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Building GuestKit RPM Packages

This guide explains how to build RPM packages for GuestKit.

📦 Available Spec Files​

guestkit.spec (Basic)​

  • Standard RPM package
  • Rust binary only
  • Minimal dependencies
  • Recommended for most users
  • Includes Python bindings (optional via bcond)
  • Shell completions support
  • Development package
  • More comprehensive

🚀 Quick Start​

Prerequisites​

Fedora/RHEL:

sudo dnf install -y rpm-build rpmdevtools rust cargo gcc pkgconfig systemd-devel

For Python bindings (guestkit-full.spec):

sudo dnf install -y python3-devel python3-pip python3-maturin

Setup RPM Build Environment​

# Create RPM build tree
rpmdev-setuptree

# This creates:
# ~/rpmbuild/
# ├── BUILD/
# ├── RPMS/
# ├── SOURCES/
# ├── SPECS/
# └── SRPMS/

🔨 Building from Git​

Method 1: Using Basic Spec File​

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/zyvorai/guestkit
cd guestkit

# Create source tarball
git archive --format=tar.gz --prefix=guestkit-1.0.1/ -o ~/rpmbuild/SOURCES/guestkit-1.0.1.tar.gz HEAD

# Copy spec file
cp guestkit.spec ~/rpmbuild/SPECS/

# Build RPM
cd ~/rpmbuild
rpmbuild -ba SPECS/guestkit.spec
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/zyvorai/guestkit
cd guestkit

# Create source tarball
git archive --format=tar.gz --prefix=guestkit-1.0.1/ -o ~/rpmbuild/SOURCES/guestkit-1.0.1.tar.gz HEAD

# Copy spec file
cp guestkit-full.spec ~/rpmbuild/SPECS/

# Build with Python bindings
rpmbuild -ba SPECS/guestkit-full.spec

# Or build without Python bindings
rpmbuild -ba --without python SPECS/guestkit-full.spec

📥 Building from Release Tarball​

# Download release tarball
wget https://github.com/zyvorai/guestkit/archive/v1.2.5/guestkit-1.2.5.tar.gz \
     -O ~/rpmbuild/SOURCES/guestkit-1.2.5.tar.gz

# Copy spec file
cp guestkit.spec ~/rpmbuild/SPECS/

# Build
rpmbuild -ba ~/rpmbuild/SPECS/guestkit.spec

🎯 Build Options​

Build Binary RPM Only​

rpmbuild -bb SPECS/guestkit.spec

Build Source RPM Only​

rpmbuild -bs SPECS/guestkit.spec

Build with Mock (Clean Room)​

# Install mock
sudo dnf install -y mock

# Add yourself to mock group
sudo usermod -aG mock $USER
newgrp mock

# Build SRPM first
rpmbuild -bs SPECS/guestkit.spec

# Build with mock
mock -r fedora-39-x86_64 SRPMS/guestkit-1.0.1-1.fc39.src.rpm

📦 Generated Packages​

After successful build, packages will be in:

~/rpmbuild/RPMS/x86_64/
├── guestkit-1.0.1-1.fc39.x86_64.rpm          # Main package
├── guestkit-devel-1.0.1-1.fc39.x86_64.rpm    # Development files
└── python3-guestkit-1.0.1-1.fc39.x86_64.rpm  # Python bindings (full spec only)

~/rpmbuild/SRPMS/
└── guestkit-1.0.1-1.fc39.src.rpm             # Source RPM

✅ Installing Built Packages​

Install Main Package​

sudo dnf install ~/rpmbuild/RPMS/x86_64/guestkit-1.0.1-1.fc39.x86_64.rpm

Install with Python Bindings​

sudo dnf install ~/rpmbuild/RPMS/x86_64/guestkit-1.0.1-1.fc39.x86_64.rpm \
                 ~/rpmbuild/RPMS/x86_64/python3-guestkit-1.0.1-1.fc39.x86_64.rpm

Install Development Package​

sudo dnf install ~/rpmbuild/RPMS/x86_64/guestkit-devel-1.0.1-1.fc39.x86_64.rpm

🧪 Testing the Package​

# Check version
guestkit --version

# Run inspection
guestkit inspect /path/to/vm.qcow2

# Launch TUI
guestkit tui /path/to/vm.qcow2

# Test Python bindings (if installed)
python3 -c "from guestkit import Guestfs; print('OK')"

🔧 Troubleshooting​

Missing Dependencies​

If build fails with missing dependencies:

# Install all build dependencies
sudo dnf builddep guestkit.spec

Rust Version Too Old​

# Check Rust version
rustc --version

# Update Rust
rustup update stable

# Or install from Fedora repos
sudo dnf install rust cargo

Python Bindings Build Failure​

# Install maturin
pip3 install --user maturin

# Or from Fedora
sudo dnf install python3-maturin

Cargo Network Issues​

If cargo fails to fetch dependencies:

# Use vendored dependencies (advanced)
cargo vendor
tar czf ~/rpmbuild/SOURCES/guestkit-vendor-1.0.1.tar.gz vendor/

📋 RPM Query Commands​

List Package Contents​

rpm -qlp ~/rpmbuild/RPMS/x86_64/guestkit-1.0.1-1.fc39.x86_64.rpm

Check Package Information​

rpm -qip ~/rpmbuild/RPMS/x86_64/guestkit-1.0.1-1.fc39.x86_64.rpm

Verify Package​

rpm -Vp ~/rpmbuild/RPMS/x86_64/guestkit-1.0.1-1.fc39.x86_64.rpm

Check Dependencies​

rpm -qRp ~/rpmbuild/RPMS/x86_64/guestkit-1.0.1-1.fc39.x86_64.rpm

🌐 Building for Different Architectures​

x86_64 (default)​

rpmbuild -ba --target x86_64 SPECS/guestkit.spec

aarch64 (ARM64)​

rpmbuild -ba --target aarch64 SPECS/guestkit.spec

ppc64le (POWER)​

rpmbuild -ba --target ppc64le SPECS/guestkit.spec

📤 Distributing Packages​

Create Repository​

# Install createrepo
sudo dnf install -y createrepo_c

# Create repo directory
mkdir -p ~/guestkit-repo

# Copy RPMs
cp ~/rpmbuild/RPMS/x86_64/*.rpm ~/guestkit-repo/

# Create repo metadata
createrepo_c ~/guestkit-repo/

# Serve via HTTP (for testing)
cd ~/guestkit-repo
python3 -m http.server 8000

COPR (Fedora Build Service)​

# Install copr-cli
sudo dnf install -y copr-cli

# Configure copr-cli (follow prompts)
copr-cli --help

# Create COPR project
copr-cli create guestkit --chroot fedora-39-x86_64 --chroot fedora-40-x86_64

# Submit build
copr-cli build guestkit ~/rpmbuild/SRPMS/guestkit-1.0.1-1.fc39.src.rpm

🔍 Spec File Validation​

Check for rpmlint issues​

# Install rpmlint
sudo dnf install -y rpmlint

# Check spec file
rpmlint guestkit.spec

# Check built RPM
rpmlint ~/rpmbuild/RPMS/x86_64/guestkit-1.0.1-1.fc39.x86_64.rpm

📚 Additional Resources​

🆘 Getting Help​

Last Updated: 2026-01-27