git-import-srpm: script to create branches in source repos from sRPMs revision. by casasnovas · Pull Request #781 · xcp-ng/xcp

casasnovas · 2026-02-03T16:01:38Z

On Debian derivatives, you'll need:
sudo apt-get install rpm

Simply run it inside a SRPM git repository and give it a revision (can be
tag, branch, sha1, ...), e.g.:

CODE_REPO_PATH=/path/to/linux/repo SRPM_REPO_PATH=/path/kernel/srpm/repo git-import-srpm XS-8.2.1

To import all releases as branches, just pass --all:

git-import-srpm --all

By default, the SRPM_REPO_PATH is the current working directory. If no
CODE_REPO_PATH is given, a default path is inferred that is
${SRPM_REPO_PATH}/../(linux|xen|qemu) (depending on the product).

The script was used import all branches of qemu, xen and the Linux kernel
released in current and prior XCP versions, e.g.:

xen branch example: https://github.com/xcp-ng/xen/tree/xen/xcpng-4.17.5-23.1/base
qemu branch example: https://github.com/xcp-ng/qemu-dp/tree/qemu/xcpng-4.2.1-5.2.15.2/base
linux branch example: https://github.com/xcp-ng/linux/tree/linux/xcpng-4.19.19-8.0.32.1/base

The script gives idempotent runs, reconstructed git sha1 will stay the same
across runs for a given srpm revision. The script will not touch any of your
repository worktrees or indexes, so it is safe to run any time even if you are
working in the source repo (patches are applied separately in a temporary worktree).

Note that for each srpm revision, the script will create two branches in the source
repository, in the form:

<product>/(xcpng|xenserver)-<version>/(pre-base|base)

The pre-base ref will point to the upstream commit that was used as basis by
the source RPM before applying patches. Effectively, the patch-set applied by
a source rpm can be rev-listed with git log .../pre-base../base which allows
see-ing how the patchset evolved over time.

Signed-off-by: Quentin Casasnovas quentin.casasnovas@vates.tech

fallen · 2026-02-03T16:37:45Z

I don't have time for a full review today but I'll get back to this PR in the next days :)
It looks good anyway! Thanks!

… revisions. Signed-off-by: Quentin Casasnovas <quentin.casasnovas@vates.tech>

Signed-off-by: Quentin Casasnovas <quentin.casasnovas@vates.tech>

fallen · 2026-02-04T09:05:40Z

I would generally encourage to run shellcheck on your script, it seems there are a few issues :)

Signed-off-by: Quentin Casasnovas <quentin.casasnovas@vates.tech>

casasnovas · 2026-02-05T07:47:58Z

Oops that's embarassing, I thought my lsp-mode would run it in my editor, but I didn't have shellcheck installed so it silently didn't warn me about anything...

I should have fixed all shellcheck warnings/style/errors and info checks, and I've re-imported all qemu branches locally to make sure there was no breakage in functionality.

Let me know if there is anything else you'd like me to change, and thanks for the review!

If you're happy with it I'll squash the intermediate commits, I just did them to facilitate iterative reviews.

rzr · 2026-02-12T11:23:16Z

This tool seems very similar to:

gbp import-srpm  --help
Usage: gbp import-srpm [options] /path/to/package.src.rpm [target]

https://honk.sigxcpu.org/piki/projects/git-buildpackage/

It works to some extends with RPM on my system, I can make a demo if curious.

casasnovas · 2026-02-13T09:33:08Z

This tool seems very similar to:
gbp import-srpm  --help
Usage: gbp import-srpm [options] /path/to/package.src.rpm [target]
https://honk.sigxcpu.org/piki/projects/git-buildpackage/

It works to some extends with RPM on my system, I can make a demo if curious.

That looks nice, I didn't know it existed :)

Trying it on qemu isn't really successful here though:

quentin@laptop-tuxedo repos/qemu-rpms $ gbp import-srpm -v ./                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         1
gbp:debug: Trying to import an unpacked srpm from './'
gbp:debug: Found spec file ./SPECS/qemu.spec
gbp:debug: ['git', 'rev-parse', '--show-cdup']
gbp:debug: ['git', 'rev-parse', '--is-bare-repository']
gbp:debug: ['git', 'rev-parse', '--git-dir']
gbp:debug: ['git', 'for-each-ref', '--format=%(refname:short)', 'refs/heads/']
gbp:debug: ['git', 'status', '--porcelain']
gbp:error: File '0001-usb-fix-setup_len-init-CVE-2020-14364.patch' listed in spec not found

The file is present inside SOURCES/ and I didn't find any options to make it look at the right place.

