). Listing the directoryname under %files makes RPM aware it needs to exist for this package and have certain attributes.

Many thanks!

My TODO today: Maximum RPM for bedtime reading.

NP. Maybe post the .spec file you're working on here? Could be interesting.

Here it is then. The majority is someone else's work, believed to be solid. I'm just trying to tweak it to do a few new things, which is where the problems come up due to my general Linux and specific rpm ignorance. Hints and comments will be most appreciated! (PS I haven't yet added the %attr for the new /var/ads directory.)

No comments, looks pretty neat...