Add Fedora RPM packaging support and improve CI workflows #43

mapitman · 2025-12-15T00:05:49Z

Changes

RPM Packaging

Add RPM spec file (mdview.spec) for Fedora packaging
Add Makefile targets for local and CI RPM builds
Sanitize VERSION for RPM builds (replace illegal characters)

CI Improvements

Add container-based CI simulation scripts for Ubuntu and Fedora builds
Update release workflow to build and publish both DEB and RPM packages
Remove duplicate rpm-build.yml workflow (consolidated into release workflow)
Stop building RPMs on every push (only on releases)
Fix git safe.directory issue in containerized builds

Scripts

Add scripts/ci-sim-ubuntu.sh for local Ubuntu build testing
Add scripts/ci-sim-fedora.sh for local Fedora RPM build testing
Add make ci-sim targets to simulate CI builds locally

Documentation

Create PACKAGING.md consolidating all packaging documentation (DEB + RPM)
Add RPM installation section to README.md
Update RELEASE_CHECKLIST.md to be package-agnostic
Delete 5 redundant RPM documentation files (~1000 lines of duplicate content)
Reduce total documentation from 9 markdown files to 4

Release Artifacts

Release workflow now publishes:

Platform binaries (Linux, Darwin, Windows, FreeBSD)
Debian packages (amd64, arm64, i386)
RPM packages (src.rpm, x86_64.rpm)

All changes have been tested with a temporary tag and verified that RPMs are correctly built and published as release assets.

Build an RPM package in CI Add RPM package to the release artifacts Closes #40

…t exec issues

- Create PACKAGING.md consolidating 5 redundant RPM docs - Add RPM installation section to README.md - Update RELEASE_CHECKLIST.md to be package-agnostic - Delete redundant files: - RPM_GUIDE.md - RPM_AUTOMATION_SUMMARY.md - RPM_BUILD_QUICK_REFERENCE.md - RPM_BUILD_AUTOMATION.md - FEDORA_PACKAGING.md Result: 9 markdown files → 4 markdown files

Copilot

Pull request overview

This PR adds comprehensive RPM packaging support for Fedora Linux and significantly improves the CI/CD workflows by restructuring the release process into separate jobs and adding local CI simulation capabilities.

Key Changes:

Adds complete RPM packaging infrastructure with spec file, helper scripts, and Makefile targets for building Fedora packages
Restructures GitHub Actions workflows to use separate jobs for binaries and RPM builds, consolidating everything into the release workflow
Introduces Docker-based CI simulation scripts for local testing of Ubuntu and Fedora builds

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 11 out of 12 changed files in this pull request and generated 20 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
mdview.spec	RPM package specification defining build requirements, dependencies, and installation rules
build-rpm.sh	Interactive helper script for building RPMs locally with dependency checking and colored output
Makefile	Adds RPM build targets (rpm, rpm-local, rpm-setup, rpm-clean) and CI simulation targets with version sanitization
.github/workflows/release.yml	Refactored into three jobs (build-binaries, build-rpm, release) for parallel builds and artifact collection
.github/workflows/build.yml	Updated to use new version determination logic (though only builds binaries, not RPMs)
scripts/ci-sim-ubuntu.sh	CI simulation script for testing Ubuntu builds locally in Docker containers
scripts/ci-sim-fedora.sh	CI simulation script for testing Fedora RPM builds locally in Docker containers
RPM_GUIDE.md	Comprehensive guide for building and installing RPM packages
RPM_BUILD_AUTOMATION.md	Detailed documentation of local and GitHub Actions RPM build automation
RPM_BUILD_QUICK_REFERENCE.md	Quick reference for common RPM build commands and workflows
RPM_AUTOMATION_SUMMARY.md	High-level summary of the RPM automation system
RELEASE_CHECKLIST.md	Step-by-step checklist for releasing new versions with RPM packages
FEDORA_PACKAGING.md	Complete guide for Fedora-specific packaging requirements and processes
mdview.1.md	Updated version placeholder from hardcoded "1.4.0" to generic "XXX"
.gitignore	Added dist/ directory to ignore build artifacts

