rockhopper: metapackage generator

  o<  gak! gak!
-/)
 ^^

SUMMARY

rockhopper generates installer packages for a wide variety of platforms.

Distro hoppers, enjoy~

EXAMPLE

$ cd example/sh

$ ./demo

$ tree .rockhopper
.rockhopper
├── alpine-linux
│   └── hello-1.0.0-r1.noarch.apk
├── arch-linux
│   └── hello-1.0.0-1-any.pkg.tar.zst
├── crux-x86_64
│   └── hello#1.0.0-1.pkg.tar.gz
...

DOWNLOAD

docker pull -a n4jm4/rockhopper

Docker Images

rockhopper organizes package generators by distro.

Target Distro	Tag
Alpine Linux	alpine-linux
Arch Linux	arch
CRUX	crux
Debian	debian
Fedora	fedora
Slackware Linux	slackware-linux
Ubuntu / Windows (WSL)	ubuntu
Void Linux (musl)	void-linux-musl

Version pin tags also available, of the form:

<rockhopper version>-<distro>.

Pro tip: A happy consequence of building Ubuntu packages, is that Windows users can then access your applications via WSL.

For information on developing custom package generators, see the rocklets interface.

System Requirements

Supported host environments:

• Linux
• macOS
• UNIX
• Windows native or WSL

Prerequisites:

• a docker CLI

For more installation methods, see our install guide.

For more details on developing rockhopper itself, see our development guide.

RUNTIME REQUIREMENTS

• a docker CLI

Recommended

• a UNIX-like environment (e.g. WSL)
• a host capable of running musl/Linux containers (e.g. a GNU/Linux, musl/Linux, macOS, or Windows host)
• Docker First Aid Kit
• Apply DOCKER_DEFAULT_PLATFORM = linux/amd64 environment variable
• bash 4+
• GNU grep
• GNU time
• tree

ABOUT

rockhopper bundles all the tools needed to generate packages, inside Docker containers.

USAGE

1. Write and test Linux applications.

   no pain, no gain! >*
                     (\-
                     ^^
   

   Note: Fully static Go/musl binaries tend to improve portability for compiled applications.

   Lost? Try Raspberry Pi for Dummies. We all gotta start somewhere.

2. Inside your project, create a rockhopper-data subdirectory. Within rockhopper-data, layout all of your application's assets as they should appear on the end user's machine after installation.

   Linux, and many UNIX style operating systems follow the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard.

   Example:

   $ tree
   .
   └── rockhopper-data
       └── usr
           └── bin
               └── hello

   In this simple example, we've laid out the directory structure directly in git. However, most mature projects will use a combination of mkdir / cp commands to accomplish this as a dynamic build step.

   Shell scripts and other interpreted executables may be checked this way into version control. For binary assets, configure make or another build system, to copy the files there dynamically.

3. Configure target platform.

   Example:

   export ROCKHOPPER_NAME='hello'
   export ROCKHOPPER_VERSION='1.0.0'
   export ROCKHOPPER_MAINTAINER='Bob Loblaw <bob@bananastand.test>'
   export ROCKHOPPER_DESCRIPTION='hello world welcomes new developers'
   export ROCKHOPPER_COPYRIGHT='Copyright (C) 2026 Bob'
   export ROCKHOPPER_LICENSE='0BSD'
   export ROCKHOPPER_IMAGE='n4jm4/rockhopper:debian'
   export ROCKHOPPER_ARCH='all'

   Note: Customize ROCKHOPPER_ARCH per rocklet to match your target ISA(s).

   Note: Debian and other distros often have additional optional and/or required fields.

4. Generate packages and verify.

   Packages write to .rockhopper/<distro>/<package-file>.

   $ rockhopper
   
   $ tree .rockhopper
   .rockhopper
   └── debian
       └── hello_1.0.0_all.deb

   With minor tweaks, it's possible to extend support for even more distributions. See example/sh/demo.

     o<  wowowweewow!!!
   `/)
    ^^
   

   You've gone from source code, to executables, to installers. Congratulations, you're above and beyond.

   Remember to test your shiny new packages. Install them into a fresh environment. Run your apps. Kick the tires!

CONFIGURATION

For more usage options, see CONFIGURATION.md.

A dream of impossible colors... Let's make vendor lock a thing of the past.

  -< zzZ... *as if!* zzZ...
,/)
 ^^

SEE ALSO

• alien, an OS package converter
• chandler, an OS agnostic tar normalizer
• crit, an automated Rust multiplatform compiler
• factorio, an automated Go multiplatform compiler
• fpm, an older, host native package generator
• tuggy, an automated Docker multiplatform image builder
• xgo, an automated cGo multiplatform compiler

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