My main worry is that we'd still need to wrap it into something that does branch deduplication, branch name creation, git history stitching to upstream tags and likely it doesn't support idempotency (creating same git sha1 for same starting point + patch). I'm happy to use it as the backend instead of the apply_patch function here if it does work though and we see any advantages.

Another tiny cons is the sheer amount of dependencies installing git-buildpackage brought in, here it's a tiny self-contained script.

rzr · 2026-02-13T10:12:22Z

https://honk.sigxcpu.org/piki/projects/git-buildpackage/
That looks nice, I didn't know it existed :)

It's coming from debian world and has been adapted to RPMs

I have been using it along gbs long time ago it was a great experience, see in action:

https://youtu.be/DLaD0hHY_F8?t=106#

Trying it on qemu isn't really successful here though:

Let me give a try, I should be manageable.

My main worry is that we'd still need to wrap it into something that does branch deduplication

unsure

Another tiny cons is the sheer amount of dependencies installing git-buildpackage brought in, here it's a tiny self-contained script.

yes, It would requires extra distro integration (i am on it, in my idle time).

casasnovas · 2026-02-16T05:13:13Z

@fallen any other comments? I'm hoping to move forwards with this PR and potentially add automatic branch importing later. If there are already existing tools that do the job better, I'm happy to use them in a future step.

rzr · 2026-02-18T13:40:56Z

If there are already existing tools that do the job better, I'm happy to use them in a future step.

Well better has to be defined but I managed to use gbp along qemu (need some teaks on my f43), feel free to call me if you want to reproduce, meanwhile here is the overall flow:

import

1st I run:

       gbp import-srpm \
            --create-missing-branches \
            --packaging-branch="${packaging_branch}" \
            --packaging-dir="${packaging_dir}" \
            --upstream-branch="${upstream_branch}" \
            --upstream-vcs-tag="$tag" \
            --vendor="$vendor" \
            --pristine-tar \
            --verbose \
            "${srpm_file}"

See history of:

https://github.com/rzr/qemu/commits/packaging/master/
Base is upstream tag
Then a pristine tar patch (because we use tarball as sources) (this step depends on some packages not yet present on my f43)
Then the packaging files

Patch queue

From this we can generate a patch queue:

gbp pq-rpm --spec-file="${spec_file}"  import

See patches applied on upstream:

https://github.com/rzr/qemu/commits/patch-queue/packaging/master

Refresh patches (And spec)

And export the serie of patches back to packaging branch (with git context):

gbp pq-rpm --spec-file="${spec_file}" export --no-patch-numbers --verbose

https://github.com/rzr/qemu/commits/packaging/devel/master

Build again

Check, it will generate files again in SOURCES and SPECS

    gbp buildpackage-rpm \
        --packaging-dir="${packaging_dir}" \
        --git-packaging-branch="${packaging_branch}" \
        --git-upstream-branch="${upstream_branch}" \
        --git-spec-file="${spec_file}" \
        --git-native=no \
        --git-pristine-tar \
        --git-pristine-tar-commit \
        --git-force-create \
        --git-ignore-new \
        --git-no-build \
        --verbose \

Which is same inputs used in xcp-ng-rpm

In theory a srpm should be rebuildable from git too (WIP)

cc: @stormi @ydirson

fallen · 2026-02-18T16:22:27Z

Thanks @rzr for sharing this other possible workflow.
@ydirson has created a meeting so that we can discuss further the topic of those two PRs.

casasnovas · 2026-02-19T06:06:16Z

Thanks @rzr for going through with this! From what I can tell, there is indeed a lack of idempotency when creating the branches, although maybe that could be work-arounded in the tool itself.

My take on this is that git-import-srpm is small, self-contained, without external dependencies, so easier to maintain overall, and provides a simpler interface while supporting idempotent runs and stitching of history in one single operation. It also work in temporary worktrees so does not affect your local repos. For all these reasons I'd go for KISS approach and keep git-import-srpm.

casasnovas · 2026-03-03T13:14:19Z

Would it be acceptable if I moved this script into https://github.com/xcp-ng/hypervisor-dev, and just add some hooks to some github workflows to run it automatically for the packages we (Hypervisor&Kernel) support/maintain?

