Introduction to openSUSE Commander: A Command-Line Interface for Open Build Service

The openSUSE Commander (osc) is a versatile command-line interface designed to interact with the Open Build Service (OBS). With osc, you can perform a wide range of operations and tasks related to packaging, building, and managing software packages within the OBS ecosystem.

Installation

You can install osc on openSUSE using RPM packages available in the openSUSE:Tools repository. Simply run the following commands:

zypper addrepo --repo http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/openSUSE:/Tools/openSUSE_Tumbleweed/openSUSE:Tools.repo
zypper install osc

Alternatively, you can install unstable RPM packages from the OBS:Server:Unstable repository if you prefer bleeding-edge features. Use the following commands:

zypper addrepo --repo http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/OBS:/Server:/Unstable/openSUSE_Factory/OBS:Server:Unstable.repo
zypper install osc

If you prefer to install osc from the source code, you can use the setup.py script provided in the repository. First, navigate to the source directory and then run the following commands:

./setup.py build
./setup.py install

Configuration

When you use osc for the first time, it will prompt you to provide your username and password. This information is stored in the ~/.config/osc/oscrc file for future use. You can modify this file manually if needed.

Keyrings

By default, osc stores passwords in the ~/.config/osc/oscrc file. However, you can configure osc to use keyrings instead for secure password storage. To use keyrings, you need to install the python3-keyring package and a keyring backend of your choice, such as kwalletd5 or secrets. Once installed, delete the apiurl section from the ~/.config/osc/oscrc file, and osc will prompt you for credentials again, storing them securely in the chosen keyring application.

Usage

osc provides a comprehensive set of commands to interact with the OBS. Here are a few examples:

1. List existing content on the server:

osc ls # list projects
osc ls Apache # list packages in a project
osc ls Apache subversion # list files of a package in a project

2. Check out content:

osc co Apache # check out the entire project
osc co Apache subversion # check out a specific package
osc co Apache subversion foo # check out a single file

3. Upload changed content:

osc ci # upload changes in the current directory
osc ci # upload changes from a specific directory
osc ci file1 file2 ... # upload changes for specific files

These are just a few examples of the numerous commands and functionalities provided by osc. You can find more details and explore additional commands in the openSUSE wiki.

Contributing and Testing

If you encounter any issues with osc or have suggestions for improvements, you can report them on the osc GitHub repository. Contributions in the form of pull requests are also welcome.

To ensure the stability and integrity of osc, unit tests are available. You can run these tests from a git checkout by executing the following command:

./setup.py test

Conclusion

openSUSE Commander (osc) is a powerful and flexible command-line interface that simplifies interactions with the Open Build Service (OBS). By leveraging osc, you can streamline your packaging, building, and managing processes within the OBS ecosystem. Whether you are a developer, packager, or system administrator, osc is a valuable tool to have in your arsenal.

Category: Command-Line Interface, Development Tools

Tags: openSUSE Commander, osc, Open Build Service, command-line interface, OBS, development tools