Archive Layout

Overview

Package archives in ProteanOS follow a defined layout that enables efficient distribution, mirroring, and tool integration. Understanding this structure is helpful for maintainers, mirror operators, and anyone working with package infrastructure.

Archive Structure

archive/
├── dists/
│   └── stable/
│       ├── main/
│       │   ├── binary-arm/
│       │   │   ├── Packages
│       │   │   └── Packages.gz
│       │   └── source/
│       │       ├── Sources
│       │       └── Sources.gz
│       └── Release
├── pool/
│   └── main/
│       ├── a/
│       │   └── example-app/
│       │       ├── example-app_1.0.0.opk
│       │       └── example-app_1.0.0.dsc
│       └── lib/
│           └── example-lib/
│               └── ...
└── project/
    └── trace/

Distribution Directory

The dists/ directory contains metadata about available packages, organized by distribution (stable, testing, etc.) and component.

• Packages — Index of binary packages with metadata
• Sources — Index of source packages
• Release — Distribution metadata and checksums

Package Pool

The pool/ directory stores actual package files, organized by component and package name prefix. This layout allows multiple distributions to reference the same package files without duplication.

Index Files

Index files enable package tools to discover and resolve packages without downloading the entire archive:

• Packages file lists all binary packages with dependencies and descriptions
• Sources file lists source packages with build dependencies
• Release file provides checksums for integrity verification

Mirroring

The archive structure supports efficient mirroring using standard tools like rsync. Mirror operators should synchronize the entire archive tree to maintain consistency.