--- name: "pkg_create" section: "1" platform: "openbsd" package: "man" version: "8.0-current-20261101" release: "OpenBSD 8.0-current (2026-11-01)" platforms: ["openbsd"] url: "https://new.carta.tech/pkg_create" --- # pkg\_create(1) create binary software package for distribution ## NAME **pkg\_create** – create binary software package for distribution ## SYNOPSIS **pkg\_create** \[**-mnQqSvx**\] \[**-A** *arches*\] \[**-B** *pkg-destdir*\] \[**-D** *name*\[=*value*\]\] \[**-L** *localbase*\] \[**-M** *displayfile*\] \[**-P** *pkgpath*:*pkgspec*:*default*\] \[**-U** *undisplayfile*\] \[**-u** *userlist*\] \[**-V** *n*\] \[**-W** *libspec*\] **-d** *desc* **-D** *COMMENT*=*value* **-D** *FULLPKGPATH*=*value* **-D** *PORTSDIR*=*value* **-f** *packinglist* **-p** *prefix* *pkg-name* **pkg\_create** **-f** *packinglist* ## DESCRIPTION The **pkg\_create** command is normally used to create a binary package named *pkg-name*, for subsequent use with pkg\_add(1), [pkg\_delete(1)](/pkg_delete/1.md) and [pkg\_info(1)](/pkg_info/1.md). *pkg-name* will traditionally have a “.tgz” extension, to denote the underlying binary format. *pkg-name* must follow [packages-specs(7)](/packages-specs/7.md). Use of the [ports(7)](/ports/7.md) infrastructure instead of manual **pkg\_create** invocation is strongly recommended. **pkg\_create** can also be used to recreate a binary package from an existing installation. During package creation, **pkg\_create** replaces too long file names with smaller equivalents( see [package(5)](/package/5.md)), records extra information in the packing-list, such as the existence of symlinks and hard links, computes and stores file checksums, and verifies that all special objects are properly annotated in the packing-list. It will also check all required shared libraries for reachability, by looking into all installed dependencies. It may also ask the ports tree for extra dependencies, provided some other dependency refers to the same BASE\_PKGPATH( see [bsd.port.mk(5)](/bsd.port.mk/5.md)). The rationale is that those libraries must already be present for the package to build correctly, and thus be reachable through the subset of dependencies that are not pure RUN\_DEPENDS. The options are as follows: - **-A** *arches* Register a list of architectures for which this package should install. *arches* is a comma-separated list of architectures. Use ‘\*’ to mean any architecture (e.g., arch-independent packages). - **-B** *pkg-destdir* Set *pkg-destdir* as the prefix to prepend to any file to select for the package. - **-D** *name*\[=*value*\] Define *name* to *value* (or just define it) for substitution and fragment inclusion purposes. Some specific *names* have extra meaning, see [bsd.port.mk(5)](/bsd.port.mk/5.md) and [package(5)](/package/5.md) for details: - **CDROM** Set to the port's Makefile *PERMIT\_PACKAGE\_CDROM*. - **COMMENT** Set package “one line description” (mandatory). - **HISTORY\_DIR** Record checksums of files in permanent location *${HISTORY\_DIR}/${FULLPKGPATH:S,/,./g}.lru*. - **FTP** Set to the port's Makefile *PERMIT\_PACKAGE\_FTP*. - **FULLPKGPATH** Location in the ports tree, mandatory for updates to work( see pkg\_add(1)). - **HOMEPAGE** If defined, appended to the description. - **MAINTAINER** If defined, appended to the description. - **NO\_TS\_IN\_PLIST** If set, disable the **@ts** annotations in the generated package, rely on the normal [tar(1)](/tar/1.md) timestamps instead. (Mostly used to create firmware "packages" since [fw\_update(8)](/fw_update/8.md) only handles a very small subset of the [package(5)](/package/5.md) format.) - **USE\_GROFF** Set to 1 to have groff format manpages behind the scenes during package creation. - **REVISION\_CHECK**, **EPOCH\_CHECK**, **FLAVOR\_LIST\_CHECK** Set automatically by [bsd.port.mk(5)](/bsd.port.mk/5.md) to values that help **pkg\_create** catch a few errors in package naming. - **-d** \[**-**\]*desc* Fetch long description for package from file *desc* or, if preceded by ‘-’, the argument itself. - **-f** *packinglist* Fetch “packing-list” for package from the file *packinglist*. Several packing-lists can be mentioned, in which case they will be concatenated together. - **-L** *localbase* Record *localbase* as the localbase used in the package( By default, */usr/local*). Packages built with another localbase can only be installed by using the same localbase in pkg\_add(1), to prevent errors. - **-M** *displayfile* Display the file (using [more(1)](/more/1.md)) after installing the package. Useful for things like legal notices on almost-free software, etc. - **-m** Causes **pkg\_create** to always display the progress meter in cases it would not