Re: pkgbase and customised builds via ${SRC}/release/release.sh

On 2025-12-23 12:22, Mark Millard wrote:
> Alastair Hogge <agh_at_riseup.net> wrote on
> Date: Tue, 23 Dec 2025 02:54:09 UTC :
> 
> My notes here are limited in their coverage.  I've
> not done the type of thing you are trying to do.
> 
>> For years, I have been using one host to build all customised USB
>> images, and tarballs for all other hosts at home. This is reached via
>> custom make, and src.conf files, which are codified in a custom
>> release.conf. My custom release.conf redefines load_chroot_env() to
>> setup the environment with ${SRC}, ${PORTS}, and pkg related files.
>> 
>> On 16-CURRENT (2-3 weeks behind) I am able to use
>> ${SRC}/release/release.sh sans customisation, however, when I start to
>> introduce customisations, the build never succeeds. At the moment, the
>> build fails at:
>> 
>> make[5]: stopped making "create-kernel-packages" in /usr/src
>> make[5]: stopped making "create-world-packages" in /usr/src
>> make[5]: stopped making "create-world-packages" in /usr/src
>> make[4]: stopped making "real-packages" in /usr/src
>> make[5]: stopped making "create-kernel-packages" in /usr/src
>> make[4]: stopped making "real-packages" in /usr/src
>> make[4]: stopped making "real-packages" in /usr/src
>> make[3]: stopped making "real-packages" in /usr/src
>> make[2]: stopped making "packages" in /usr/src
>> make[2]: stopped making "packages" in /usr/src
>> make[1]: stopped making "packages" in /usr/src
>> make[1]: stopped making "packages" in /usr/src
>> make: stopped making "release" in /usr/src/release
>> make: stopped making "release" in /usr/src/release
>> pkg: Unable to open plist file:
>> /usr/obj/usr/src/amd64.amd64/kernelstage/kernel/kernel.FAFNIR-dbg.plist
>> 
>> I have no debug enabled options, and am not interested in debug builds.
> 
> pkgbase has been including debug symbol information
> even for non-debug builds. But they go in separate
> .pkg files that do not have to be installed. The
> bias seems to be to allow somewhat readable backtraces
> for failures without having to rebuild, just having
> chosen to have the information present by installing
> it.

I am all for it, right now I think I need a way to disable it.

> (I do not know if dist tarballs now do similarly for
> non-debug builds.)
> 
> Just having debug symbol information for backtrace
> or the like to use need not be considered a
> debug-build: no enabling of adding internal checking
> for problems, for example.
> 
>> In the past, when I needed debug features, I would edit the kernel
>> config, and src.conf files, and start the release build process from
>> there; I do not know how to parametrise debug build options.
> 
> Of course, you may not want even backtrace information.
> 
>> What is the method for using release.sh to custom build a pkgbase, that
>> also supports tarballs, and install images?
> 
> pkgbase and dist tarballs are mutually exclusive ways
> of doing an install. pkgbase does not have to be
> involved at all for 15.* , for example. (pkgbase has
> its own way of dealing with doing updates as well.)
> 
> Related to such, root/release/Makefile reports:
> 
> # Variables affecting the build process:
> . . .
> # NODISTSETS: if set, do not include dist sets or MANIFEST
> # NOPKGBASE:  if set, include dist tarballs rather than pkgbase packages in
> #           disc1 and dvd1 installation media and build VM/cloud images using
> #           make installkernel installworld.
> . . .

Whether it is a generic, or custom build, using ${NOPKGBASE} always
results in a pkg failure:
--------------------------------------------------------------
>>> Install kernel(s) GENERIC completed in 6 seconds, ncpu: 64, make -j32
--------------------------------------------------------------
[...]
--- disc1 ---
env INSTALL_AS_USER=yes ASSUME_ALWAYS_YES=yes pkg -o METALOG=METALOG -o
ABI= -r disc1 -o REPOS_DIR=/usr/src/release/pkg_repos install -f pkg
Installing pkg-2.5.0...
Extracting pkg-2.5.0: .......... done
pkg: Unknown OS '' in ABI string
pkg: Cannot parse configuration file!
*** [disc1] Error code 1

make: stopped making "release" in /usr/src/release

Or,

FreeBSD-base repository update completed. 269 packages processed
All repositories are up to date.
pkg: Setting ABI requires setting OSVERSION, guessing the OSVERSION as:
1600000
/usr/libexec/flua: /usr/src/release/scripts/pkgbase-stage.lua:47:
assertion failed!
stack traceback:
▸       [C]: in function 'assert'
▸       /usr/src/release/scripts/pkgbase-stage.lua:47: in upvalue
'select_packages'
▸       /usr/src/release/scripts/pkgbase-stage.lua:101: in local 'main'
▸       /usr/src/release/scripts/pkgbase-stage.lua:107: in main chunk
▸       [C]: in ?
*** [disc1] Error code 1

make: stopped making "release" in /usr/src/release
--- bootonly ---
--- installconfig_subdir_share ---
--- installconfig_subdir_share/timedef ---

make[4]: stopped making "installconfig" in /usr/src/share

make[3]: stopped making "installconfig" in /usr/src

make[2]: stopped making "distribution" in /usr/src

make[1]: stopped making "installworld installkernel distribution" in
/usr/src
*** [bootonly] Error code 2

make: stopped making "release" in /usr/src/release
make: 2 errors

make: stopped making "release" in /usr/src/release

> As stands, the above indicates that to get dist
> tarballs you turn off the generation of pkgbase
> files from the buildworld results: it does one
> or the other way, but not both in one run, for
> disc1 and dvd1. pkgbase generation does not have
> to be involved at all for those.
> 
> (You were not explicit about dist sets or their
> MANIFEST but I listed the line for that as well.)
> 
> I'm not sure if you might only want dist tarballs
> and not need pkgbase at all. pkgbase does not
> have to be involved at all until 16.0-STABLE .

I want to move to pkgbase over dists, however, it seems I can not manage
either yet.