---
name: "APKBUILD"
section: "5"
platform: "linux"
package: "abuild"
version: "3.17.0-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/APKBUILD"
---

# APKBUILD(5)

metadata and instructions to build a package

## NAME

**APKBUILD** - metadata and instructions to build a package

## SYNOPSIS

/usr/src/packages/\<repo\>/\<package\>/APKBUILD

## DESCRIPTION

An **APKBUILD** file is used by tools such as [abuild(1)](/abuild/1.md) to build a package for eventual installation by the [apk(8)](/apk/8.md) package manager. It defines metadata such as the name of the package, the version information, the source license, and contact information for the developer. It additionally contains the commands needed to build, test, and install the package.

The **APKBUILD** format is similar to a typical shell script; you set pre-defined variables and implement pre-defined functions, and the [abuild(1)](/abuild/1.md) (or similar) utility will use them to create the package.

### Required Variables

The following variables must be set in all **APKBUILD** files:

**pkgname**

Specifies the name of the package. This is typically the name of the package upstream; however, note that all letters must be lowercased.

Libraries for scripting languages should have a prefix before the library name describing the language. Such prefixes include *lua-*, *perl-*, *py-*, and *rb-*. Not all languages use prefixes. For a definitive list, consult the PREFIXES file in the root directory of the repository you are using for packaging.

**pkgver**

Specifies the version of the software being packaged. The version of a package must consist of one or more numbers separated by the radix (decimal point). The final number may have a single letter following it, for upstreams that use such a versioning scheme (such as 1.5a, 1.5b, 1.5c).

After the final number (and optional single letter), one or more suffixes may be appended, which must be an underscore (\_) followed by one of *alpha*, *beta*, *pre*, *rc*, *cvs*, *svn*, *git*, *hg*, or *p*, optionally followed by another number. If a suffix is *alpha*, *beta*, *pre*, or *rc*, it is considered to be earlier than the version without this suffix; if a suffix is *cvs*, *svn,* git\_, *hg*, or *p*, it is considered to be later than the version without this suffix. All of the following examples are valid versions, in order from lowest to highest:

1\.0, 1.1\_alpha2, 1.1.3\_pre, 1.1.3\_pre\_p2, 1.1.3, 1.1.3\_hg, 1.2, 1.2a, 1.2b

**pkgrel**

Specifies the package release number of this particular package version.  This indicates when a package has changed without a corresponding change in version. Always increment **pkgrel** when you change the contents, dependencies, or metadata of a package. The first release of a package is always 0.

**pkgdesc**

Specifies what the package contains. **pkgdesc** must be 128 characters or less, and should concisely describe what actions the software or items being package will allow the user to perform. For example, “Fully-featured word processor with spell check and plugins” would be a sufficient **pkgdesc** for AbiWord.

**url**

Specifies the Web address of the package's upstream. This allows users and future maintainers to find documentation, release information, and contact information for the package. If no Web address is available for the package, you must set **url** to an empty string ("").

**arch**

Specifies the architectures for which the package may be built. It is highly recommended that you set this variable to "*all*" if the package is portable.

You may use "*noarch*" if the package does not contain any architecture-specific binary files - that is, any files that are compiled for the target only. Such packages may include pure Python packages, shell script packages, and JARs. If you are not sure what this means, using "*all*" is safe.

Architectures can be negated using the *!* character to exclude them from the list of supported architectures. E.g. *arch="all !ppc64le"* means that the package is allowed to be built on all architectures but the ppc64le architecture.

**license**

Specifies the license under which the package is distributed. The value provided must match a SPDX license identifier.

**source**

Specifies the location of both local and remote source files used to build the package. Typically, the remote source file(s) or archive(s) is specified, followed by any local patches, configuration files, or other necessary files.

### Optional Variables

The following variables are not required, but may be set in any **APKBUILD** file.

**checkdepends**

Specifies test-time dependencies of the package. Common packages that are used for testing include check, dejagnu, and perl-test-command.

**depends**

Specifies the run-time dependencies of the package. The [abuild(1)](/abuild/1.md) utility will automatically scan the resultant package for shared library (.so) dependencies; do not specify them here.

