Debian packaging for Node.js projects written 100% in bash.

Simple.

npm install node-deb

or

git clone ${url} && cd node-deb && npm run node-deb && sudo dpkg -i $(find . -maxdepth 1 -type f -name '*.deb' | tail -n 1)

A simple project can be packaged with the following command.

node-deb -- index.js lib/

This command will add all of the above files and directories to a Debian package as well as generate the scripts necessary to install, uninstall, start, and stop your application. On installation, via dpkg -i $your_package_name, dedicated Unix users and groups will be created and your distribution's default init system will start and monitor the process.

node-deb uses sane defaults, so the only thing you need to add to your package.json is the app/cli entrypoint. However, if you don't like these, there are two options for overrides: command line options, or the JSON object node_deb at the top level of your package.json. A full explanation of the different options can be found by running node-deb --help.

By default, if any of the following files exist, they will be included in the Debian package: package.json, npm-shrinkwrap.json and package-lock.json.

For example, here are some sample node_deb overrides. The full list can be found by running node-deb --list-json-overrides.

{
  "name": "some-app",
  ...
  "node_deb": {
    "init": "systemd",
    "version": "1.2.3-beta",
    "entrypoints": {
      "daemon": "foo.js --config /etc/some-app/config.js"
    }
  }
}

Command line options always override values found in the node_deb object, and values found in the node_deb object always override the values found in the rest of package.json.

package.json:

{
  "name": "some-app",
  "version": "1.2.3",
  "node_deb": {
    "entrypoints": {
      "daemon": "app.js arg1 arg2"
    }
  }
}

cmd: node-deb -- app.js lib/

You will get:

• A Debian package named some-app_1.2.3_all.deb
  • Containing the files app.js & package.json and the directory lib
  • Installed via
    • apt-get install some-app
    • apt-get install some-app=1.2.3

On install, you will get.

• An executable named some-app
  • That starts the app with the command app.js arg1 arg2 arg3
• An upstart init script installed to /etc/init/some-app.conf
• A systemd unit file installed to /lib/systemd/system/some-app.service
• A sysv int script installed to /etc/init.d/some-app
• A Unix user some-app
• A Unix group some-app

package.json:

{
  "name": "some-other-app",
  "version": "5.0.2",
  "node_deb": {
    "entrypoints": {
      "daemon": "index.js --daemon"
    }
  }
}

cmd: node-deb -u foo -g bar -v 20150826 -- index.js lib/

You will get:

• A Debian package named some-other-app_20150826_all.deb
  • Containing the files index.js, package.json, & npm-shrinkwrap.json|package-lock.json and the directories lib & node_modules
  • Installed via
    • apt-get install some-other-app
    • apt-get install some-other-app=20150826

On install, you will get.

• An executable named some-other-app
  • That starts the app with the command index.js --daemon
• An upstart init script installed to /etc/init/some-other-app.conf
• A systemd unit file installed to /lib/systemd/system/some-other-app.service
• A sysv int script installed to /etc/init.d/some-other-app
• A Unix user foo
• A Unix group bar

package.json:

{
  "name": "a-third-app",
  "version": "0.10.1",
  "node_deb": {
    "init": "none",
    "dependencies": "apparmor, tor",
    "templates": {
      "postinst": "my-teplates/my-postinst-template.txt"
    },
    "entrypoints": {
      "cli": "app.js"
    }
  }
}

cmd: node-deb -- app.js lib/

You will get:

• A Debian package named a-third-app_0.10.1_all.deb
  • Containing the files index.js, package.json, & npm-shrinkwrap.json|package-lock.json and the directories lib & node_modules
  • With additional dependencies on apparmor and tor
  • Installed via
    • apt-get install a-third-app
    • apt-get install a-third-app=0.10.1
  • With the postinst script rendered from the template my-postinst-template.txt

On install, you will get.

• An executable named a-third-app
  • That starts the app with the command app.js
• No upstart, systemd, or sysv scripts
• No Unix user or group

package.json:

{
  "name": "a-forth-app",
  "version": "0.10.1",
  "node_deb": {
    "init": "none",
    "dependencies": "apparmor, tor, nodejs",
    "templates": {
      "postinst": "my-teplates/my-postinst-template.txt"
    },
    "entrypoints": {
      "cli": "app.js"
    }
  }
}

cmd: node-deb --no-default-package-dependencies -- app.js lib/

You will get:

• A Debian package named a-forth-app_0.10.1_all.deb
  • Containing the files index.js, package.json, & npm-shrinkwrap.json|package-lock.json and the directories lib & node_modules
  • With dependencies on apparmor, tor and nodejs only. No default dependencies added
  • Installed via
    • apt-get install a-forth-app
    • apt-get install a-forth-app=0.10.1
  • With the postinst script rendered from the template my-postinst-template.txt

On install, you will get.

• An executable named a-forth-app
  • That starts the app with the command app.js
• No upstart, systemd, or sysv scripts
• No Unix user or group

Note: Removal via apt-get purge will attempt to remove the user and group defined in the Debian package. This can have serious consequences if the user or group is shared by other applications!

node-deb can Debian-package itself. Just run npm run node-deb.

More complete examples can be found by looking at test.sh and the corresponding projects in the test directory.

This section incldues addtional details about the more advanced functionality of node-deb

The install strategy determines how dependencies in node_modules are included in the final Debian package.

• auto: This attempts to take a minimal subset of package from the node_modules director using npm ls --prod. If this is not possible, it falls back to the copy method. On install, if node_modules is present, it runs npm rebuild --prod. If node_modules is not present, it runs npm install --prod. If npm is not present, it issues a warning that dependencies may be missing and continues with the Debian package installation.
• copy: This runs a blind cp -rf on the node_modules directory and includes everything in the Debian package. No actions are taking during package installation.
• npm-install: This option does not include the node_module in the Debian package and runs npm install --production as part of the postinst maintainer script.

• dpkg
• fakeroot
• jq

These are all available through apt and brew.

Tests are run via docker. This is also available through apt and brew.

node-deb only officially supports the currently supported versions of Debian and Ubuntu (LTS). This includes both for building packages and deploying packages. At the time of this update, this translates to Debian Wheezy through Stretch and Ubuntu Trusty through Xenial. Care has been taken to ensure this packages correctly on macOS, and macOS specific issues should still be reported.

Please make all pull requests to the develop branch.

Please make sure all pull requests pass the test suite locally.