Generate a .deb file

.github/workflows/release.yml

@@ -147,16 +147,8 @@ jobs:
         if: "!matrix.skip_tests"
         run: ${{ env.CARGO }} test --release --locked --target ${{ matrix.target }} --workspace
 
-      - name: Set profile.release.strip = true
-        shell: bash
-        run: |
-          cat >> .cargo/config.toml <<EOF
-          [profile.release]
-          strip = true
-          EOF
-
       - name: Build release binary
-        run: ${{ env.CARGO }} build --release --locked --target ${{ matrix.target }}
+        run: ${{ env.CARGO }} build --profile opt --locked --target ${{ matrix.target }}
 
       - name: Build AppImage
         shell: bash
@@ -183,7 +175,7 @@ jobs:
 
           mkdir -p "$APP.AppDir"/usr/{bin,lib/helix}
 
-          cp "target/${{ matrix.target }}/release/hx" "$APP.AppDir/usr/bin/hx"
+          cp "target/${{ matrix.target }}/opt/hx" "$APP.AppDir/usr/bin/hx"
           rm -rf runtime/grammars/sources
           cp -r runtime "$APP.AppDir/usr/lib/helix/runtime"
 
@@ -206,14 +198,25 @@ jobs:
           mv "$APP-$VERSION-$ARCH.AppImage" \
               "$APP-$VERSION-$ARCH.AppImage.zsync" dist
 
+      - name: Build Deb
+        shell: bash
+        if: matrix.build == 'x86_64-linux'
+        run: |
+          cargo install cargo-deb
+          mkdir -p target/release
+          cp target/${{ matrix.target }}/opt/hx target/release/
+          cargo deb --no-build
+          mkdir -p dist
+          mv target/debian/*.deb dist/
+
       - name: Build archive
         shell: bash
         run: |
           mkdir -p dist
           if [ "${{ matrix.os }}" = "windows-2019" ]; then
-            cp "target/${{ matrix.target }}/release/hx.exe" "dist/"
+            cp "target/${{ matrix.target }}/opt/hx.exe" "dist/"
           else
-            cp "target/${{ matrix.target }}/release/hx" "dist/"
+            cp "target/${{ matrix.target }}/opt/hx" "dist/"
           fi
           if [ -d runtime/grammars/sources ]; then
             rm -rf runtime/grammars/sources
@@ -241,6 +244,7 @@ jobs:
           set -ex
 
           source="$(pwd)"
+          tag=${GITHUB_REF_NAME//\//}
           mkdir -p runtime/grammars/sources
           tar xJf grammars/grammars.tar.xz -C runtime/grammars/sources
           rm -rf grammars
@@ -254,7 +258,7 @@ jobs:
               if [[ $platform =~ "windows" ]]; then
                   exe=".exe"
               fi
-              pkgname=helix-$GITHUB_REF_NAME-$platform
+              pkgname=helix-$tag-$platform
               mkdir -p $pkgname
               cp $source/LICENSE $source/README.md $pkgname
               mkdir $pkgname/contrib
@@ -265,6 +269,7 @@ jobs:
 
               if [[ "$platform" = "x86_64-linux" ]]; then
                   mv bins-$platform/helix-*.AppImage* dist/
+                  mv bins-$platform/*.deb dist/
               fi
 
               if [ "$exe" = "" ]; then
@@ -274,7 +279,7 @@ jobs:
               fi
           done
 
-          tar cJf dist/helix-$GITHUB_REF_NAME-source.tar.xz -C $source .
+          tar cJf dist/helix-$tag-source.tar.xz -C $source .
           mv dist $source/
 
       - name: Upload binaries to release

Cargo.toml

@@ -22,13 +22,12 @@ default-members = [
 
 [profile.release]
 lto = "thin"
-# debug = true
 
 [profile.opt]
 inherits = "release"
 lto = "fat"
 codegen-units = 1
-# strip = "debuginfo" # TODO: or strip = true
+strip = true
 opt-level = 3
 
 [profile.integration]

book/src/building-from-source.md

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
   - [Note to packagers](#note-to-packagers)
 - [Validating the installation](#validating-the-installation)
 - [Configure the desktop shortcut](#configure-the-desktop-shortcut)
+- [Building the Debian package](#building-the-debian-package)
 
 Requirements:
 
