Debian packaging helper tools for beginners

Question

I wanted to create my own Debian package for the first time, but I'm scared of the tools that are used in this tutorial. There are several text files that you need to be careful not to break their content structure, there are some directory structure that you have to follow, etc. This seems a perfect thing that could be automated, at least for the beginners.

Is there any tool around that eases Debian package creation process? Doesn't matter whether this would be a cli-prompt or a gui tool - jut not to make me remember dozens of file-level details.

Answer 1

There is much automation already offered. To get started, run dh_make (package name is dh-make) from inside the directory of your software. This tool will guide you on what needs to be done. It will create a whole bunch of files in debian/ directory, some of which you'll want to delete and some of which you'll want to edit.

Look at this guide for more information. It may save you hours.

Answer 2

There's always https://github.com/jordansissel/fpm, which aims to address the usability of debian packaging.