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# System prepended metadata

title: Change Proposal rpmautospec
tags: [' infra', wiki]

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---
title: Change Proposal rpmautospec
tags: wiki, infra
---

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= rpmautospec - removing release and changelog fields from spec files =

== Summary ==
The goal of this change is to deploy in production the [https://docs.pagure.org/fedora-infra.rpmautospec/ rpmautospec] project.

With it, the content of the `%release` and `%changelog` fields in spec files can be auto-generated, either locally or in the builder using the information present in the git repo (in the form of git tags).

== Owner ==
* Name: [[User:pingou| Pierre-Yves Chibon]]
* Email: pingou - at - pingoured.fr
* Name: [[User:nphilipp| Nils Philippsen]]
* Email: nphilipp - at - redhat.com

== Current status ==
[[Category:ChangePageIncomplete]]
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[[Category:SystemWideChange]]

* Targeted release: N/A
* Last updated: <!-- this is an automatic macro — you don't need to change this line -->  {{REVISIONYEAR}}-{{REVISIONMONTH}}-{{REVISIONDAY2}} 
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* FESCo issue: <will be assigned by the Wrangler>
* Tracker bug: <will be assigned by the Wrangler>
* Release notes tracker: <will be assigned by the Wrangler>

== Detailed Description ==

rpmautospec offers packagers who want to use it the possibility of replacing the content of the `Release` of their spec file by `Release:    %autorel` and/or replace the content of the `%changelog` section of their spec file by:
  %changelog
  %autochangelog
 
Both `%autorel` and `%autochangelog` are RPM macros that will be expanded or replaced when the SRPM is built on the build system by their corresponding values according to rpmautospec.

An overview of how rpmautospec works can be found at: https://docs.pagure.org/fedora-infra.rpmautospec/principle.html.
We will describe below how each macro works.

=== The %autorel macro ===

To determine the next release information, rpmautospec relies on the build history of the package.
This information is extracted from the buildsystem when running as a koji plugin and from git tags when running outside of the buildsystem.

Using the build history of the package (ie a list of NEVRs) as well as the information provided by the packager in the spec file, rpmautospec then computes the next best release number for the package.

Once defined, it prepends a suitably defined %autorel macro to the top of the spec file, freezing the computed value of the release number and thus allowing reproducible builds of the SRPM.

The [https://docs.pagure.org/fedora-infra.rpmautospec/autorel.html documentation of the autorel macro] describes how packagers can use it to provide extra information.

=== The %autochangelog macro ===

The %autochangelog macro is in fact more a placeholder that rpmautospec fills in during the creation of the SRPM (or when ran manually on a project).

rpmautospec uses two sources of information to automatically generate the changelog:
* an optional `changelog` file that packagers can add to the repository
* the git history of the spec file

rpmautospec will include the `changelog` as is in the `%changelog` section and will use all the commits made to the repository after the last change of the `changelog` file to generate the changelog.

In other words, if the packager has a repository created on January 10th and works on it for 6 months, adds a `changelog` file on June 1st. All the commits made before that commit of June 1st will be ignored in favor of the content of the `changelog` file.
Similarly, if the packager then edits the file on July 1st, all the commits prior to that commit of July 1st will be ignored.
All the commits involving files ending with either ".spec" or ".patch" (this list can be expended if desired) and made after July 1st will be used to generate the changelog.

== Feedback ==

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== Benefit to Fedora ==

The `%release` and `%changelog` fields are the two most conflicting fields in RPM spec files. They impact most pull requests if they involve updating the package or if the package is updated/rebuilt while the pull request is being reviewed.

We currently have three different change logs per package and while they target different audiences (package maintainer: git, sysadmin: %changelog and end-user: bodhi notes) they overlap a lot and in most cases are redundant. With this proposal, package maintainers will only have to cope with two changelogs: git and bodhi notes.

== Scope ==
* Proposal owners:
** Finish the work on the %autorel macro to support some of the use cases not implemented currently
** Adjust the packaging so rpmautospec does not live in a specific, versionized python environment (and thus could be use to bootstrap python)
** Adjust rpmdev-bumpspec (used by releng for mass-rebuilds) so it ignores spec files using %autorel/%autochangelog 
** Adjust the mass-rebuild script so it only adds a suitable git commit log message for spec files using %autorel/%autochangelog
** Adjust fedpkg to skip the NEVR check when using rpmautospec 
** Add dependency on rpmautospec on redhat-rpm-config 

* Other developers: 
** Opt-in for those who want to use it
** Test changes in staging
** Provide feedback
  
* Release engineering: [https://pagure.io/releng/issues #Releng issue number] 

* Policies and guidelines: Packaging guidelines should be adjust to explain how rpmautospec works and can be used. Documentation at: https://docs.pagure.org/fedora-infra.rpmautospec/ should provide a good basis for this

* Trademark approval: N/A (not needed for this Change)

* Alignment with Objectives: While not listed on the wiki page of that objective, it could be seen as related to https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Objectives/Packager_Experience

== Upgrade/compatibility impact ==

Not applicable


== How To Test ==

* Use `stg-koji` instead of `koji`
* Use `fedpkg-stage` instead of `fedpkg` (``dnf install fedpkg-stage``)
* Run `kinit <accountname>@STG.FEDORAPROJECT.ORG`
* Test with rawhide as rpmautospec is only available there in staging at this point
* Install `rpmautospec-rpm-macros` to build packages locally.
* Run rpmautospec on the git repository of your choice to see what it does (you may have to run `rpmautospec tag-package` the first time you run it).

Issues can be reported at: https://pagure.io/fedora-infra/rpmautospec/issues

== User Experience ==

Packagers not opting-in should not be affected in any way by this change.

Packagers opting-in should be able to stop worrying (or worry much less) about the content of the Release/%changelog fields in their spec file.

== Dependencies ==
None

== Contingency Plan ==

* Contingency mechanism: rpmautospec is not deployed in koji
* Contingency deadline: N/A (this isn't tied to a Fedora release)
* Blocks release? No


== Documentation ==

All the upstream documentations can be https://docs.pagure.org/fedora-infra.rpmautospec/

== Release Notes ==

N/A, this change will not affect end-users (except maybe for some changes in the content of the rpm changelog).
