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I made a local APT repository that automatically fetches DEBs and AppImages from anywhere (jlai.lu)

submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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On Debian-based distros, when an app is available as a DEB or an AppImage (that doesn't self-update), but no APT repository, PPA or Flatpak, the only option is to manually download each update, and usually manually check even whether there are updates.

But, what if those would be upgraded at the same time as everything else using the tools you're familiar with ?

dynapt is a local web server that fetches those DEBs (and AppImages to be wrapped into DEBs) wherever those are, then serves these to APT like any package repository does.

I started building it a few months ago, and after using it to upgrade apps on my computers and servers for some time, I pre-released it for the first time last week.

The stable version will come with a CLI wizard to avoid this manual configuration.

Feedback is welcome :)

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[–] [email protected] 44 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Obtainium but for Debian, nice

[–] [email protected] 15 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Such a security risk though, but still better than curling scripts into sudo

[–] marmalade 9 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I mean they could add a diff thing, like how AUR helpers do it. It's not much, but it's something.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago

I'd be willing to implement additional features for people who are extra careful about security.

Could you please explain what does this consist in ?

Thanks

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago

I'd say going directly to a developer's github page for packages isnt too bad, especially now with all of the security features github has in the background, but yea technically true.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago

Thanks !

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

If I'd decide to implement something like this, I'd consider two options: local repo with file:// scheme or custom apt-transport. HTTP server is needless here. (But I'll never do this because I prefer to rebuild packages myself if there's no repo for my distro.)

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 months ago (2 children)

local repo with file:// scheme

With that, I couldn't trigger a download when apt update is ran, I could only do a cron, i.e. a delay, that I do not want.

custom apt-transport

I thought about that, but found no documentation on how to do it. If you have any, I'm interested.

Even just finding documentation on how to generate DEBs and APT repository metadata files was very hard.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago (2 children)

It is documented in libapt-pkg-doc (/usr/share/doc/libapt-pkg-doc/method.html/index.html).

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago

In an APT package OMG 😂

I found an online version though, which I would never have found through my search engine (and on a site that doesn't even support HTTPS) 😅

Looks like difficult reading too 😭

Thanks anyway.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, I don't have the skill for this. I'd be very happy if someone else would make this, but if not then I'm sticking to HTTP.

[–] keturn 3 points 3 months ago (2 children)

I went way down the rabbit hole on this one and ended up with a proof of concept that's probably close enough to be able to wire it up: https://gitlab.com/-/snippets/3745244

I guess it didn't end up too much code, but I'm not entirely sure it's worth it.

(it's after 3 AM? oh no what have I done)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

I'll look into it, thanks !

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Why the OOP structure and syntax ? Sorry but it makes it difficult to read for me even in my own language 😅

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[–] keturn 1 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

differently hacky idea:

since you do end up with all the packages in a repository on the filesystem, and you just want to have it do this just-in-time updating when the Packages file is accessed...

what if you list it as a normal file apt source, but you make the Packages file a FIFO?

it's a cursed idea but I'm not sure it is any less cursed than the other options we've come up with.

it may or may not help to have systemd.socket manage creating the FIFO and running the service.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

What's a FIFO ?

I've also looked into VFS but found nothing I'd have the skills to implement. 😅

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 months ago (3 children)

Sorry to be that guy, but this sounds like a cybersecurity nightmare. While everybody was busy to come up with schemes that make absolutely sure that only trusted sources can update a system to avoid having malicious players push their code to users, this one just takes any rando's pile of whatever and injects it straight into the system's core? Like, that doesn't sound like a good idea.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 months ago (4 children)

Well, I'm just automating what people currently have to do manually : visit GitHub and download DEB and install DEB.

If the automated process would be dangerous then the manual process also would be, and that would be on the maintainer for not providing an APT repository or a Flatpak, not on the user for just downloading from GitHub.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I see it more as a local repo. Like, setup the repo to do what you would have done manually so that you don't have to do it on multiple computers. I could be misunderstanding it though.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

You understand perfectly.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

No matter where you install from, you have to trust the source. Indeed, you have to trust every step in the supply chain.

