What can I do, as an end user, when a testing package on the gentoo tree has been outdated for a while? I know I can just download the tar file of the source code and compile it myself, but I wonder if there is anything else I can do to help on the gentoo repos.
For example Waybar has a 0.9.18 version available upstream, but not on gentoo. This version was released about a month ago, and includes compatibility for dwl. It’s not really an issue for me, since I compiled the 0.9.18 version manually, but I’d like to know if there is anything I can do to help.
Sorry if I’m not using all the correct terminology; I’m new to gentoo.
You can either use the 9999 slot of that package, which is the latest git commit or kindly ask for a version bump on the gentoo bug tracker and the package maintainer will package the new version or like someone else said, use your own ebuild in an overlay, as last resort
Thanks!
The best solution imo is to create your own overlay / ebuild repository (it’s very easy), then modify the ebuild of way bar to install the new version.
99% of the time, you will only need to change the version on one or two lines and that’s it. Emerge the new ebuild, and test the changes. Make sure all works. Modify the ebuild as necessary if you find more things are needed, but as I said, most of the time it isn’t.
You’re basically done here, but you’d be encouraged to contribute this back to the gentoo repository.
Updating most ebuilds often just requires copying and the file to a new version. There are a few commands run using the
ebuildandpkgdevpackages to do things like updating the package manifest.More complex packages require an update to the build scripts, however this isn’t typically the case between point releases.
See https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Basic_guide_to_write_Gentoo_Ebuilds for a quick start guide.
You can submit PRs on GitHub (gentoo/gentoo); the community is welcoming and offers constructive feedback. And
#gentoo-dev-helpon IRC is available to provide support if you get stick.Give it a try!