do so by default. - **-n** Don't actually create a package. - **-P** *pkgpath*:*pkgspec*:*default* Declare a dependency on a package matching *pkgspec* (see [packages-specs(7)](/packages-specs/7.md)). An appropriate package must be installed before this package may be installed, and that package must be deinstalled before this package is deinstalled. The dependency also contains a *pkgpath*( see [pkgpath(7)](/pkgpath/7.md)) and a *default* package name, in case there is no listing of available packages. As a special case, ‘=’ may be used as a *pkgspec*, to match the *default* version exactly. - **-p** *prefix* Set *prefix* as the initial directory “base” to start from in selecting files for the package, and to record as the base for installing the package. - **-Q** Print out the files in the actual packing-list of the package being generated, with explicit typing (e.g. **@file**, **@lib**, **...**). - **-q** Print out the actual packing-list of the package being generated (query mode). Most often used in combination with **-n**. - **-S** Print the update signature of the package. See [pkg\_info(1)](/pkg_info/1.md). - **-U** *undisplayfile* Display the file (using [more(1)](/more/1.md)) when deinstalling the package. Useful for reminders about stuff to clean up. - **-u** *userlist* Check all **@newuser** and **@newgroup** statements against a *userlist* file( usually *${PORTSDIR}/infrastructure/db/user.list*) and error out for entries not registered in that file. Also error out if the file is incoherent. - **-V** *n* Adds *n* to the ‘global system version’ of the package (see [package(5)](/package/5.md)). The default value of 0 is not recorded, thus packages without **@version** have an implicit version of 0. - **-v** Turn on verbose output. - **-W** *libspec* Package needs a shared library to work. *libspec* is ‘name.major.minor’ or ‘path/name.major.minor’. The package won't be installed unless a library with the same name, the exact same major number and at least the same minor number can be located. A library without path is searched through dependent packages under the same *localbase*, then in the system libraries under */usr/lib* and */usr/X11R6/lib*. A library with a path is only searched through dependent packages, that path being relative to *localbase*. - **-x** Disable progress meter. **pkg\_create** can also be invoked with only the packing-list from an installed package. It will recreate the corresponding binary package in the current directory from the installation, or error out if any problem is found. For example, the following will recreate a *kdelibs-3.4.3.tgz* package: ``` pkg_create -f /var/db/pkg/kdelibs-3.4.3/+CONTENTS ``` ## PACKING-LIST DETAILS The “packing-list” format (see **-f**) is fairly straightforward: basically a list of filenames and directory names to include in the package. Substitution of variables and inclusion of fragments is documented in the next section. Directory names are denoted by a trailing slash. There are some annotations that can be inserted for better control. All these commands start with an ‘@’. The following annotations can be inserted manually (but commonly [update-plist(1)](/update-plist/1.md) is used for creating most packing-list contents): - **@ask-update** *pkgspec* *message* Mechanism to prevent unwanted updates. If the new package is installed as part of an update matching *pkgspec*, the *message* will be displayed to the user. In non-interactive mode, the update will abort. Otherwise, the user will have a chance to proceed. Automated updates can be done by using **-D** *update\_stem*, with *stem* the stem of the *pkgspec*. Classical use case for postgresql: ``` @ask-update postgresql-server-<8 Make sure your existing database is backed up ``` Use very sparingly. Most cases that seem to require manual updates just require a bit more thought. - **@bin** *filename* Describe the file as an OpenBSD binary executable (not a script). - **@comment** *string* Place a comment in the packing-list. Useful in trying to document some particularly hairy sequence that may trip someone up later. Can also be used to comment out elements that update-plist (see [bsd.port.mk(5)](/bsd.port.mk/5.md)) will insist in inserting in a packing-list. The special comment **@comment** **no** **checksum** can be used to tag the next file as special: even though its characteristics will be recorded in the package, it can be altered after installation, and [pkg\_delete(1)](/pkg_delete/1.md) will still delete it. The special comment **@comment** **no** **debug** can be used to tag the next file as special: even though it might be a binary, it has no debug info( see [build-debug-info(1)](/build-debug-info/1.md)). - **@conflict** *pkgspec* Declare a conflict with packages matching *pkgspec* (see [packages-specs(7)](/packages-specs/7.md)). The *pkgname* package can *not* be installed if a package matching *pkgspec* has been installed because they install the same files and thus conflict. - **@cwd** *pathname* Set the package current directory. All subsequent filenames will be assumed relative to *pathname*. - **@dir** *directoryname* Create directory *directoryname* at pkg\_add(1) time, taking **@mode**, **@group**, and **@owner** into account, and remove it during [pkg\_delete(1)](/pkg_delete/1.md). Directories to remove can be shared between packages. If *name* does not begin with an @, same as ``` name/ ``` - **@define-tag** *tag* *mode* *params* Define a tag of name *tag*. Tags define actions to be performed at specific time during pkg\_add(1) and [pkg\_delete(1)](/pkg_delete/1.md). A given tag may be defined several times with additional properties. Currently, the following modes are defined: - *at-end* if the tag occurs in any dependency, the given command *params* is executed at the end, similar to **@exec** commands. The **%D** escape sequence stands for localbase. Actual tags may themselves contain parameters, so the *params* list recognizes two additional escape sequences: - **%l** list of tag parameters, in a random order, with duplicates removed. - **%u** execute the command once for each distinct tag parameter. As a special case, deleting the package that contains the **@define-tag** will work differently: If that **@tag** is present in the same package as the **@define-tag**, then it will be run when encountered, presumably before the command itself has been deleted. If that **@tag** is not present, the command won't be run at all, since the package has been deleted from the file system, and usually cleaning up only requires removing index files. - *supersedes* If the given tag is found in dependencies, it supersedes the other tag given in the same line. For instance: ``` @define-tag mktexlsr at-end mktexlsr @define-tag mktexlsr-local at-end mktexlsr texmf-local @define-tag mktexlsr supersedes mktexlsr-local ``` Here, the tag *mktexlsr* rebuilds every texmf directory index, whereas *mktexlsr-local* only rebuilds the local texmf directory index, so if both tags are seen, only the global command will be run. - **@exec** *command* Execute *command* during pkg\_add(1). Note that **@exec** commands are executed relative to their location in the packing-list, so they can rely on any data that have already been extracted, but not on anything that is listed after them. Some special elements, such as new users and new groups, are always created first, so that **@exec** can rely on them. pkg\_add(1) and [pkg\_delete(1)](/pkg_delete/1.md) set the PATH to a predictable value: ``` /bin:/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/X11R6/bin:${LOCALBASE}/bin:${LOCALBASE}/sbin ``` during execution. If *command* contains any of the following sequences somewhere in it, they will be expanded inline. For the following examples, assume that **@cwd** is set to */usr/local* and the last extracted file was *bin/emacs*. - **%B** Expands to the “basename” of the fully qualified filename, that is the current directory prefix, plus the last filespec, minus the trailing filename. In the example case, that would be */usr/local/bin*. - **%D** Expands to the current directory prefix, as set with **@cwd**; in the example case */usr/local*. - **%F** Expands to the last filename extracted (as specified); in the example case, *bin/emacs*. - **%f** Expands to the “filename” part of the fully qualified name, or the converse of **%B**; in the example case, *emacs*. - **@exec-always** *command* Synonym of **@exec**. - **@exec-add** *command* Similar to **@exec**, except it only gets executed during new installations, and not during updates. - **@exec-update** *command* Similar to **@exec**, except it only gets executed during updates, and not during new installations. - **@extra** *filename* Declare extra file *filename* to be deleted at deinstall time, if user sets the **-c** option. Those files are extra configuration files that are normally not deleted. *filename* can be an absolute path. If *filename* ends with a slash, it is a directory. - **@extraunexec** *command* Extra *command* to execute when removing extra files. - **@file** *filename* Default annotation, to use if *filename* begins with @. *filename* is always a relative path, relative to the current **@cwd**. - **@fontdir** *directoryname* Specialized version of **@dir**, to handle font directories: create *font.alias* from *font.alias-\** fragments, execute [mkfontdir(1)](/mkfontdir/1.md), [mkfontscale(1)](/mkfontscale/1.md) and [fc-cache(1)](/fc-cache/1.md) when needed. Delete extra files at [pkg\_delete(1)](/pkg_delete/1.md) time. - **@group** *group* Set default group ownership for all subsequently extracted files to *group*. Use without an arg to set back to default (extraction) group ownership. - **@info** *filename* Specialized version of **@file**, to handle GNU info files. Automatically grab *filename*-\* chapter files, run [install-info(1)](/install-info/1.md) as needed. - **@lib** *filename* Specialized version of **@file**, to handle shared libraries. Satisfy LIB\_DEPENDS and WANTLIB, run [ldconfig(8)](/ldconfig/8.md) as needed. See ‘VARIABLE SUBSTITUTION AND FRAGMENT INCLUSION’ for some details. - **@man** *filename* Specialized version of **@file**, to handle manual pages. - **@mandir** *directoryname* Specialized version of **@dir**, to handle manual directories: instruct user to add/remove the directory to [man.conf(5)](/man.conf/5.md), remove [apropos(1)](/apropos/1.md) database when needed. - **@mode** *mode* Set default permission for all subsequently extracted files to *mode*. Format is the same as that used by the [chmod(1)](/chmod/1.md) command. Use without an arg to set back to default (extraction) permissions. - **@newgroup** *name*:*gid* During pkg\_add(1), create a new group, using [groupadd(8)](/groupadd/8.md). Happens before file and user creations. *gid* can be prefixed with a ‘!’ to ensure group has the correct GID. During [pkg\_delete(1)](/pkg_delete/1.md), groups will be deleted if extra clean-up has been requested, and if other installed packages don't list the same group. - **@newuser** *name*: *uid*: *group*: *loginclass*: *comment*: *home*: *shell* During pkg\_add(1), create a new user. Happens before any file creation. All fields correspond to [useradd(8)](/useradd/8.md) parameters. Some fields are optional and can be left empty. If the user already exists, no action is taken. Individual fields can be prefixed by a ‘!’ to make sure an existing user matches. For instance, the directive @newuser foo:!42 will make sure user foo has UID 42. During [pkg\_delete(1)](/pkg_delete/1.md), users will be deleted if extra clean-up has been requested, and if other installed packages don't list the same user. - **@option** *name* Effects vary depending on *name*. These are the user settable options - **always-update** By default, pkg\_add(1) uses some simplified information to decide whether an installed package needs updating. With this option, the package will be updated whenever anything changes. This is meant to be used by packages containing information relating to the whole ports tree, like sqlports, quirks, pkglocatedb. - **is-branch** Annotate the few rare ports where several branches are present in the ports tree (such as autoconf), to help [pkg\_info(1)](/pkg_info/1.md) produce *stem*%*branch* annotations when needed. - **no-default-conflict** By default, a package conflicts with other versions of the same package. With this option, the older package version will still be noticed, but the installation will proceed anyway. - **@owner** *user* Set default ownership for all subsequently extracted files to *user*. Use without an arg to set back to default (extraction) ownership. - **@pkgpath** *pkgpath* Declare a secondary *pkgpath* for the package. This is used for updates: **pkg\_add** **-u** normally checks that the *pkgpath* embedded in the package corresponds to the old package, to solve ambiguities when packages with similar names are involved. When ports get renamed, or flavors change, extra **@pkgpath** annotations can help **pkg\_add** get a sense of continuity. Note that these *pkgpath* can take extra optional components, to allow the matching of several flavors at once, and are order independent. For instance, ``` @pkgpath some/dir,f1,f2 ``` and ``` @pkgpath some/dir,f2,f2,f1 ``` are equivalent. ``` @pkgpath some/dir,f1[,f2,f3][,f4] ``` will match all pkgpaths to some/dir with flavor f1, and optionally f4, and optionally both f2 and f3, e.g., *some/dir,f1,f4*, *some/dir,f1,f2,f3*, *some/dir,f1,f2,f3,f4*, *some/dir,f1* would match, but *some/dir,f1,f5*, *some/dir,f2,f3*, *some/dir,f1,f2,f4* would not. Each binary package contains a set of pkgpaths: the primary pkgpath that was used to build the package, recorded as **@comment** *pkgpath=some/path*, and secondary pkgpaths as recorded through **@pkgpath**. In order for two packages to match, their primary pkgpaths must match, or a secondary pkgpath must match the other package's primary pkgpath. - **@rcscript** *filename* Script for the */etc/rc.d* framework. Contrary to **@file**, absolute paths are