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mkhint

Manage hint files for slackrepo scripts. Updates version strings and download checksums, or creates new hint files from repository .info files.

Installation

Script

sudo cp mkhint /usr/local/bin/mkhint

Bash Completion

sudo cp mkhint.bash-completion /etc/bash-completion.d/mkhint

Dependencies

  • wget — for downloading archives and calculating checksums
  • nvchecker — for checking upstream versions (provides nvchecker and nvtake)
  • jq — for parsing version check results

Configuration

Edit the paths at the top of mkhint to match your setup (lines 16–17):

REPO_DIR="/var/lib/sbopkg/SBo-danix/"      # Repository containing .info files
HINT_DIR="/etc/slackrepo/SBo-danix/hintfiles/"  # Directory where .hint files are stored

Keep the same paths in sync in mkhint.bash-completion (lines 8–9).

nvchecker reads its configuration from ~/.config/nvchecker/nvchecker.toml. You must set up the [__config__] section with oldver and newver keyfile paths before using version-checking features:

[__config__]
oldver = "/var/lib/nvchecker/oldver"
newver = "/var/lib/nvchecker/newver"

mkhint only appends package-specific [section] entries to this file; the [__config__] section must be created manually once.

Usage

Update an existing hint file

Updates the package version, downloads the archive, and recalculates the MD5 checksums:

mkhint --hintfile mypackage --version 2.0.1
mkhint -f mypackage -v 2.0.1

Replaces the old version string with 2.0.1 everywhere in mypackage.hint, re-downloads the URLs from DOWNLOAD and DOWNLOAD_x86_64, and updates MD5SUM and MD5SUM_x86_64. Backs up the old file to mypackage.hint.bak first.

URLs set to UNSUPPORTED or UNTESTED are skipped.

Update and add NODOWNLOAD

Downloads and recalculates checksums, then appends NODOWNLOAD=yes to tell slackrepo to skip checksum verification at build time:

mkhint -f mypackage -v 2.0.1 -N
mkhint --hintfile mypackage --version 2.0.1 --no-dl

Create a new hint file from .info

Copies the corresponding .info file as a template, removes PRGNAM, HOMEPAGE, MAINTAINER, EMAIL, comments out REQUIRES, and sets ARCH to x86_64. If -v is given, the version string is updated and checksums are recalculated:

mkhint --new mypackage            # copy .info as-is, keep VERSION from .info
mkhint -n mypackage -v 1.2.3     # copy .info, update version + recalculate md5
mkhint -n mypackage -v 1.2.3 -N  # same, also add NODOWNLOAD=yes
mkhint -n mypackage -N           # copy .info, add NODOWNLOAD=yes, no downloads

If no .info file exists in REPO_DIR, a skeleton hint with empty variables is created instead.

If the hint file already exists it is backed up and a fresh empty skeleton is written.

Multiline DOWNLOAD

Some packages have multiple download URLs on continuation lines:

DOWNLOAD="https://example.com/foo-1.0.tar.gz \
    https://example.com/extra-data.tar.gz"
MD5SUM="aabbcc... \
    ddeeff..."

When updating a hint with multiline DOWNLOAD, mkhint:

  • Always re-downloads the first URL (version changed → new content)
  • Prompts interactively for each continuation URL — enter a new URL or leave blank to keep the current one
  • Only re-downloads continuation URLs that were changed; unchanged URLs keep their existing md5

List hint files

Lists each hint file with its HintVer (version in the hint) and SBOVer (version in the repository .info). Rows where the two are byte-equal are highlighted, so you can see at a glance which hints are now redundant with the upstream SBo version. Color is used only on a TTY; piped output is plain. A legend is printed when any row matched.

mkhint --list
mkhint -l

Review matched hint files

Iterates only the matched (highlighted) hints from --list — those whose version equals the SBo .info version. For each, it shows the hint side by side with its .info (git diff --no-index if git is available, otherwise diff -y), then prompts [K]eep / [D]elete / [S]kip (default Keep). Delete removes the hint and its .bak. A deleted/kept summary is printed at the end.

mkhint --review
mkhint -R
mkhint --list --review     # show the highlighted table first, then review
mkhint -lR                 # same, combined

If no hints match, it prints "nothing to review" and exits 0.

Delete a hint file

Removes the hint file and its .bak backup if present:

mkhint --delete mypackage
mkhint -d pkg1 pkg2 pkg3

Clean backup files

Removes all .bak files from HINT_DIR:

mkhint --clean
mkhint -c

Check for upstream updates

When creating a new hint file with --new, mkhint automatically appends an nvchecker configuration section, auto-detecting the source (github, pypi, etc.) or providing a commented template. A notice is printed so you can review and fill in any missing details:

mkhint --new mypackage            # adds [mypackage] section to nvchecker config

When updating an existing hint file with --hintfile but without -v, mkhint queries nvchecker for the latest version, shows you the current and latest versions, and prompts to accept the latest, type a different version, or decline. After accepting an update, it runs nvtake to sync nvchecker's keyfile:

mkhint --hintfile mypackage       # suggests latest version via nvchecker (no -v flag)

Check one or more packages for upstream updates with --check. mkhint runs nvchecker for all (or named) hint files, reports outdated packages, prompts per-package to update, applies updates with nvtake, and finishes with a single slackrepo update prompt for all updated packages:

mkhint --check                    # check all hints for upstream updates
mkhint --check pkg1 pkg2          # check specific packages
mkhint -C                         # short form

When exactly one package is given, mkhint runs nvchecker -e <package> so only that entry is scanned instead of the whole nvchecker.toml. With two or more packages, or no arguments, it does a single full scan. (--hintfile without -v likewise queries just its one entry via -e.)

If any scanned hint file has no nvchecker source configured, --check lists those packages and offers to populate nvchecker.toml for them in one prompt — auto-detecting github/pypi from the SBo .info, otherwise writing a commented stub to fill in. After populating, it asks you to review the file (fill any stubs) and re-run mkhint -C. Packages with no matching .info in the repository are skipped.

Help

mkhint --help
mkhint -h

Exit Codes

Code Meaning
0 Success
1 Invalid arguments
2 File not found
3 File already exists (unused — backup logic replaces this)
4 Required tool not available (wget/nvchecker/nvtake/jq)

Hint File Variables

Variable Description
VERSION Package version
ARCH Architecture (x86_64)
DOWNLOAD Download URL for generic/32-bit build
MD5SUM MD5 checksum of the generic archive
DOWNLOAD_x86_64 Download URL for x86_64-specific build
MD5SUM_x86_64 MD5 checksum of the x86_64 archive
NODOWNLOAD Set to yes to skip download/checksum verification in slackrepo

Notes

  • Hint files are backed up to .bak before any modification.
  • If DOWNLOAD or DOWNLOAD_x86_64 is UNSUPPORTED or UNTESTED, that URL is skipped and its MD5SUM is left unchanged.
  • --no-dl / -N does not skip downloads — it downloads and recalculates checksums as normal, then appends NODOWNLOAD=yes to the hint file.
  • After a successful --hintfile update, mkhint prompts Run 'slackrepo update <package>'? [Y/n]. Enter or y runs slackrepo immediately; n skips.
  • Bash completion for -f/--hintfile, -n/--new, -d/--delete, and -C/--check autocompletes package names from their respective directories. When -f <package> is already on the command line, -v [TAB] suggests the current VERSION from that package's hint file. If the hint file is absent, no version is suggested. Short flags (-v, -f, -n, -l, -R, -c, -d, -C, -N, -h) and their long forms (including --review) are also completed.