Debian - How do I mark a package as manually installed?

I am using Debian. Is there a way to mark a package as manually
installed in the package database? I want to manage some packages
outside of the package management system, and I want to flag the
packages as manually installed.

I am replacing some core components marked as required (such as
/bin/tar), and I want to mark the tar package and others as manually
installed.

(My versions are built using makefiles, and are not packaged for
Debian.)

Gentoo offers this facilty through /etc/portage/profile/package.provided
and I am hoping for similar thing in Debian, perhaps through dpkg, or
similar tool.

Thanks in advance.

Mark.

--
Mark Hobley,
393 Quinton Road West,
Quinton, BIRMINGHAM.
B32 1QE.

On 2008-05-12, Mark Hobley <markhobley@hotpop.donottypethisbit.com> wrote:
>
>
> I am using Debian. Is there a way to mark a package as manually
> installed in the package database? I want to manage some packages
> outside of the package management system, and I want to flag the
> packages as manually installed.
>
> I am replacing some core components marked as required (such as
> /bin/tar), and I want to mark the tar package and others as manually
> installed.
>
> (My versions are built using makefiles, and are not packaged for
> Debian.)
>
You can create debs and install them (maybe by using alien), or you can
use equivs.

I demand that Mark Hobley may or may not have written...

> I am using Debian. Is there a way to mark a package as manually installed
> in the package database? I want to manage some packages outside of the
> package management system, and I want to flag the packages as manually
> installed.

$ aptitude --help
....
markauto - Mark packages as having been automatically installed
unmarkauto - Mark packages as having been manually installed
....
$

[snip]
--
| Darren Salt | linux or ds at | nr. Ashington, | Toon
| RISC OS, Linux | youmustbejoking,demon,co,uk | Northumberland | Army
| + Output *more* particulate pollutants. BUFFER AGAINST GLOBAL WARMING.

Information deteriorates upward through bureaucracies.

I demand that Bill Marcum may or may not have written...

> On 2008-05-12, Mark Hobley <markhobley@hotpop.donottypethisbit.com> wrote:
[snip]
>> I am replacing some core components marked as required (such as
>> /bin/tar), and I want to mark the tar package and others as manually
>> installed.

>> (My versions are built using makefiles, and are not packaged for
>> Debian.)

> You can create debs and install them (maybe by using alien), or you can use
> equivs.

Add some deb-src lines to your sources.list, update, install devscripts &
debhelper, "apt-get source $PKG", apply your changes, modify debian/changelog
(for the version number, mainly) "apt-get build-dep $PKG", "debuild binary",
install, mark as held.

--
| Darren Salt | linux or ds at | nr. Ashington, | Toon
| RISC OS, Linux | youmustbejoking,demon,co,uk | Northumberland | Army
| Let's keep the pound sterling

Appearances often are deceiving.

Darren Salt <news@youmustbejoking.demon.cu.invalid> wrote:

> Add some deb-src lines to your sources.list, update, install devscripts &
> debhelper, "apt-get source $PKG", apply your changes, modify debian/changelog
> (for the version number, mainly) "apt-get build-dep $PKG", "debuild binary",
> install, mark as held.

Rather than creating dummies or repackaging everything for Debian, I
really would like to just manipulate the package database directly,
telling it that a package is manually installed, or held, or whatever,
or possibly set an artificially high version number against the package,
so that it never gets upgraded. Is there any easy way to do this?

Mark.

--
Mark Hobley,
393 Quinton Road West,
Quinton, BIRMINGHAM.
B32 1QE.

Darren Salt <news@youmustbejoking.demon.cu.invalid>:
> I demand that Bill Marcum may or may not have written...
>
> > On 2008-05-12, Mark Hobley <markhobley@hotpop.donottypethisbit.com> wrote:
> [snip]
> >> I am replacing some core components marked as required (such as
> >> /bin/tar), and I want to mark the tar package and others as manually
> >> installed.
> >>
> >> (My versions are built using makefiles, and are not packaged for
> >> Debian.)
> >
> > You can create debs and install them (maybe by using alien), or you can use
> > equivs.
>
> Add some deb-src lines to your sources.list, update, install devscripts &
> debhelper, "apt-get source $PKG", apply your changes, modify debian/changelog
> (for the version number, mainly) "apt-get build-dep $PKG", "debuild binary",
> install, mark as held.

Piece of pie. Easy as cake. :-P

I'd suggest hanging out in debian-mentors for a few years. It's what
I've been trying to do.


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