If you are getting your code straight from the author, you are eliminating an exploit that’s introduced by a compromised account of a packager.

Carry on.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (5 children)

This might be for the better, but Discord was so infuriating about updates and forcing you to download them what felt like 50% of the time I opened it, I gave up and just use it in Ungoogled Chromium now. I'm pretty sure within a few months I ended up having 15+ debs of Discord in my Downloads folder.

For anyone else trying to use the native Discord app on Debian, I think they'll find this a major treat.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Discord not automating downloads of DEBs is one of the reasons motivating me to do this.

Personally I need the desktop client because I mod it with plugins that are so useful that I can't do without these anymore.

Alternatively, there are third-party repositories here and here.

There still is delay between Discord releases and repository updates so I still believe dynapt to be the better solution.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Personally I need the desktop client because I mod it with plugins that are so useful that I can’t do without these anymore.

Discord client modifications are against the Terms of Service. https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.en.html

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

I don't care.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

This is 100% of the reason that I use the discord flatpak.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Neat! Thanks for sharing!

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago

Thank you for your appreciation !

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)

Looks great, well done.

Personally, the deb-related annoyance that I have encountered most often in recent years is that there is an APT repo but I have to jump thru hoops to add it. An example is signal-desktop, where the handy one-click installation goes like this:

# 1. Install our official public software signing key:
wget -O- https://updates.signal.org/desktop/apt/keys.asc | gpg --dearmor > signal-desktop-keyring.gpg
cat signal-desktop-keyring.gpg | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/signal-desktop-keyring.gpg > /dev/null

# 2. Add our repository to your list of repositories:
echo 'deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/signal-desktop-keyring.gpg] https://updates.signal.org/desktop/apt xenial main' |\
  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/signal-xenial.list

# 3. Update your package database and install Signal:
sudo apt update && sudo apt install signal-desktop

Why does Debian-Ubuntu not provide a simple command for this? Yes there is add-apt-repository but for some reason it doesn't deal with keys. I've had to deal with this PITA on multiple occasions, what's up with this?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

Thanks, and agreed !

Fortunately, copy/pasting works and you only have to do it once.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Why does Debian-Ubuntu not provide a simple command for this?

You aren't supposed to add repos. Ever. https://wiki.debian.org/UntrustedDebs

Apt is not built with security in mind, at all. The partial sandboxing it does do is trivial to bypass. Adding a repo is basically a RAT Trojan on your computer.

An example is signal-desktop

Yeah don't use signal. They restrict freedom 3 by making distribution difficult. Thats why they trick you into using their RAT repo.

https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=842943

The least bad option is the unofficial flatpak.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Apt is not built with security in mind, at all. The partial sandboxing it does do is trivial to bypass. Adding a repo is basically a RAT Trojan on your computer.

OK. I suppose this is the correct answer.

The least bad option [for Signal] is the unofficial flatpak.

Unless I'm missing something, here we will disagree. Secure or not, FOSS principle-respecting or not, if I'm choosing to install software by X then I'm going to get it straight from X and not involve third-party Y too.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Is that autotiling on cinnamon? Didn't know it could do that

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago

It doesn't, that's provided by Cortile.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Great idea!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

Thanks !

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I like it. Wonder if this could be retooled to work on rpm-ostree systems, because any layered packages installed from RPM files have the same limitation of needing to be manually upgraded.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

I don't know anything about RPMs, but if you or anyone is familiar with it then perhaps !

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

This is somewhat re-inventing some things Ansible can do, which is download and install software whether it has a formal or informal source.

Ansible is the automation I use to manage personal and professional servers.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago

Which isn't user-friendly.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

I would test this out on termux. It's annoying to have very limited supported programs.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Neat project!

While this might not solve all of your use cases, did you consider a tool like mise?

Theres a number of other options out there such as asdf-vm and others who's names I can't recall. I recently moved from asdf to miss but its a great way to install things on different machines and track it with your dotfiles, or any other repo you want to use. Mise has tons of configuration options for allowing overrides and local machine specific versions.

It won't tie into apt for your upgrades but you could just alias your apt update to include && mise up.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

My main use case is end user desktops.

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