okay, e.g., ``` @rcscript ${RCDIR}/ballsd ``` In this case, performs an implicit **@cwd** to *${RCDIR}*. - **@sample** *filename* Last preceding **@file** item is a sample configuration file, to be copied to *filename* at pkg\_add(1) time and to be removed at [pkg\_delete(1)](/pkg_delete/1.md) time. During installation, existing configuration files are untouched. During deinstallation, configuration files are only removed if unchanged. *filename* can be an absolute path. If *filename* ends with a slash, it refers to a configuration directory instead. - **@shell** *filename* Specialized version of **@file**, to handle shells. See [shells(5)](/shells/5.md). - **@so** *filename* Describe the file as an OpenBSD shared object. - **@static-lib** *filename* Describe the file as an OpenBSD static library. - **@unexec** *command* Execute *command* during [pkg\_delete(1)](/pkg_delete/1.md). PATH and expansion of special **%** sequences are the same as for **@exec**. Note that **@unexec** commands are executed relative to their location in the packing-list, so they cannot rely on any data that has already been deleted, thus they should occur before the files they need to function. Some special elements, such as new users and new groups, are always deleted last, so that **@unexec** can rely on them. - **@tag** *name* \[*parameter*\] Reference a tag of given *name*. The corresponding **@define-tag** definition must be accessible through the dependency tree. *parameter* is amenable to the same substitutions as **@exec**. - **@unexec-always** *command* Synonym of **@unexec**. - **@unexec-delete** *command* Similar to **@unexec**, except it only gets executed during true deletions and not while removing an old package during updates. - **@unexec-update** *command* Similar to **@unexec**, except it only gets executed while removing an old package during updates, and not during true deletions. The **@bin**, **@lib**, **@so** and **@static-lib** annotations are used by the debug packages infrastructure to figure out which files may contain debug information. Some of these annotations define information that are local to each port but global to the package ecosystem in general, and thus make it into the package locate database by default( for instance: **@define-tag**, **@newuser** and **@newgroup**). See [pkg\_mklocatedb(1)](/pkg_mklocatedb/1.md) for details. See [package(5)](/package/5.md) for other internal annotations that are automatically added by the package tools. ## VARIABLE SUBSTITUTION AND FRAGMENT INCLUSION In packing-lists, installation, deinstallation and requirement scripts, description and message files, constructs like ${VAR} will be replaced with the variable value, according to **-D** *name*=*value* options. In particular, shared library versions should never be mentioned explicitly in a packing-list. Shared library ‘foo’ will take its version number from LIBfoo\_VERSION. The ports framework normally takes care of all details, see SHARED\_LIBS in [bsd.port.mk(5)](/bsd.port.mk/5.md). Constructs like %%VAR%% and !%%VAR%% trigger fragment inclusion. If such a line is encountered in a packing-list, the corresponding variable must be defined to 0 or 1. If the variable's value is 1, %%VAR%% will be replaced by the corresponding positive fragment, and !%%VAR%% will be ignored. If the variable's value is 0, %%VAR%% will be ignored, and !%%VAR%% will be replaced by the corresponding positive fragment. A fragment is an auxiliary packing-list file, whose name is derived from the current packing-list, and the variable name *VAR* triggering the inclusion: *pkg/PLIST* yields a positive fragment *pkg/PFRAG.VAR* and a negative fragment *pkg/PFRAG.no-VAR*, *pkg/PLIST-FOO* yields a positive fragment *pkg/PFRAG.VAR-foo* and a negative fragment *pkg/PFRAG.no-VAR-foo*. Fragments can be included inside fragments, so that %%VAR2%% inside *pkg/PFRAG.VAR* triggers the inclusion of *pkg/PFRAG.VAR2-VAR* and !%%VAR2%% triggers the inclusion of *pkg/PFRAG.no-VAR2-VAR*. If a positive or a negative fragment file does not exist, the corresponding inclusion will be ignored. However, if both the positive and negative fragment files do not exist, **pkg\_create** will error out, to make it easier to spot fragment names errors. ## SEE ALSO pkg\_add(1), [pkg\_delete(1)](/pkg_delete/1.md), [pkg\_info(1)](/pkg_info/1.md), [pkg\_sign(1)](/pkg_sign/1.md), [tar(1)](/tar/1.md), [bsd.port.mk(5)](/bsd.port.mk/5.md), [package(5)](/package/5.md), [packages-specs(7)](/packages-specs/7.md), [pkgpath(7)](/pkgpath/7.md), [ports(7)](/ports/7.md) ## HISTORY The **pkg\_create** command first appeared in FreeBSD. ## AUTHORS - Jordan Hubbard initial design - Marc Espie complete rewrite.