meta-package creation

**ubuntu_demon** · November 26th, 2004

How do you create a meta package (like ubuntu-desktop) yourself in an easy way ?

**p!=f** · November 28th, 2004

Originally Posted by demon666_nl

How do you create a meta package (like ubuntu-desktop) yourself in an easy way ?

First install the package you need...

Code:

sudo apt-get install equivs

... run the following command to create ubuntu-desktop file...

Code:

equivs-control ubuntu-desktop

... edit it and tweak to fit your needs and finally build it...

Code:

equivs-build ubuntu-desktop

This way I've created gaim-plugins metapackage on which depends all the plugins I have built.

Maybe there's more elegant way...

**Grishkin** · November 27th, 2006

And you can create a package, witch depends on all the packages installed on your system:

Create a template configuration file:
Code:
```
equivs-control meta
```
Create a list of all packages installed on your system
Code:
```
aptitude search -F %p ~i | sed 's/$/,/' > packages.list
```
Open the file 'packages.list' in gedit or any other text editor and replace all space symbols (' ') to void strings and all '\n' symbols (new string) to ','. Save the file.
In any text editor open the file 'meta' from 1, add to it the contents of the file "packages.list" after the word "Depends:". Also change package name, version and description to appropriate.
Build the package
Code:
```
equivs-build meta
```
The package can be installed by
Code:
```
dpkg -i package_name
```