⚠️ Alpha Software WarningRepogen is alpha software and has not been extensively battle-tested in production environments. While it includes comprehensive test coverage and has been validated with package managers, use it with caution for critical infrastructure. Always verify generated repositories work correctly with your package manager before deploying to production.
Repogen is a CLI tool that generates static repository structures for multiple package managers. It scans directories for packages, generates appropriate metadata files, and signs repositories with GPG/RSA keys.
- Debian/APT (.deb packages)
- Yum/RPM (.rpm packages)
- Alpine/APK (.apk packages)
- Arch Linux/Pacman (.pkg.tar.zst, .pkg.tar.xz, .pkg.tar.gz)
- Homebrew (bottle files)
- Automatic Package Detection: Scans directories and auto-detects package types using magic bytes
- Metadata Generation: Creates all necessary index and metadata files for each repository type
- Repository Signing: Signs repositories with GPG (Debian/RPM/Pacman) or RSA (Alpine) keys
- Unsigned Repository Support:
- Always generates InRelease files (required by Debian Trixie)
- InRelease contains Release content without signature for unsigned repos
- Compatible with
[trusted=yes]apt option
- Static Output: Generates static file structures that can be served by any web server
- Simple Component Structure: Uses single component/pool structure for simplicity
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/ralt/repogen
cd repogen
# Build
go build -o repogen ./cmd/repogen
# Optional: Install to PATH
sudo cp repogen /usr/local/bin/# Scan current directory and generate repositories
repogen generate
# Scan specific directory
repogen generate --input-dir /path/to/packages --output-dir /path/to/repo
# Enable verbose logging
repogen generate -vIncremental mode allows you to add new packages to an existing repository without regenerating everything from scratch. This is useful when:
- You have a large repository and only want to add new package versions
- You're syncing from S3 and don't want to download all package files locally
- You want faster repository updates
How It Works:
- Reads existing metadata files (Packages, trust.db, repomd.xml, etc.) from the output directory
- Adds only new packages without removing existing ones
- Errors if a package with the same name+version already exists (conflict detection)
- Regenerates metadata files with both existing and new packages
- Re-signs metadata if signing is enabled
Basic Incremental Usage:
# Add new packages to existing repository
repogen generate \
--input-dir ./new-packages \
--output-dir ./repo \
--incrementalS3 Workflow Examples:
The incremental mode is particularly powerful when combined with S3. You can sync only the metadata files (not the packages themselves), add new packages, and regenerate.
# Sync only metadata from S3 (not package files)
aws s3 sync s3://my-bucket/repo/dists ./repo/dists --delete
# Add new packages with repogen
repogen generate --input-dir ./new-packages --output-dir ./repo --incremental
# Sync everything back to S3 (without --delete to preserve existing packages)
aws s3 sync ./repo s3://my-bucket/repo# Sync only metadata
aws s3 sync s3://my-bucket/repo/40/x86_64/repodata ./repo/40/x86_64/repodata --delete
# Add new packages
repogen generate \
--input-dir ./new-packages \
--output-dir ./repo \
--incremental \
--version 40
# Sync back (without --delete to preserve existing packages)
aws s3 sync ./repo s3://my-bucket/repo# Sync only database files (exclude actual package files)
aws s3 sync s3://my-bucket/repo/x86_64 ./repo/x86_64 \
--exclude "*.pkg.tar.zst" \
--exclude "*.pkg.tar.zst.sig"
# Add new packages
repogen generate \
--input-dir ./new-packages \
--output-dir ./repo \
--repo-name myrepo \
--incremental
# Sync back (without --delete to preserve existing packages)
aws s3 sync ./repo s3://my-bucket/repo# Sync metadata only
aws s3 cp s3://my-bucket/repo/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz ./repo/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
# Add new packages
repogen generate --input-dir ./new-packages --output-dir ./repo --incremental
# Sync back (without --delete to preserve existing packages)
aws s3 sync ./repo s3://my-bucket/repoImportant Notes:
- Incremental mode will error if a package with the same name+version already exists (conflict detection)
- If metadata files don't exist, it falls back to normal mode automatically
- Package files from existing metadata don't need to be present locally
- You can use incremental mode with or without signing
# Generate signed Debian/RPM repositories
repogen generate \
--input-dir ./packages \
--output-dir ./repo \
--gpg-key /path/to/private.key \
--gpg-passphrase "your-passphrase"
# Generate signed Pacman repository (requires --repo-name)
repogen generate \
--input-dir ./packages \
--output-dir ./repo \
--repo-name "myrepo" \
--gpg-key /path/to/private.key \
--gpg-passphrase "your-passphrase"# Generate signed Alpine repository
repogen generate \
--input-dir ./packages \
--output-dir ./repo \
--rsa-key /path/to/rsa-private.pem \
--rsa-passphrase "your-passphrase" \
--key-name "mykey"repogen generate [flags]
Flags:
# Input/Output
-i, --input-dir string Input directory to scan (default ".")
