vnidrop/packaging/linux/README.md

Linux packaging

VniDrop ships native x64 packages for the two common Linux package families:

• Debian/Ubuntu: .deb
• Current Fedora systems: .rpm

Both packages contain the application, its release Rust library, and a private Java runtime. Users do not need to install Java separately. The packages are currently distributed as direct GitHub Release downloads, so they use SHA-256 checksums rather than a Linux repository signing key. A future APT or RPM repository should add repository metadata signing and its own update channel.

GitHub Actions

The Linux packages workflow runs for relevant pull requests, release tags matching vMAJOR.MINOR.PATCH, and manual dispatches. Each native package is built and validated on its matching distribution family:

• .deb on Ubuntu 22.04 for a conservative glibc baseline
• .rpm inside Fedora 43 so jpackage can discover normal RPM dependencies

The shared JVM suite runs inside the Debian build job. Package construction and payload validation happen in both build jobs, so there is no separate test runner. Pull requests build and verify both packages but do not retain artifacts. Manual runs retain build artifacts for 14 days. A pushed version tag whose commit is on master creates the matching GitHub Release with the .deb, .rpm, and a combined SHA256SUMS.

The legacy v1.0.0 tag predates canonical versioning and does not define the current product version. New release tags must match version.properties.

Install a downloaded package

Verify downloads from the directory containing all three release files:

sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS

On Debian or Ubuntu:

sudo apt install ./vnidrop_VERSION-1_amd64.deb

On Fedora:

sudo dnf install ./vnidrop-VERSION-1.x86_64.rpm

The package manager installs declared system-library dependencies and creates the VniDrop desktop launcher. Uninstall with sudo apt remove vnidrop or sudo dnf remove vnidrop.

Manual native builds

Use JDK 21 and Rust 1.91. Build DEB packages on Debian/Ubuntu with dpkg and fakeroot; build RPM packages on Fedora with rpm-build. Building an RPM on Ubuntu prevents jpackage from discovering normal RPM dependencies.

Set the release in version.properties. From the repository root on the matching Linux family, run one of:

make package-deb
make package-rpm

The Make targets collect the Compose output under build/release/linux/, then validate package identity, version, architecture, dependencies, bundled JVM, and release Rust payload before generating a SHA-256 checksum.