@@ -162,3 +163,39 @@ file. For example, to use `kitty`:
 sed -i "s|Exec=hx %F|Exec=kitty hx %F|g" ~/.local/share/applications/Helix.desktop
 sed -i "s|Terminal=true|Terminal=false|g" ~/.local/share/applications/Helix.desktop
 ```
+
+### Building the Debian package
+
+If the `.deb` file provided on the release page uses a `libc` version higher
+than that used by your Debian, Ubuntu, or Mint system, you can build the package
+from source to match your system's dependencies.
+
+Install `cargo-deb`, the tool used for building the `.deb` file:
+
+```sh
+cargo install cargo-deb
+```
+
+After cloning and entering the Helix repository as previously described,
+use the following command to build the release binary and package it into a `.deb` file in a single step.
+
+```sh
+cargo deb -- --locked
+```
+
+> 💡 This locks you into the `--release` profile. But you can also build helix in any way you like.
+> As long as you leave a `target/release/hx` file, it will get packaged with `cargo deb --no-build` 
+
+> 💡 Don't worry about the repeated
+> ```
+> warning: Failed to find dependency specification
+> ```
+> warnings. Cargo deb just reports which packaged files it didn't derive dependencies for. But
+> so far the dependency deriving seams very good, even if some of the grammar files are skipped.
+
+You can find the resulted `.deb` in `target/debian/`. It should contain everything it needs, including the
+
+- completions for bash, fish, zsh
+- .desktop file
+- icon (though desktop environments might use their own since the name of the package is correctly `helix`)
+- launcher to the binary with the runtime

book/src/package-managers.md

@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 ## Package managers
 
 - [Linux](#linux)
-  - [Ubuntu](#ubuntu)
+  - [Ubuntu/Debian](#ubuntudebian)
+  - [Ubuntu (PPA)](#ubuntu-ppa)
   - [Fedora/RHEL](#fedorarhel)
   - [Arch Linux extra](#arch-linux-extra)
   - [NixOS](#nixos)
@@ -23,7 +24,14 @@
 
 The following third party repositories are available:
 
-### Ubuntu
+### Ubuntu/Debian
+
+Install the Debian package from the release page.
+
+If you are running a system older than Ubuntu 22.04, Mint 21, or Debian 12, you can build the `.deb` file locally
+[from source](./building-from-source.md#building-the-debian-package).
+
+### Ubuntu (PPA)
 
 Add the `PPA` for Helix:
 

contrib/hx_launcher.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env sh
+
+HELIX_RUNTIME=/usr/lib/helix/runtime exec /usr/lib/helix/hx "$@"

helix-term/Cargo.toml

@@ -12,6 +12,24 @@ categories.workspace = true
 repository.workspace = true
 homepage.workspace = true
 
+[package.metadata.deb]
+# generate a .deb in target/debian/ with the command: cargo deb --no-build
+name = "helix"
+assets = [
+  { source = "target/release/hx", dest = "/usr/lib/helix/", mode = "755" },
+  { source = "../contrib/hx_launcher.sh", dest = "/usr/bin/hx", mode = "755" },
+  { source = "../runtime/*", dest = "/usr/lib/helix/runtime/", mode = "644" },
+  { source = "../runtime/grammars/*", dest = "/usr/lib/helix/runtime/grammars/", mode = "644" }, # to avoid sources/
+  { source = "../runtime/queries/**/*", dest = "/usr/lib/helix/runtime/queries/", mode = "644" },
+  { source = "../runtime/themes/**/*", dest = "/usr/lib/helix/runtime/themes/", mode = "644" },
+  { source = "../README.md", dest = "/usr/share/doc/helix/", mode = "644" },
+  { source = "../contrib/completion/hx.bash", dest = "/usr/share/bash-completion/completions/hx", mode = "644" },
+  { source = "../contrib/completion/hx.fish", dest = "/usr/share/fish/vendor_completions.d/hx.fish", mode = "644" },
+  { source = "../contrib/completion/hx.zsh", dest = "/usr/share/zsh/vendor-completions/_hx", mode = "644" },
+  { source = "../contrib/Helix.desktop", dest = "/usr/share/applications/Helix.desktop", mode = "644" },
+  { source = "../contrib/helix.png", dest = "/usr/share/icons/hicolor/256x256/apps/helix.png", mode = "644" },
+]
+
 [features]
 default = ["git"]
 unicode-lines = ["helix-core/unicode-lines", "helix-view/unicode-lines"]