Generating a permanent pbuilder chroot

This is a draft step-by-step instruction about how to create a permanent pbuilder chroot. Consider the result a dirty environment to do some quick builds in: in the end you will need to test build in a clean chroot.

This is a first draft. Please do send me your feedback. My contact info is on https://launchpad.net/~mouz.

If you have not done so already, create a normal pbuilder chroot:

$ sudo pbuilder create

Create a script that generates an error:

$ mkdir -p /path/to/hooks/disabled/
$ cat > /path/to/hooks/disabled/error
#!/bin/sh
echo
echo ERROR IS DELIBERATE.
exit 127
^D
$ cd /path/to/hooks/
$ chmod +x ./disabled/error
$ ln -s ./disabled/error E00error

Make sure there are no other scripts in /path/to/hooks/. Then use the script as a pbuilder hook:

$ sudo pbuilder update \
   --hookdir /path/to/hooks/ \
   --debug

For more information about hooks and --debug: see the pbuilder(1) manual page.

You will land in a shell within the chroot. Exit it:

...
# ^D

Pbuilder won't clean up the unpacked environment (which is what you want). Make a note of its location, ex. /var/cache/pbuilder/build/54321/. Remove the symbolic link to the hook:

$ rm /path/to/hooks/E00error

You can build in this environment using the --no-targz option:

$ sudo pbuilder build \
        --no-targz \
        --buildplace /var/cache/pbuilder/build/54321 \
        <foo-1.2-3ubuntu4>.dsc