This way we (H&K team) can work on our own automation and explore ways to improve our developer experience without this being perceived as a shared process impacting any other teams. And when the platform team works on this topic in the future, there won't be things in the way, and we can simply remove our hooks.

What do you guys think?

stormi · 2026-03-03T13:20:42Z

Would it be acceptable if I moved this script into https://github.com/xcp-ng/hypervisor-dev, and just add some hooks to some github workflows to run it automatically for the packages we (Hypervisor&Kernel) support/maintain?

This way we (H&K team) can work on our own automation and explore ways to improve our developer experience without this being perceived as a shared process impacting any other teams. And when the platform team works on this topic in the future, there won't be things in the way, and we can simply remove our hooks.

What do you guys think?

I think that's consistent with the outcome of the discussions we had on the topic all together.

ydirson · 2026-03-11T09:44:22Z

Maybe the script should be renamed, today its name is quite close to existing import_srpm.py so the difference between them is not obvious to a fresh eye.

What about aligning with similar "import to git" scripts like git-(arch|cvs|quilt)import and go with git-srpmimport? That does not change much, but at least the naming convention can help those familiar with it.

…itory. On Debian derivatives, you'll need: sudo apt-get install rpm Simply run it inside a SRPM git repository and give it a revision (can be tag, branch, sha1, ...), e.g.: ```bash CODE_REPO_PATH=/path/to/linux/repo SRPM_REPO_PATH=/path/kernel/srpm/repo git-import-srpm XS-8.2.1 ``` To import all releases as branches, just pass --all: ```bash git-import-srpm --all ``` By default, the `SRPM_REPO_PATH` is the current working directory. If no `CODE_REPO_PATH` is given, a default path is inferred that is `${SRPM_REPO_PATH}/../(linux|xen|qemu)` (depending on the package being imported). The script was used import all branches of qemu, xen and the Linux kernel released in current and prior XCP versions, e.g.: - xen branch example: https://github.com/xcp-ng/xen/tree/xen/xcpng-4.17.5-23.1/base - qemu branch example: https://github.com/xcp-ng/qemu-dp/tree/qemu/xcpng-4.2.1-5.2.15.2/base - linux branch example: https://github.com/xcp-ng/linux/tree/linux/xcpng-4.19.19-8.0.32.1/base The script gives idempotent runs, reconstructed git sha1 will stay the same across runs for a given srpm revision. The script will not touch any of your repository worktrees or indexes, so it is safe to run any time even if you are working in the source repo (patches are applied separately in a temporary worktree). Note that for each srpm revision, the script will create two branches in the source repository, in the form: <product>/(xcpng|xenserver)-<version>/(pre-base|base) The pre-base ref will point to the upstream commit that was used as basis by the source RPM before applying patches. Effectively, the patch-set applied by a source rpm can be rev-listed with `git log /pre-base../base` which allows see-ing how the patchset evolved over time. You can use `git-review-rebase` easily on two imports to see the changes in the patch-queues. Original pull-request was on the [xcp](xcp-ng/xcp#781) repository but after discussion with the OS&Platform team, it was agreed it is better to have it here. Sub-sequent work could try and add github workflows to run this script automatically when we notice new SRPMs from XenServer, but right now it is a manual process (so is running [import_srpm.py](https://github.com/xcp-ng/xcp/blob/master/scripts/import_srpm.py)). Signed-off-by: Quentin Casasnovas <quentin.casasnovas@vates.tech>

