Orthos

Orthos is a deterministic Debian packaging tool.

It scans a source repository, stages an install tree, inventories the staged files, classifies package contents, generates a debian/ layout, builds .deb artifacts, and writes a readable package report.

Orthos is currently focused on Meson projects and builds through isolated Debian chroots.

What Orthos does

• Detects supported source projects
• Runs dependency convergence in a target chroot
• Stages the project install tree in the chroot
• Inventories staged files
• Classifies runtime, data, development, desktop, service, config, helper, and plugin files
• Generates Debian packaging files
• Builds packages with dpkg-buildpackage inside the chroot
• Copies finished .deb artifacts into .orthos/<project>/artifacts/
• Writes a package report at .orthos/<project>/package-report.txt

Pipeline

scan -> stage -> inventory -> classify -> generate -> build -> report

The full user-facing path is:

orthos package /path/to/project

Use an explicit Debian target profile:

orthos package /path/to/project --target-repo-set debian

Use the Debian+Bodhi overlay target profile:

orthos package /path/to/project --target-repo-set debodhi

Pass Meson options when needed:

orthos package /path/to/project --target-repo-set debian --meson-option wl=true

Reset a target chroot:

orthos reset-chroot /path/to/project --target-repo-set debian

Target repo profiles

By default, Orthos uses the native target label, meaning no explicit target repo overlay is selected.

no --target-repo-set -> native label, no explicit repo overlay

--target-repo-set debian -> explicit Debian target profile

--target-repo-set debodhi -> Debian-compatible base with Bodhi repo overlay

The native label does not copy host apt sources into the chroot.

Maintainer identity

Set local maintainer metadata once:

orthos config init

orthos config show

The config is stored at:

~/.config/orthos/orthos.toml

Generated Debian files

Orthos currently generates:

• debian/control
• debian/rules
• debian/changelog
• debian/source/format
• debian/copyright
• package .install files
• maintainer scripts when needed
• lintian overrides when needed

Generated packaging is intended to be useful scaffolding. Human review is still expected before publication.

Working directory

Orthos writes its working files under:

.orthos/

This directory contains generated metadata, staged files, logs, chroots, build workspaces, artifacts, and package reports. It is not source output.

Current status

Orthos can package real Meson projects, including Evisum and Enlightenment.

The current focus is clean, target-aware Debian package generation through chroot-based builds.

License

GPL-3.0