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On this page, you will find information about MatterLinux package pools.
List
Here is a list of all the official MatterLinux software package pools, you can find URL(s) for these pools in the mirrors page.
Base
Contains software packages for the core system (for example glibc, grub),
so you need these packages in order to have a bootable system, however the base
pool alone won't get you further from a simple installation.
Desktop
Contains software packages for your desktop needs (for example xorg, xfce4),
however they are not necessarily needed for a simple installation.
Server
Contains software packages for your server needs (for example apache, nginx),
similar to the desktop pool, you do not necessarily need these for a simple installation.
Structure
A pool contains:
- Packages (
.mpffiles) - Package signatures (
.mpf.sigfiles) - Pool info file (
INFO) - Package list file (
LIST)
Package files and signatures
MatterLinux pools contain at least two packages. Each package also has a PGP signature that can be used to verify the package. These signatures belong to public key fingerprint specified in the pool info file.
Pool info file
Pool info file contains information about the pool itself. This information includes
- Pool name
- Pool size
- Pool maintainer
- Pool public key (used for package signatures)
This info file can be found in the at the root of the pool. For example the pool info file
for https://pkgs.matterlinux.xyz/base is located at https://pkgs.matterlinux.xyz/base/INFO.
.ini format is used for this file.
Package list file
A list containing all the package information can be found in an archive file named LIST.
This file is located at the root of the pool. For example the package list for https://pkgs.matterlinux.xyz/base
is located at https://pkgs.matterlinux.xyz/base/LIST.
This archive has the following structure:
list
├── package-one_version
│ └── DATA
├── package-two_version
│ └── DATA
...
The DATA file contains the information for that specific package and it's extracted from packages.
To learn more about these please check out the page for packages.
Pool sources
Source for a pool has a simple structure. It also contains all the source files for all the packages in
that pool. For example lets take a look the structure of the base
pool source:
base
├── dist
│ ├── acl_2.3.1.mpf
│ ├── acl_2.3.1.mpf.sig
│ ├── INFO
│ ...
│ ├── LIST
│ ├── sed_4.9.mpf
│ ├── sed_4.9.mpf.sig
│ ...
├── LICENSE.txt
├── README.md
├── pool.sh
├── sign-dist.sh
└── src
├── acl
│ └── pkg.sh
├── attr
│ └── pkg.sh
├── autoconf
│ └── pkg.sh
├── automake
│ └── pkg.sh
├── bash
│ ├── pkg.sh
│ ├── skelprof
│ └── skelrc
...
Let's break this down:
LICENSE.txt: License used for the pool. All the packages in the pool should use a license compatible with this license.README.md: README file. Contains a small description about the pool.pool.sh: Pool script contains information about the pool, used to build the pool info file.src: Contains package sources (package scripts, extra patches, configuration files etc.)dist: Contains the compiled (built) packages.sign-dist.sh: An extra shell script that you can find in the official pools. It is just a small script that is used to sign all the packages in thedistdirectory if they are built without the signatures.
Using different pools
MatterLinux releases offer 2 different pools, base and desktop. There are also development/testing
base and desktop pools (named "next"). URLs for these pools and the mirrors can be found at the mirrors page.
These pools can provide packages for users, these packages can be managed using the
MatterLinux package manager (matt).
Building an already existing pool
To build an already existing pool, such as the base or the desktop pool, first you will need to
download the pool's source. Source for the base, desktop and server pool can be found on MatterLinux Git Server.
After downloading the pool source, you will need to install the mp-pool tool, which is the tool
used for building MatterLinux pools. To do so please you can simply install the mtsc
package from the base pool.
Finally to build the pool:
$ mp-pool <pool dir>
You will mostly likely want to disable package signing though, as you are probably don't have the PGP keys for the official pools:
$ mp-pool --no-sign <pool dir>
Hosting pools
Unlike most of the package managers, matt does not use HTTP, FTP or RSYNC to communicate with the pools. It has it's own
custom protocol named MPTP. Pools are hosted over this protocol using pooler.
To host a pool using pooler, download and install the pooler by following the instructions on the README. It's also in the server pool so you can install it with matt as well.
After installing it, you'll need to create/edit the configuration file (/etc/pooler/config.ini).
Here is an example configuration file:
# address to host the MPTP server on
addr = 0.0.0.0:5858
# pool name
[my-pool]
# pool directory
dir = /srv/my-pool
# pool hostname
host = my-pool.example.com
After editing this configuration for your needs, you can run pooler with the configuration file:
$ pooler /etc/pooler/config.ini
After running this command, pooler should start hosting your pool over MPTP on port 5858. If you experience any issues, you should check the error logs.
Creating a new pool
If you want to create an unofficial pool, setup the directory structure for the source pool as
explained above. Then create a pool.sh script, you can copy one from the official pools and
edit it.
After adding your packages and building them with mp-pool, you can host it using pooler.
I suggest you also host them on a HTTP or a FTP server just to make them easier to access.
Also you can add your unofficial pool to this wiki page by creating an issue.