casasnovas · 2026-03-13T10:34:45Z

PR moved to the hypervisor-dev repository:
xcp-ng/hypervisor-dev#7

…itory. On Debian derivatives, you'll need: sudo apt-get install rpm Simply run it inside a SRPM git repository and give it a revision (can be tag, branch, sha1, ...), e.g.: ```bash CODE_REPO_PATH=/path/to/linux/repo SRPM_REPO_PATH=/path/kernel/srpm/repo git-import-srpm XS-8.2.1 ``` To import all releases as branches, just pass --all: ```bash git-import-srpm --all ``` By default, the `SRPM_REPO_PATH` is the current working directory. If no `CODE_REPO_PATH` is given, a default path is inferred that is `${SRPM_REPO_PATH}/../(linux|xen|qemu)` (depending on the package being imported). The script was used import all branches of qemu, xen and the Linux kernel released in current and prior XCP versions, e.g.: - xen branch example: https://github.com/xcp-ng/xen/tree/xen/xcpng-4.17.5-23.1/base - qemu branch example: https://github.com/xcp-ng/qemu-dp/tree/qemu/xcpng-4.2.1-5.2.15.2/base - linux branch example: https://github.com/xcp-ng/linux/tree/linux/xcpng-4.19.19-8.0.32.1/base The script gives idempotent runs, reconstructed git sha1 will stay the same across runs for a given srpm revision. The script will not touch any of your repository worktrees or indexes, so it is safe to run any time even if you are working in the source repo (patches are applied separately in a temporary worktree). Note that for each srpm revision, the script will create two branches in the source repository, in the form: <product>/(xcpng|xenserver)-<version>/(pre-base|base) The pre-base ref will point to the upstream commit that was used as basis by the source RPM before applying patches. Effectively, the patch-set applied by a source rpm can be rev-listed with `git log /pre-base../base` which allows see-ing how the patchset evolved over time. You can use `git-review-rebase` easily on two imports to see the changes in the patch-queues. Original pull-request was on the [xcp](xcp-ng/xcp#781) repository but after discussion with the OS&Platform team, it was agreed it is better to have it here. Sub-sequent work could try and add github workflows to run this script automatically when we notice new SRPMs from XenServer, but right now it is a manual process (so is running [import_srpm.py](https://github.com/xcp-ng/xcp/blob/master/scripts/import_srpm.py)). Signed-off-by: Quentin Casasnovas <quentin.casasnovas@vates.tech>

casasnovas requested a review from fallen February 3, 2026 16:01

fallen reviewed Feb 3, 2026

View reviewed changes

Comment thread scripts/git-import-srpm Outdated

Comment thread scripts/git-import-srpm Outdated

Comment thread scripts/git-import-srpm Outdated

Comment thread scripts/git-import-srpm Outdated

Comment thread scripts/git-import-srpm Outdated

git-import-srpm: script to create branches in source repos from sRPMs…

6ae4e4f

… revisions. Signed-off-by: Quentin Casasnovas <quentin.casasnovas@vates.tech>

casasnovas force-pushed the quentin-git-import-srpm branch from ea15c23 to 06ab679 Compare February 3, 2026 16:40

fixup review comments.

2ac523b

Signed-off-by: Quentin Casasnovas <quentin.casasnovas@vates.tech>

casasnovas force-pushed the quentin-git-import-srpm branch from 06ab679 to 2ac523b Compare February 4, 2026 07:51

fixup! fixup review comments.

a8ec533

Signed-off-by: Quentin Casasnovas <quentin.casasnovas@vates.tech>

fallen reviewed Feb 4, 2026

View reviewed changes

Comment thread scripts/git-import-srpm Outdated

fixup: shellcheck

2d8f5e6

Signed-off-by: Quentin Casasnovas <quentin.casasnovas@vates.tech>

casasnovas force-pushed the quentin-git-import-srpm branch from 7fa6737 to 2d8f5e6 Compare February 5, 2026 07:46

casasnovas requested a review from fallen February 9, 2026 11:03

casasnovas mentioned this pull request Mar 13, 2026

git-import-srpm: add script to create source branches from srpm repository. xcp-ng/hypervisor-dev#7

Merged

casasnovas closed this Mar 13, 2026

Conversation

casasnovas commented Feb 3, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

fallen commented Feb 3, 2026

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

fallen commented Feb 4, 2026

Uh oh!

casasnovas commented Feb 5, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

rzr commented Feb 12, 2026

Uh oh!

casasnovas commented Feb 13, 2026

Uh oh!

rzr commented Feb 13, 2026

Uh oh!

casasnovas commented Feb 16, 2026

Uh oh!

rzr commented Feb 18, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

import

Patch queue

Refresh patches (And spec)

Build again

Uh oh!

fallen commented Feb 18, 2026

Uh oh!

casasnovas commented Feb 19, 2026

Uh oh!

casasnovas commented Mar 3, 2026

Uh oh!

stormi commented Mar 3, 2026

Uh oh!

ydirson commented Mar 11, 2026

Uh oh!

casasnovas commented Mar 13, 2026

Uh oh!

Reviewers

Assignees

Labels

Projects

Milestone

Development

Uh oh!

5 participants

casasnovas commented Feb 3, 2026 •

edited

Loading

casasnovas commented Feb 5, 2026 •

edited

Loading

rzr commented Feb 18, 2026 •

edited

Loading