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rpmrpm-spec

Creating an RPM which delivers a user-editable configuration file

I want to create an RPM that contains a file for the user to customize, with an initial default template configuration.

I don't want to clobber that file if the user has edited it. I don't even want to move the user file to a backup - I just want to leave it alone.

Is that possible, without writing some kind of postinstall logic to test whether to copy the template to the target path? Can I declare a file as "editable" so it won't be overwritten if it has changed?

Solution

  • I think you would like to use

    %files
%config(noreplace) /path/to/config/file

    In this case:

    • if the user edited the file; it will always remain like that, even after an update
    • if an update contains a new template; the new template will be saved under /path/to/config/file.rpmnew
    • if an update contains a new template; and the user never edited the old template; the new template will simply be available under /path/to/config/file

    An excellent read on %config and which file is kept in what usecase: http://people.ds.cam.ac.uk/jw35/docs/rpm_config.html