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Makefile

build-rpm.sh

Copilot · 2025-12-15T00:16:05Z

Makefile

+	RPM_VERSION=$(shell echo "$(VERSION)" | sed 's/[^A-Za-z0-9.+~_:]/./g') ; \
+	echo "Using RPM version: $$RPM_VERSION (from $(VERSION))" ; \
+	git archive --prefix=mdview-$$RPM_VERSION/ -o $(HOME)/rpmbuild/SOURCES/mdview-$$RPM_VERSION.tar.gz HEAD ; \
+	cp mdview.spec $(HOME)/rpmbuild/SPECS/ ; \
+	rpmbuild -ba -D "_version $$RPM_VERSION" $(HOME)/rpmbuild/SPECS/mdview.spec ; \
+	echo "RPM build complete. Output in $(HOME)/rpmbuild/RPMS/"


The RPM_VERSION sanitization is performed in a shell subshell and is only available within that line. This means the sanitized version is not consistently available for use in subsequent commands like the rpm-local target. Consider exporting RPM_VERSION as a variable that can be reused across targets to ensure consistency between build and copy operations.

Copilot · 2025-12-15T00:16:06Z

.github/workflows/build.yml

+          # For manual runs (workflow_dispatch) allow explicit version; otherwise use the ref name
+          if [ "${{ github.event_name }}" == "workflow_dispatch" ]; then
+            VERSION="${{ github.event.inputs.version }}"


The workflow checks for workflow_dispatch event but the workflow does not declare workflow_dispatch in its triggers (only push is declared). This means the condition will never be true, and the github.event.inputs.version will never be used. Either add workflow_dispatch to the trigger list or remove this unused conditional logic.

@copilot open a new pull request to apply changes based on this feedback

Makefile

Copilot · 2025-12-15T00:16:07Z

build-rpm.sh

+        echo -e "${RED}Error: Missing dependencies: ${missing[*]}${NC}"
+        echo -e "${YELLOW}Install on Fedora:${NC}"
+        echo "  sudo dnf install -y rpm-build golang pandoc make git"
+        exit 1
+    fi


The error message lists missing dependencies but doesn't provide clear guidance when the dependency is available but not detected. For example, if rpm-build is installed but the rpmbuild command is not in PATH, users might be confused. Consider checking for the actual command names (like rpmbuild instead of rpm-build) and providing more specific error messages.

@copilot open a new pull request to apply changes based on this feedback

Copilot · 2025-12-15T00:16:07Z

Makefile


 bin/linux-amd64/mdview: manpage
-	env GOOS=linux GOARCH=amd64 go build -ldflags "-X main.appVersion=$(VERSION)" -o ./bin/linux-amd64/mdview
+	env GOOS=linux GOARCH=amd64 go build -buildvcs=false -ldflags "-X main.appVersion=$(VERSION)" -o ./bin/linux-amd64/mdview


The -buildvcs=false flag is added to all go build commands. While this is useful for reproducible builds in containerized environments, it removes valuable version control information from the binary. Consider documenting why this flag is necessary or making it conditional based on the build environment (e.g., only in CI or when VCS info is unavailable).

@copilot open a new pull request to apply changes based on this feedback

scripts/ci-sim-ubuntu.sh

scripts/ci-sim-fedora.sh

Copilot · 2025-12-15T00:26:15Z

@mapitman I've opened a new pull request, #44, to work on those changes. Once the pull request is ready, I'll request review from you.

…rkflow Co-authored-by: mapitman <4205286+mapitman@users.noreply.github.com>

Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot · 2025-12-15T00:32:44Z

@mapitman I've opened a new pull request, #45, to work on those changes. Once the pull request is ready, I'll request review from you.

Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot · 2025-12-15T00:36:38Z

@mapitman I've opened a new pull request, #46, to work on those changes. Once the pull request is ready, I'll request review from you.

Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

- Changed from checking package names (rpm-build) to actual commands (rpmbuild) - Added mapping between command names and package names for Fedora - Enhanced error messages to be more specific about missing commands - Added guidance for when packages are installed but commands not in PATH Co-authored-by: mapitman <4205286+mapitman@users.noreply.github.com>

Co-authored-by: mapitman <4205286+mapitman@users.noreply.github.com>

Resolved conflicts in Makefile by combining VERSION_SAFE approach from base branch with corrected tar transform syntax. Changes: - Keep VERSION_SAFE variable definition for sanitizing VERSION - Use VERSION_SAFE in all tar/zip filenames - Use corrected tar transform syntax with proper sed-style delimiters - Merge other changes from fedora-package branch

VERSION_SAFE in Makefile now handles slash sanitization, making the workflow-level sanitization redundant. This approach is cleaner as the Makefile is the single source of truth for filename sanitization. Co-authored-by: mapitman <4205286+mapitman@users.noreply.github.com>

Fix build workflow failures, add workflow_dispatch trigger, and resolve merge conflicts

mapitman added 14 commits December 1, 2025 21:58

Automate building an RPM package

a1d7e78

Build an RPM package in CI Add RPM package to the release artifacts Closes #40

Update method for determining version

682fddd

Force go build to not attempt to embed VCS info

50461e4

Fix RPM build error

64951ed

Fix RPM build errors

578ba29

Try to fix build error

436a533

Try to fix build error again

2398b6f

fix(ci): stream repo into containers for ci-sim targets to avoid moun…

a586442

…t exec issues

chore(ci): mark ci simulation scripts executable

4da88bb

fix(ci): sanitize VERSION for rpm builds (replace illegal chars)

7835571

fix(ci): pass expanded RPM_VERSION to rpmbuild and fix echo

fd0f3b9

ci: stop building RPMs on every push (handled in release workflow)

c43b481

ci: remove duplicate rpm-build workflow (release handles RPMs)

8acab0a

fix(ci): mark repo safe for git before RPM build to fix git archive

6caf2fe

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings December 15, 2025 00:05

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of mapitman December 15, 2025 00:06 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Dec 15, 2025

View reviewed changes

Initial plan

c1fd679

Copilot AI mentioned this pull request Dec 15, 2025

Fix build workflow failures, add workflow_dispatch trigger, and resolve merge conflicts #44

Merged

11 tasks

Copilot AI and others added 2 commits December 15, 2025 00:28

fix(ci): add workflow_dispatch trigger with version input to build wo…

0f6b0b5

…rkflow Co-authored-by: mapitman <4205286+mapitman@users.noreply.github.com>

Update Makefile

3a6bf08

Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot AI mentioned this pull request Dec 15, 2025

Make -buildvcs flag conditional for Go builds and resolve merge conflicts #45

Open

mapitman and others added 3 commits December 14, 2025 16:33

Update Makefile

7a54117

Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Update Makefile

cb1fa3f

Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Update Makefile

10642be

Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot AI mentioned this pull request Dec 15, 2025

Fix dependency checking and build system issues #46

Merged

mapitman and others added 11 commits December 14, 2025 16:36

Update build-rpm.sh

fb698bf

Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Update scripts/ci-sim-fedora.sh

48e8276

Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Update scripts/ci-sim-ubuntu.sh

3907608

Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Improve comment clarity in check_dependencies

b04a4c1

Co-authored-by: mapitman <4205286+mapitman@users.noreply.github.com>

Fix tar command to handle VERSION with forward slashes

90c6e52

Co-authored-by: mapitman <4205286+mapitman@users.noreply.github.com>

fix: correct tar transform syntax to use proper sed-style delimiters

41fbafb

Co-authored-by: mapitman <4205286+mapitman@users.noreply.github.com>

fix(ci): sanitize VERSION to replace slashes with dashes

fa0745e

Co-authored-by: mapitman <4205286+mapitman@users.noreply.github.com>

Merge pull request #44 from mapitman/copilot/sub-pr-43

aa9347b

Fix build workflow failures, add workflow_dispatch trigger, and resolve merge conflicts

Add Fedora RPM packaging support and improve CI workflows #43

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RPM Packaging

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mapitman commented Dec 15, 2025 •

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