-o, --output-dir string Output directory (default "./repo")
-v, --verbose Enable verbose logging
# Incremental Mode
--incremental Add new packages to existing repository without removing existing ones
# GPG Signing (Debian/RPM)
-k, --gpg-key string Path to GPG private key
-p, --gpg-passphrase string GPG key passphrase
# RSA Signing (Alpine)
--rsa-key string Path to RSA private key
--rsa-passphrase string RSA key passphrase
--key-name string Key name for Alpine signatures (default "repogen")
# Repository Metadata
--origin string Repository origin name
--label string Repository label
--repo-name string Repository name (required for Pacman)
--codename string Codename for Debian repos (default "stable")
--suite string Suite for Debian repos (defaults to codename)
--components strings Components for Debian repos (default [main])
--arch strings Architectures to support (default [amd64])
# Homebrew
--base-url string Base URL for Homebrew bottlesrepo/
├── dists/
│ └── stable/
│ ├── InRelease # Cleartext signed Release (or unsigned copy for unsigned repos)
│ ├── Release # Main metadata
│ ├── Release.gpg # Detached GPG signature (only for signed repos)
│ └── main/
│ └── binary-amd64/
│ ├── Packages # Package metadata
│ ├── Packages.gz # Compressed
│ └── Release
└── pool/
└── main/
└── {letter}/ # First letter of package name
└── {package-name}/
└── package.deb
Using the Repository:
# Add repository (unsigned)
echo "deb [trusted=yes] http://your-server.com/repo stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/repo.list
# Add repository (signed)
# First, import the public key
wget -qO - http://your-server.com/repo/public.key | sudo apt-key add -
echo "deb http://your-server.com/repo stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/repo.list
# Update and install
sudo apt update
sudo apt install package-namerepo/
├── repodata/
│ ├── repomd.xml # Main metadata index
│ ├── repomd.xml.asc # GPG signature
│ └── {hash}-primary.xml.gz # Package metadata
└── Packages/
└── *.rpm
Using the Repository:
# Create repo file
sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/repo.repo <<EOF
[myrepo]
name=My Repository
baseurl=http://your-server.com/repo
enabled=1
gpgcheck=0
EOF
# With GPG checking
sudo rpm --import http://your-server.com/repo/public.key
sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/repo.repo <<EOF
[myrepo]
name=My Repository
baseurl=http://your-server.com/repo
enabled=1
gpgcheck=1
gpgkey=http://your-server.com/repo/public.key
EOF
# Install packages
sudo yum install package-namerepo/
└── x86_64/
├── APKINDEX.tar.gz # Package index
├── APKINDEX.tar.gz.SIGN.RSA.repogen.pub # RSA signature
└── package-1.0.0-r0.apk
Using the Repository:
# Add repository
echo "http://your-server.com/repo" | sudo tee -a /etc/apk/repositories
# With signing (copy public key first)
sudo cp repogen.pub /etc/apk/keys/
echo "http://your-server.com/repo" | sudo tee -a /etc/apk/repositories
# Update and install
sudo apk update
sudo apk add package-namerepo/
└── x86_64/
├── myrepo.db.tar.zst # Package database
├── myrepo.db # Symlink/copy of .db.tar.zst
├── myrepo.db.tar.zst.sig # GPG signature (if signed)
├── myrepo.db.sig # Symlink/copy of signature
├── package-1.0.0-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst
└── package-1.0.0-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst.sig # Package signature (if signed)
Using the Repository:
# Add repository to /etc/pacman.conf
sudo tee -a /etc/pacman.conf <<EOF
[myrepo]
Server = http://your-server.com/repo/\$arch
SigLevel = Optional TrustAll
EOF
# With GPG signing (import public key first)
sudo pacman-key --add public.key
sudo pacman-key --lsign-key KEY_ID
# Update SigLevel in /etc/pacman.conf:
# SigLevel = Required DatabaseOptional
# Update and install
sudo pacman -Sy
sudo pacman -S package-namerepo/
├── Formula/
│ └── package-name.rb # Ruby formula
└── bottles/
└── package--1.0.0.monterey.bottle.tar.gz
Using the Repository:
# Add tap (assuming repo is in GitHub)
brew tap username/repo https://github.com/username/repo
# Install package
brew install package-name# Generate key
gpg --full-generate-key
# Export private key
gpg --export-secret-keys YOUR_KEY_ID > private.key
# Export public key (for distribution)
gpg --export --armor YOUR_KEY_ID > public.key# Generate RSA private key
openssl genrsa -out private.pem 2048
# Extract public key
openssl rsa -in private.pem -pubout -out public.pem
# With passphrase
openssl genrsa -aes256 -out private.pem 2048Repogen generates Debian repositories following the standard format:
- InRelease: Cleartext signed Release file (preferred by modern apt). For unsigned repositories, contains the same content as Release file without signature wrapper.
