3

I am trying to build a debian package which automatically configures all my machines to use the same configuration files and settings.

For example I am trying to set things like alter /etc/default/hostapd. I am currently doing this by using dh_install to copy a file to /etc/default/hostapd with the configuration I want it to have.

This results in the error:

trying to overwrite '/etc/default/hostapd', which is also in package hostapd

What is the correct way to create a debian package which overwrites the settings such as /etc/default/hostapd ?

Improve this question

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
4

The reason for the error is because any package that writes a file to the system is marked as its owner. The deb mechanism does not like it when two packages own the same file.

Your best option is to use dpkg-divert in order to rename the other package's file to a different name. In your preinst script, put the following command (assuming your package is called my_package:

dpkg-divert --divert /etc/default/hostapd.saved.my_package --package my_package --rename --add /etc/default/hostapd

In your postrm script, you need to put the opposite command (untested, RTFM to get the precise syntax correctly):

dpkg-divert --divert /etc/default/hostapd.saved.my_package --package my_package --rename --remove /etc/default/hostapd

At least in the past, there was a simpler (though less safe) option to put a "conffile" field in the debian control file. This tells the system that this package installs files that overwrite another package's files. I'm not sure I would recommend this method, however, as it might break things in case of uninstall.

Improve this answer
Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

Comments

Start asking to get answers

Find the answer to your question by asking.

Ask question

Explore related questions

See similar questions with these tags.