NEW processing (wiki)

To work with the upload queue, you may either use the web interface or the queue API client in ubuntu-archive-tools. The API client should generally be faster and more flexible; in particular, it is not currently possible to override individual binaries using the web interface.

Both source packages and new binaries which have not yet been approved are not automatically accepted into the archive, but are instead held for checking and manual acceptance. Once accepted they’ll be automatically approved from then on.

The current queue can be obtained with:

$ ./queue info

This is the NEW queue for the development series of Ubuntu by default; you can change the queue with -Q, the distro with -D and the release using -s. To list the UNAPPROVED queue for ubuntu/xenial, for example:

$ ./queue -s xenial -Q unapproved info

Packages are placed in the UNAPPROVED queue if they’re uploaded to a closed distribution, and are usually security updates or similar; this should be checked with the uploader.

You can give a string argument after info which is interpreted as a sub-string match filter.

To obtain a report of the size of all the different queues for a particular release:

$ ./queue report

Back to the NEW queue for now, however. You’ll see output that looks somewhat like this:

$ ./queue info
 Listing ubuntu/dapper (New) 4
---------|----|----------------------|----------------------|---------------
   25324 | S- | diveintopython-zh    | 5.4-0ubuntu1         | 3 minutes
         | * diveintopython-zh/5.4-0ubuntu1 Component: main Section: doc
   25276 | -B | language-pack-kde-co | 1:6.06+20060427      | 2 hours 20 minutes
         | * language-pack-kde-co-base/1:6.06+20060427/i386 Component: main Section: translations Priority: OPTIONAL
   23635 | -B | upbackup (i386)      | 0.0.1                | 2 days
         | * upbackup/0.0.1/i386 Component: main Section: admin Priority: OPTIONAL
         | * upbackup_0.0.1_i386_translations.tar.gz Format: raw-translations
   23712 | S- | gausssum             | 1.0.3-2ubuntu1       | 45 hours
         | * gausssum/1.0.3-2ubuntu1 Component: main Section: science
---------|----|----------------------|----------------------|---------------
                                                               4

The number at the start can be used with other commands instead of referring to a package by name. The next field shows you what is actually in the queue, “S-” means it’s a new source and “-B” means it’s a new binary. You then have the package name, the version and how long it’s been in the queue.

New sources need to be checked to make sure they’re well packaged, the licence details are correct and permissible for us to redistribute, etc. See:

• Packaging new software

• debian/copyright file

• and Debian’s Reject FAQ.

You can fetch a package from the queue for manual checking:

$ ./queue fetch 25324

Or, if you just want to print the URLs so that you can fetch them on a system with a faster network connection:

$ ./queue show-urls 25324

The source is now in the current directory and ready for checking. Any problems should result in the rejection of the package (also send a mail to the uploader explaining the reason and cc ubuntu-archive@lists.ubuntu.com):

$ ./queue reject 25324

If the package is fine, you should next check that it’s going to end up in the right part of the archive. On the next line of the info output, you have details about the different parts of the package, including which component, section, etc. it is expected to head into. One of the important jobs is making sure that this information is actually correct through the application of overrides.

To alter the overrides for a package, use:

$ ./queue override -c universe ubuntustudio-menu

Where the override can be -c <component>, -x <section>, and/or (for binary packages) -p <priority>. If you want to limit the override application to only source or only binary packages, use the --source or --binary options respectively.

Often, a binary will be in the NEW queue because it is a shared library that has changed SONAME. In this case you’ll probably want to check the existing overrides to make sure anything new matches. These can be found in /ubuntu/indices on Ubuntu mirrors.

Currently, a special case of this are the kernel packages, which change package names with each ABI update and build many distinct binary packages in different sections. A helper tool has been written to apply overrides to the queue based on the packages that are currently published:

$ ./kernel-overrides [-s <sourcepackage>] <newabi>

Binary packages are not often rejected (they go into a black hole with no automatic notifications), so, check the .deb contains files, run lintian on it and file bugs when things are broken. The binaries also need to be put into universe etc as appropriate even if the source is already there.

If you’re happy with a package, and the overrides are correct, accept it with:

$ ./queue accept 23712

You can also use ./queue accept binary-name which will accept it for all architectures.

Partner archive

The Canonical partner archive, though not part of Ubuntu proper, is managed using the same tools and queues. As such, use the same procedures when processing partner packages. E.g.:

$ ./queue -s hardy info
Listing ubuntu/hardy (New) 2
---------|----|----------------------|----------------------|---------------
 1370980 | S- | arkeia               | 8.0.9-3              | 19 hours
	 | * arkeia/8.0.9-3 Component: partner Section: utils
 1370964 | S- | arkeia-amd64         | 8.0.9-3              | 19 hours
	 | * arkeia-amd64/8.0.9-3 Component: partner Section: utils
---------|----|----------------------|----------------------|---------------
                                                               2

Notice 'Component: partner'. Use -A ubuntu/partner to remove a package:

$ ./remove-package -m "request from First Last name" -A ubuntu/partner -s precise adobe-flashplugin

The rules governing package inclusion in partner are not the same as those for the main Ubuntu archive. See Extension Repository Policy for the Technical Board’s requirements regarding the contents of add-on repositories made available through the Software Sources interface.