apt-bundle

Apt-bundle is a simple tool to install a list of packages from a file using the apt(8) package manager on Debian/Ubuntu based systems. It is useful to set up a fresh machine or a container within a CI environment. By employing apt-bundle, you can ensure consistent package sets across different environments and seamlessly share development or runtime environments with collaborators.

Installation

Just copy the apt-bundle script to a directory in your $PATH and make it executable.

Use from GitHub Actions

You can use the apt-bundle action to install packages in a GitHub Actions workflow. Here is an example workflow that installs a list of packages from a Debfile in the repository.

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      # Assume the source tree has a Debfile
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - uses: knu/apt-bundle@v1
        with:
          debfile: path/to/Debfile  # optional; "Debfile" by default
      # ...

Inputs

• debfile

  The path to the Debfile. The default is Debfile in the repository root.

Command Usage

apt-bundle [-n] [-v] [<file>...]

• -n

  Dry-run mode. The command will not install any packages, but will show what would be done.

• -v

  Verbose mode. The command will show the commands it runs.

• <file>

  The file to read the package list from. The default is Debfile in the current directory.

Debfile Format

Create a text file and list the packages, source lists and keyrings you want in your environment in that file using the commands described later. This file is interpreted by /bin/sh (dash) as a shell script, and typically named Debfile. Apt-bundle looks for the file with that name in the current directory by default.

package build-essential
package libreadline-dev
package postgresql-client

# The latest version of git from ppa
ppa git-core/ppa
package git

# Google Cloud SDK from the official third-party repository
keyring cloud.google https://packages.cloud.google.com/apt/doc/apt-key.gpg
source google-cloud-sdk <<EOF
deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/cloud.google.gpg] https://packages.cloud.google.com/apt cloud-sdk main
EOF
package google-cloud-sdk

In this file, ARCH, which is set to the output of dpkg --print-architecture, and the variables defined in /etc/os-release are available as environment variables so you can use them to conditionally install packages or include values like $VERSION_CODENAME in source list definitions.

Special commands available in Debfile

package

Usage: package <name> [<version-constraints>] | package <URL>

The first syntax is to specify a single package name with optional version constraints. The version constraints are passed to apt satisfy with the package name. See Syntax of relationship fields for details.

The second syntax is to specify a URL to a .deb file to be downloaded and installed. The URL can be an HTTPS or HTTP URL.

e.g.

package faketime

package git '>= 1:2.43.0'

package https://example.com/path/to/package.deb

ppa

Usage: ppa <user>/<name>

This command adds a Personal Package Archive (PPA) to the system. The only argument to the command is the name of the PPA in the format user/ppa.

e.g.

ppa git-core/ppa

keyring

Usage: keyring <name> <URL> | keyring <name> <<SH...SH

This command adds a keyring to the system. The first argument is the name of the keyring, and the second argument is the URL to the GnuPG public key file. Instead of specifying the second argument, a shell script that outputs a public GnuPG key or a keyring file to stdout can be fed to the command using a here document. The keyring file will be saved in /usr/share/keyrings with the name <name>.gpg.

e.g.

keyring cloud.google https://packages.cloud.google.com/apt/doc/apt-key.gpg

source

Usage: source <name> <<EOF...EOF

This command adds a source list to the system. The first argument is the name of the source list and a shell script that outputs the source list should be fed to the command using a here document. The source list file will be saved in /etc/apt/sources.list.d with the name <name>.list.

e.g.

source google-cloud-sdk <<EOF
deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/cloud.google.gpg] https://packages.cloud.google.com/apt cloud-sdk main
EOF

License

Copyright (c) 2024 Akinori Musha

This software is released under the 2-clause BSD license. See the LICENSE file for details.

Visit GitHub Repository for the latest information.