**install**

Specifies install scripts for the package, if any. See *Install* *Scripts* for more information about install scripts.

**install\_if**

Specifies a condition when [apk(8)](/apk/8.md) should automatically install the package (or subpackage). For instance, the OpenRC subpackages set

```
install_if="openrc ${subpkgname%-openrc}=$pkgver-r$pkgrel"
```

which means that the OpenRC subpackage will be automatically installed if both OpenRC and the origin package are installed on the same computer.

**makedepends**

Specifies build dependencies for the package.

**maintainer**

The name and email of the package maintainer in RFC 2822 format. E.g.: *maintainer="Joe Q. Public \<john.q.public@example.com\>"*

**pkggroups**

Specifies a space-separated list of login groups to create during build-time. Note that you will need to create the login groups in a pre-install script as well; see *Install Scripts* for more information about install scripts.

**pkgusers**

Specifies a space-separated list of user logins to create during build-time. Note that you will need to create the user logins in a pre-install install script as well; see *Install Scripts* for more information about install scripts.

**provides**

Specifies that the package "provides" the same contents as another package.  There are two formats that you may use for **provides**: a provider name, and a provider name with version.

Specifying a provider name with version such as *foobar=1.2* will cause the package to be an "alias" of *foobar* version *1.2*. It will be automatically installed if a user then runs \`apk add foobar\` or similar, and it will conflict with a package named *foobar*.

Specifying a provider name without a version such as *baz* will cause the package to provide a "virtual" called *baz*. Multiple packages with the same virtual provider can be installed on a system; however, if a user runs \`apk add baz\` they will be provided a list of packages that provide *baz* and must select one and install it.

**provider\_priority**

Specifies the numeric value for [apk(8)](/apk/8.md) to use for the package when considering which provider should be installed for the same **provides** virtual provider.

**replaces**

Specifies packages that the package replaces. This is typically used for packages renamed by upstream.

**replaces\_priority**

Specifies the numeric value that is used by [apk(8)](/apk/8.md) when multiple packages with **replaces** include the same file. It is also used to decide which package should define the permissions of a directory even without **replaces** set.

**subpackages**

Specifies subpackages or split packages built with this package. Typically, this will include *$pkgname-dev* for development files (such as */usr/include* and static library files) and *$pkgname-doc* for documentation (such as */usr/share/doc* and */usr/share/man*).

By default the split function is the end of the package name after the last hyphen. So for *$pkgname-foo* and *libfoo* the split function is *foo* and *libfoo* respectively. A custom split function name can be set by using *foo:funcname*. Similar to the **package** function, the split function must move files from *$pkgdir* (which is the default cwd) or *$srcdir* to *$subpkgdir* after creating *$subpkgdir*.

By default **arch** determines whether or not a subpackage is considered arch independant or not. This can be changed by using *foo::noarch* or *foo:funcname:all*.

When multiple subpackages are specified their split functions are executed in the order in which they occur in **subpackages**.

**triggers**

Specifies trigger scripts used by the specified (sub)packages. A trigger script is a shell script that is called whenever monitored files or directories are modified.  You may specify the paths to monitor using the triggers variable as follows:

```
$pkgname.trigger=/usr/share/man:/usr/local/share/man
```

This will run the trigger script for *$pkgname* whenever files in */usr/share/man* or */usr/local/share/man* are created, modified, or removed.

**options**

The **options** variable allows you to set parameters for the package at build time. There are a number of valid options you may set, and you may set multiple options by writing a space between each one. Custom option names can be used when they contain exactly one *:*. Options can be set for a specific (sub)packages by using *subpkgname::option* (or *subpkgname:option* for custom options).

**!archcheck**

Specifies that the package contains binaries that cannot run on the target architecture. This is primarily used for packages containing firmware, and should typically never be needed.

**bigdocs**

Specifies that this packages intentionally has a large -doc subpackage. Thereby suppressing a warning to be emitted if the -doc subpackage exceeds a certain package size threshold (currently 2 MiB).