- Release: Contains metadata and checksums of all index files
- Release.gpg: Detached signature of Release file (only for signed repositories)
- Packages: RFC 822-style package metadata
- pool/: Organized by first letter of package name
Key fields in Packages file:
- Package, Version, Architecture
- Filename (relative to repo root)
- Size, MD5sum, SHA1, SHA256, SHA512
- Description, Depends, Maintainer
Repogen generates RPM repositories compatible with yum/dnf:
- repomd.xml: Master index with checksums of metadata files
- primary.xml.gz: Core package information and dependencies
- Minimal metadata (primary only) for simplicity
The generated repositories can be consumed by:
- yum (RHEL/CentOS 7 and earlier)
- dnf (RHEL/CentOS 8+, Fedora)
- zypper (openSUSE)
Repogen generates Alpine repositories in the apk v2 format:
- APKINDEX.tar.gz: Contains DESCRIPTION and APKINDEX files
- APKINDEX: Letter:value format package metadata
- C: Checksum (Q1 prefix + base64 SHA1)
- P: Package name
- V: Version
- A: Architecture
- S: Size
- T: Description
- L: License
- D: Dependencies (space-separated)
Repogen generates Pacman (Arch Linux) repositories:
- Database file (e.g.,
myrepo.db.tar.zst): Tarball containing package metadata - desc files: Package information in Pacman format within the database
- Package files:
.pkg.tar.zst,.pkg.tar.xz, or.pkg.tar.gz - Signatures: Binary GPG signatures (
.sigfiles) for database and packages - Database structure: Each package has a directory with
descfile containing:%FILENAME%,%NAME%,%VERSION%,%DESC%%CSIZE%,%ISIZE%(compressed and installed size)%MD5SUM%,%SHA256SUM%%ARCH%,%BUILDDATE%,%PACKAGER%,%URL%,%LICENSE%%DEPENDS%,%CONFLICTS%,%GROUPS%
Repogen generates Homebrew taps with:
- Formula/: Ruby formula files auto-generated from bottles
- bottles/: Binary packages
- Multi-architecture support (arm64, x86_64)
- Platform detection from filename patterns
Bottle filename format: {package}--{version}.{platform}.bottle.tar.gz
# Organize packages
mkdir -p packages
cp *.deb packages/
# Generate repository
repogen generate --input-dir packages --output-dir /var/www/repo
# Serve with nginx
sudo ln -s /var/www/repo /usr/share/nginx/html/reporepogen generate \
--input-dir packages \
--output-dir /var/www/repo \
--arch amd64,arm64,i386 \
--codename bookworm \
--origin "My Company" \
--label "Production Packages"# Generate repository with GPG signing
repogen generate \
--input-dir rpms \
--output-dir /var/www/repo \
--gpg-key ~/.gnupg/secring.gpg \
--gpg-passphrase "secret"
# Export public key for users
gpg --export --armor YOUR_KEY_ID > /var/www/repo/RPM-GPG-KEY# Organize bottles
mkdir bottles
cp *.bottle.tar.gz bottles/
# Generate tap
repogen generate \
--input-dir bottles \
--output-dir homebrew-tap \
--base-url "https://github.com/username/homebrew-tap/releases/download/v1.0"# Organize packages
mkdir packages
cp *.pkg.tar.zst packages/
# Generate signed repository
repogen generate \
--input-dir packages \
--output-dir /var/www/repo \
--repo-name "myrepo" \
--arch x86_64,aarch64 \
--gpg-key ~/.gnupg/secring.gpg \
--gpg-passphrase "secret"
# Export public key for users
gpg --export --armor YOUR_KEY_ID > /var/www/repo/myrepo.keyRepogen includes a comprehensive test suite with Docker-based integration tests that verify each repository type works correctly in its native environment.
