how do I add a local folder as a repository?

akudewan · 09-04-2005, 11:55 AM

Is there any way I can add a location on my disk such as "/home/akudewan/debs/" as an apt repository? I searched a lot, but didn't find anything.

fenderman11111 · 09-04-2005, 04:39 PM

to manually install .deb files that you have downloaded, it is best to simply use dpkg.

Code:

dpkg i my_deb_package.deb

akudewan · 09-05-2005, 01:35 AM

Thanks fenderman11111. But I managed to get the repository working

This is how I did it. First off, I created a local directory, where I store nothing but .deb packages. For me, this was /home/akudewan/repository/debs/

Next, I created a "Packages" file, that holds info to all packages in the repository. To do this, I used the command:

Code:

dpkg-scanpackages /home/akudewan/repository/debs/ /dev/null > /home/akudewan/repository/debs/Packages

Now, I created a backup of my apt sources, just incase.

Code:

sudo cp /etc/apt/sources.list /etc/apt/sources.list.bak

Next, edit the /etc/apt/sources.list file and add the line:

Code:

deb file:///home/akudewan/repository/debs ./

Then I was getting an error when using apt, so I had to do this:

Code:

sudo ln -s /home/akudewan/repository/debs/Packages /var/lib/apt/lists/_home_akudewan_repository_debs_._Packages

(Note: Just use underscores(_) instead of / and link your Packages file)

When I ran synaptic after this, everything was working file. But I noticed that the "Packages" file has to be updated whenever you add new packages. So I made a shellscript to do this

Code:

sudo gedit /usr/local/bin/deblocalupdt

Put in the line:

Code:

dpkg-scanpackages /home/akudewan/repository/debs/ /dev/null > /home/akudewan/repository/debs/Packages

Make the file executable:

Code:

sudo chmod a+x /usr/local/bin/deblocalupdt

Now every time I add new packages in the repository, I just have to run "deblocalupdt"

Hurray!