**charset.alias**

Specifies that the package ships a */usr/lib/charset.alias* file and that it should be installed on the user's system. This is almost never the case. Do not use this option.

**!check**

Specifies that the package will not run a test suite. The reason for disabling the check phase should be noted in a comment.

**checkroot**

Specifies that this package's test suite will be run in fakeroot(8).  This is necessary for some test suites which fail when run as non-root.

**!dbg**

Specifies that the package should not be built with a debug information package. This is the default unless DEFAULT\_DBG is set in the environment or [abuild.conf(5)](/abuild.conf/5.md). It is typically used on packages that do not generate debug information (such as pure Python packages) or packages that do not support debug information packages.

**!fhs**

Specifies that the package violates FHS and installs to a location such as */usr/local*, */opt*, or */srv*.

**ldpath-recursive**

Specifies that [abuild(1)](/abuild/1.md) should use the **--recursive** argument to [scanelf(1)](/scanelf/1.md) when attempting to find shared library (.so) dependencies for the package.

**lib64**

Specifies that the package installs files under */lib64* or */usr/lib64* and that the test for those directories should be skipped.  This is discouraged and should only be used for packages providing compatibility for GNU libc.

**libtool**

Specifies that the package requires its libtool (.la) files. They will not be automatically removed by [abuild(1)](/abuild/1.md).

**net**

Specifies that the package build system requires access to a network.  This is discouraged and an issue should be filed with the package's authors.

**!strip**

Specifies that [strip(1)](/strip/1.md) should not be run on any of the package's binaries. This is automatically implying if the DEBUG variable is set.

**suid**

Specifies that binaries in the package may be installed set-uid. This is a security risk and it is highly recommended to use capabilities or process separation instead of set-uid where available.

**setcap**

Specifies that binaries in the package may be installed with extra [setcap(8)](/setcap/8.md) capabilities. If this option is enabled, it is highly recommended to only make these binaries executable by root and users of a specific group, not by others.

**textrels**

Specifies that the package's binaries are known to contain relocations against text segments. By default, [abuild(1)](/abuild/1.md) will refuse to create such a package because this is a security concern.

**toolchain**

Specifies that the package is part of the base toolchain set and may depend on packages like *g++*.

**!tracedeps**

Specifies that [abuild(1)](/abuild/1.md) should not automatically populate **depends** and **provides** with shared library (.so), symlink target dependencies and similar.

### Automatic Variables

The following variables are defined for you by [abuild(1)](/abuild/1.md), but may be overridden if necessary.

**builddir**

Specifies the directory where the source code of the package will be built.  The default value is *$srcdir/$pkgname-$pkgver* which is appropriate for most source distributions. If the source tarball does not create a *$pkgname-$pkgver* directory when it is unpacked, you must override **builddir**.

**pkgdir**

Specifies the directory where the built files will be installed. Typically, you will call \`make DESTDIR="$pkgdir" install\` or similar to install the files. The default value is *$startdir/pkg* and you should not modify this variable.

**srcdir**

Specifies the directory where the files specified in **source** are downloaded and unpacked. The default value is *$startdir/src* and you should not need to modify this.

**startdir**

Specifies the directory where the **APKBUILD** file resides. This should generally not be used.

**subpkgdir**

Specifies the directory where the subpackage's files should be placed. This variable is only set inside subpackage functions.

### Special Variables

The following variables are used only in special circumstances, and may be required or optional depending on their usage and the contents of other variables.

**depends\_dev**

Run-time dependencies of the *-dev* subpackage.

**depends\_doc**

Run-time dependencies of the *-doc* subpackage.

**depends\_libs**

Run-time dependencies of the *-libs* subpackage.

**depends\_openrc**

Run-time dependencies of the *-openrc* subpackage.

**depends\_static**

Run-time dependencies of the *-static* subpackage.

**depends\_systemd**

Run-time dependencies of the *-systemd* subpackage.

**depends\_udev**

Run-time dependencies of the *-udev* subpackage.

**giturl**

URL of the Git repository to use with \`abuild snapshot\`. If the default branch of the repository is not desired, a different one may be specified by appending **-b** *branch* where *branch* is the branch to checkout.

