Submission Guidelines

The SlackBuilds.org project is maintained by a small group of people, but we want the scripts in our repository to be representative of the entire Slackware user community. There's no way that the few of us can possibly write scripts for all of the extra applications that users want to have, so we depend on YOU to help us out. If there's some application that you use, and we don't have it in our repository already, please consider writing a build script for it and submitting it to us for possible inclusion. See below for our submission requirements.

Submit scripts for possible inclusion using our SlackBuilds Upload Form, but make sure you follow the guidelines below. Do not include the source code or your upload will be rejected.

Before expending time and effort in writing a build script, be sure to search our repository to make sure one doesn't already exist. Also, you may wish to have a look at the pending queue to see if someone else has already submitted what you're planning to do.

You will still need to read the list of requirements, but we have a SlackBuild Script Template available if you would like to download it for easy editing.

All submissions should be an archive, compressed or uncompressed - either one is fine - (tar, tar.gz, or tar.bz2) of a directory (named according to the application's name) containing at least the following files:

$PRGNAM.SlackBuild (for instance, rdesktop.SlackBuild)
slack-desc
README
$PRGNAM.info (for instance, rdesktop.info)

$PRGNAM.SlackBuild Requirements

• Use /bin/sh only - not /bin/bash or some other shell. Also, do not use any bash- or other shell-specific extensions.

  #!/bin/sh

• Clearly indicate what the script builds:

  # Slackware build script for torsmo

• You will need to note the author of the script and add licensing information (if you choose to do so). The only requirement we have for licensing is this: if you choose to license your script, the license must be open-source and allow for modification and redistribution of the modified version.
  • If you wish to license your scripts under a GPL or variant, then be sure to include a copy of the license with your submission if the license requires it. We don't encourage these licenses, as the license is often much longer than the script itself, but that's your call.
  • If you do not specify a license, then your submission is assumed to be public domain, and as such, anyone can freely modify and/or distribute it with no restrictions. If you do not include licensing information, you can note the author of the script using a format something like this:

    # Written by (your name) (your contact information)

• Use variables as much as possible within your script (as opposed to hard-coding values):

  PRGNAM=torsmo
  VERSION=0.18
  ARCH=${ARCH:-i486}
  BUILD=${BUILD:-1}
  TAG=${TAG:-_SBo}
  
  CWD=$(pwd)
  TMP=${TMP:-/tmp/SBo}
  PKG=$TMP/package-$PRGNAM
  OUTPUT=${OUTPUT:-/tmp}

• Make sure the following lines are present:

  if [ "$ARCH" = "i486" ]; then
     SLKCFLAGS="-O2 -march=i486 -mtune=i686"
  elif [ "$ARCH" = "i686" ]; then
     SLKCFLAGS="-O2 -march=i686 -mtune=i686"
  elif [ "$ARCH" = "x86_64" ]; then
     SLKCFLAGS="-O2 -fPIC"
  fi
  

  • The i686 option is included due to the fact that some people prefer to compile add-on packages optimized for it (though some would question the benefits of doing so).
  • Due to incompatibilities with S/390 and 64-bit derivatives of Slackware, those architectures are not required or supported, and we will not respond to bug reports on those platforms.
  
  
• Build in error checking where possible; for instance, the following would cause the SlackBuild script to exit if the decompress/extract operation fails:

  tar xvf $PRGNAM.$VERSION.tar.gz || exit 1

• Packages should be built with prefix of /usr, system configuration directory of /etc (except in special cases, such as /etc/$APP), and local state directory of /var.
• Strip libraries and binaries
• Compress man pages - be sure to account for symlinks in the manpage directory if any exist.
• Compress info pages and remove the "dir" file installed by the application.
• Leave finished package in $OUTPUT

The slack-desc file

See the SlackWiki.org slack-desc tutorial for information on how to create a good slack-desc file.

The README file

The README file should contain at least the following information:

1. A descripton of the application. The most common way to do this is by including the contents of the slack-desc file (without the "$PRGNAM:" portion), but you may deviate from this if needed. Have a look at some of the other README files to get an idea of what is expected.
2. Any application and/or library dependencies that are not included in the official Slackware package set; you should also note the home page of the dependencies.
3. Any other relevant information that might be useful to someone using the script:
   • Is special configuration needed before building the package?
   • Is special configuration needed after installing the package?
   • Is this application incompatible with some other application?

The $PRGNAM.info file

The info file should contain the following information in the exact format given below:

• PRGNAM="(name of application)"
• VERSION="(version of application)"
• HOMEPAGE="(homepage of application)"
• DOWNLOAD="(direct download link of application source tarball)"
• MD5SUM="(md5sum of source tarball)"
• MAINTAINER="(name of SlackBuild script maintainer)"
• EMAIL="(email address of author)"

For example, see the following rdesktop.info file:

PRGNAM="rdesktop"
VERSION="1.4.1"
HOMEPAGE="http://rdesktop.org"
DOWNLOAD="http://downloads.sourceforge.net/rdesktop/rdesktop-1.4.1.tar.gz"
MD5SUM="78dd2bae04edf1cb9f65c29930dcc993"
MAINTAINER="Robby Workman"
EMAIL="rworkman@slackbuilds.org"

Pay attention to the fact that all values are enclosed in double quotes; this is a requirement. Other double quotes embedded in the string are not allowed.

Note that the MD5SUM entry contains only the actual checksum rather than the full output of the md5sum command.

Note that the MAINTAINER entry is subject to change; the author of the script should be noted in the actual script itself, and while it will often (usually) be the same as the MAINTAINER, this allows a script author to turn over maintenance of the script to another individual.

Other concerns

• No custom patches unless absolutely necessary; if at all possible, we want to maintain the Slackware philosophy of distributing "clean" stuff - if it's not in the upstream sources, then it probably dosn't need to be in our scripts.
  
  
• As a general rule, we do not accept SlackBuild scripts of software that is included as part of Slackware; however, exceptions may be made by the admin staff on a case-by-case basis.

Once you're certain that your script meets our guidelines, submit it using the SlackBuilds Upload Form.