I want to create a .deb package for our software

Question

I am trying to make a .deb package for our software. My basic requirement from the package:

1. After the installation of the package, it should create a desktop shortcut which is linked to the start up script for the software.

2. It should install the file and folder in the package to the location that i give to it.

3. If I can give a GUI for the installation and location selection to the installer would be great but this can be optional..

I tried using FPM but as I am new to it I could make deb but couldn't accomplish the things mentioned above...

Answer 1

All the things you asked for, look suspiciously like a W32 installer. However, this is not how things work in Debian land, and if you want to provide your software in this realm, you might want to adopt to the ecosystem.

.deb packages do not allow for per-user installations. Instead, they are used for system wide installations in well-defined places (so there is no way for a user to tell the installer where to put the files).

Also .deb files are installed via the standard integrated package managers (synaptics, aptitute, apt,...), which do their best to guarantee the system's integrity (and they do quite a good job there).

To learn how to create such a package, there's quite some documentation. Check out https://wiki.debian.org/Packaging