### Functions

Functions specified here may be present in any **APKBUILD** file, but with the exception of **package**, are not strictly required.

**fetch**

This function is called to download the remote files in **source**.

**unpack**

This function unpacks any archives in **source** to **srcdir**.

**prepare**

Prepares the source in **srcdir** to be built. The default **prepare** function ensures the build directories are set up correctly and applies any *\*.patch* files specified in **source**. You must call **default\_prepare** if you write a custom **prepare** function.

A custom **prepare** function may call **update\_config\_sub** or **update\_config\_guess** to update **config.sub** and **config.guess** files respectively.

**build**

Compiles the source in **builddir**. You must implement this function yourself. If no compilation is required, you may omit it.

**check**

Runs the package's test suite. This function must implemented unless **!check** was specified in **options**.

**package**

Installs the package into **pkgdir**. Note that **pkgdir** is not created for you; if this package installs no files (for example, a metapackage), you must use \`mkdir -p "$pkgdir"\` to skip the package phase.

### Install Scripts

An install script is run when an action is taken on a package by [apk(8)](/apk/8.md). An install script must be written in shell and must have a *#!/bin/sh* interpreter declaration as the first line. The **install** variable must contain the install scripts needed by the package.

The install script will be run inside the root filesystem where the package is being installed. A single argument will be passed to call scripts, which is the version of the package being currently installed (or deinstalled). The pre-upgrade and post-upgrade scripts will have an additional second argument, which specifies the version of the package before the upgrade process.

The different actions that may have install scripts specified are as follows:

**$pkgname.pre-install**

Executed before the package is installed. If this script exits with an error (non-zero exit code), [apk(8)](/apk/8.md) will halt the installation and the package will not be installed. This install script is typically used to create any users or groups needed as described in **pkggroups** and **pkgusers**.

**$pkgname.post-install**

Executed after the package is installed. If this script exits with an error (non-zero exit code), [apk(8)](/apk/8.md) will mark the package as broken. The \`apk fix\` command will attempt to re-run the post-install script if this occurs.

**$pkgname.pre-upgrade**

Executed before the package is upgraded. If this script exits with an error (non-zero exit code), [apk(8)](/apk/8.md) will mark the package as broken.

**$pkgname.post-upgrade**

Executed after the package is upgraded. If this script exits with an error (non-zero exit code), [apk(8)](/apk/8.md) will mark the package as broken. The \`apk fix\` command will attempt to re-run the post-upgrade script if this occurs.

**$pkgname.pre-deinstall**

Executed before the package is removed from the system. If this script exits with an error (non-zero exit code), [apk(8)](/apk/8.md) will not remove the package from the system.

**$pkgname.post-deinstall**

Executed after the package is removed from the system. Exiting with an error will have no effect.

## IMPLEMENTATION NOTES

Currently, **APKBUILD** files are sourced as normal shells scripts. This may change at a later date.

## COMPATIBILITY

The [abuild(1)](/abuild/1.md) utility as distributed by Alpine Linux uses the BusyBox Almquist shell, a part of [busybox(1)](/busybox/1.md) that is currently undocumented. It is mostly compliant with IEEE Std 1003.2 (“POSIX.2”), with some bash-like extensions. The [abuild(1)](/abuild/1.md) utility as distributed by Adélie uses the user's preferred /bin/sh, which is typically [bash(1)](/bash/1.md).

## SEE ALSO

SPDX license reference (on the Web at \<https://spdx.org/licenses/\>), [abuild(1)](/abuild/1.md), [newapkbuild(1)](/newapkbuild/1.md), [apk(8)](/apk/8.md), buildrepo(1), ap(1), checkapk(1).

## HISTORY

The **APKBUILD** format and [abuild(1)](/abuild/1.md) utility first appeared in Alpine Linux 1.9.

## AUTHORS

Timo Teräs \<*timo.teras@iki.fi*\>\
 Natanael Copa \<*ncopa@alpinelinux.org*\>

Documentation:\
 A. Wilcox \<*awilfox@adelielinux.org*\>