# Build the binary
make build
# Build test packages
make test-packages
# Run all tests (unit + integration)
make test
# Run only integration tests
make test-integrationTest packages are minimal dummy packages used to verify repository functionality:
# Build test packages natively (requires dpkg-deb, rpmbuild)
make test-packages
# Build test packages using Docker (recommended if tools not available)
make test-packages-dockerThis creates:
test/fixtures/debs/repogen-test_1.0.0_amd64.debtest/fixtures/rpms/repogen-test-1.0.0-1.x86_64.rpmtest/fixtures/apks/repogen-test-1.0.0-r0.apktest/fixtures/pacman/repogen-test-1.0.0-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.zsttest/fixtures/bottles/repogen-test--1.0.0.x86_64_linux.bottle.tar.gz
Integration tests use Docker to:
- Generate repositories with test packages
- Spin up distribution-specific containers
- Configure package managers to use test repositories
- Install test packages
- Verify successful installation
Tested Distributions:
- Debian: Debian Bookworm and Trixie containers
- RPM: Fedora latest container
- Alpine: Alpine latest container
- Pacman: Arch Linux latest container
- Homebrew: Formula validation (local)
Running Integration Tests:
# Requires Docker
make test-integration
# Or run directly with Go
go test -v -timeout 15m ./test
# Skip integration tests if Docker not available
go test -v -short ./...Integration tests verify:
- ✓ Repository structure (all expected files present)
- ✓ Metadata files (Release, Packages, APKINDEX, repomd.xml)
- ✓ Package manager can read repository metadata
- ✓ Package manager can install packages
- ✓ Installed binaries execute successfully
Example output:
=== RUN TestIntegration
=== RUN TestIntegration/Debian
Generating Debian repository...
Testing repository in Debian container...
✓ Debian repository test passed
=== RUN TestIntegration/RPM
Generating RPM repository...
Testing repository in Fedora container...
✓ RPM repository test passed
=== RUN TestIntegration/Alpine
Generating Alpine repository...
Testing repository in Alpine container...
✓ Alpine repository test passed
=== RUN TestIntegration/Pacman
Generating Pacman repository...
Testing repository in Arch Linux container...
✓ Pacman repository test passed
=== RUN TestIntegration/Homebrew
Generating Homebrew repository...
✓ Homebrew repository test passed
Example GitHub Actions workflow:
name: Test
on: [push, pull_request]
jobs:
test:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v3
- uses: actions/setup-go@v4
with:
go-version: '1.23'
- name: Build test packages
run: make test-packages-docker
- name: Run tests
run: make testYou can manually test repositories:
# Generate a test repository
./repogen generate --input-dir test/fixtures/debs --output-dir /tmp/test-repo
# Serve with Python
cd /tmp/test-repo
python3 -m http.server 8000
# In another terminal, test with Docker
docker run -it --rm debian:bookworm bash
# Inside container:
echo "deb [trusted=yes] http://host.docker.internal:8000 stable main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/test.list
apt update
apt install repogen-test- Check that package files have correct extensions (.deb, .rpm, .apk, .pkg.tar.zst/.pkg.tar.xz/.pkg.tar.gz, .bottle.tar.gz)
- Verify magic bytes in files (packages may be corrupted)
- Use
--verboseflag to see detailed scanning output
- Verify GPG key is not encrypted or provide correct passphrase
- Check that private key file is readable
- Ensure go-crypto library supports your key type
- Verify all metadata files were generated in output directory
- Check file permissions (should be readable by web server)
- Test with unsigned repository first (
[trusted=yes]for apt) - Review web server logs for 404s
Even with [trusted=yes], Debian Trixie expects InRelease files to exist. Repogen now automatically generates InRelease files for all repositories:
- Signed repositories: InRelease contains cleartext signature
- Unsigned repositories: InRelease contains Release content (no signature)
This ensures compatibility with both old (Bookworm) and new (Trixie) Debian releases.
- Ensure Docker is installed and running:
docker version - Build test packages first:
make test-packages - Check Docker can pull images:
docker pull debian:bookworm - Increase timeout for slow systems:
go test -timeout 30m ./test
Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit pull requests or open issues for bugs and feature requests.
# Clone and build
git clone https://github.com/ralt/repogen
cd repogen
make build
# Make changes and test
make fmt # Format code
make lint # Run linter (requires golangci-lint)
make test # Run all tests
# Before committing
make test-packages # Ensure test packages build
make test # Ensure all tests passMIT License.
See RELEASING.md for detailed instructions on:
- Preparing and creating releases
- What happens during the automated release workflow
- Deploying the generated repository archive to S3 or web servers
- Troubleshooting common issues
Quick start:
# Run tests
make test
# Create and push a tag
git tag -a v1.0.0 -m "Release version 1.0.0"
git push origin v1.0.0
# GitHub Actions will automatically:
# - Build binaries for 4 platforms
# - Create native packages (deb, rpm, apk, bottle)
# - Generate a repository using repogen itself
# - Create release with all artifacts + repository archive- Test Workflow (
.github/workflows/test.yml): Runs on PRs and pushes to main - Release Workflow (
.github/workflows/release.yml): Runs on version tags (v*..)
The release workflow generates a repogen-repository-VERSION.zip archive containing a complete repository that you can extract and deploy to S3, GitHub Pages, or any web server.