build_configs

Per-package build overrides for AlmaLinux Build System (ALBS).

This repository contains a single file build_configs.json that defines per-package build parameters.

Format

{
  "package_name": {
    "branch_pattern": {
      "secure_boot": true,
      "platform_flavors": ["flavor-name"],
      "linked_builds": [123],
      "mock_options": {
        "definitions": {"key": "value"},
        "module_enable": ["module:stream"],
        "yum_exclude": ["package-name"],
        "with": ["option"],
        "without": ["option"]
      }
    }
  }
}

The top-level key is the source package name (as in the SRPM filename, e.g. kernel, dotnet8.0, gcc-toolset-14-gcc).

Each package maps one or more branch patterns to an overrides object. Patterns use fnmatch syntax and are matched against the build_configs_branch field in the product's albs_config (e.g. almalinux-epel-10, kitten-epel-10) or the git_branch for git-based builds.

When multiple patterns match, the most specific one wins (more literal characters = higher priority).

Field Reference

Per-build parameters

These affect the entire ALBS build. If packages in the same batch have different values for these, they are automatically split into separate ALBS builds.

Field	Type	Default	Description
secure_boot	bool	false	Enable SecureBoot signing for the build
platform_flavors	list[str]	[]	Additional platform flavors (appended to the product's base flavors)
linked_builds	list[int]	[]	ALBS build IDs to link (appended to product-level linked_builds)

Per-task parameters (mock_options)

These are applied per-package within a single ALBS build. Different mock_options do not require separate builds.

Field	Type	Default	Description
mock_options.definitions	dict[str, str]	{}	RPM macro definitions (merged with product-level definitions; package values win on conflict)
mock_options.module_enable	list[str]	[]	DNF module streams to enable in the chroot (format: module:stream)
mock_options.yum_exclude	list[str]	[]	Packages to exclude from the mock chroot
mock_options.with	list[str]	[]	--with conditional build options
mock_options.without	list[str]	[]	--without conditional build options

Branch Patterns

Patterns use fnmatch syntax. Common conventions:

Pattern	Matches	Use case
a*	a8, a9, a10, almalinux-epel-10	AlmaLinux branches
c*	c8, c8s, c9s, c10s	CentOS Stream branches
c8	c8 only	Exact CentOS 8 branch
*	Everything	Catch-all for all branches
*portable*	a10-portable, c10s-portable	Portable builds
almalinux-epel-10	almalinux-epel-10 only	Exact EPEL for AlmaLinux 10
kitten-epel-10	kitten-epel-10 only	Exact EPEL for AlmaLinux Kitten 10

When multiple patterns match, specificity is determined by the number of literal (non-wildcard) characters. For example, *portable* beats * because it has more literal content.

Examples

SecureBoot signing

{
  "kernel": {
    "a*": { "secure_boot": true }
  },
  "grub2": {
    "a*": { "secure_boot": true }
  }
}

Kernel and grub2 will have is_secure_boot: true in ALBS builds for all AlmaLinux branches.

Platform flavors (dotnet)

{
  "dotnet8.0": {
    "c*": { "platform_flavors": ["dotnet-build"] }
  }
}

dotnet8.0 builds for CentOS Stream branches will include the dotnet-build flavor (appended to the product's base flavors).

RPM macro definitions (gcc-toolset)

{
  "gcc-toolset-14-gcc": {
    "c*": {
      "mock_options": {
        "definitions": { "scl": "gcc-toolset-14" }
      }
    }
  }
}

The %scl macro will be set to gcc-toolset-14 in the mock chroot. This is merged with any product-level definitions (e.g. epel: 10).

Module dependencies

{
  "sssd": {
    "c8": {
      "mock_options": {
        "module_enable": ["idm:DL1"]
      }
    },
    "a8": {
      "mock_options": {
        "module_enable": ["idm:DL1"]
      }
    }
  }
}

sssd on EL8 branches requires the idm:DL1 module stream enabled in the build chroot.

SecureBoot + custom definitions

{
  "nvidia-open-kmod": {
    "a*": {
      "secure_boot": true,
      "mock_options": {
        "definitions": { "modsign_os": "almalinux-nvidia-signing" }
      }
    }
  }
}

nvidia-open-kmod gets both SecureBoot signing and a custom signing identity macro.

Portable builds (disable %check)

{
  "java-21-openjdk": {
    "*": { "platform_flavors": ["java-portable"] },
    "*portable*": {
      "mock_options": {
        "definitions": { "__spec_check_template": "exit 0;" }
      }
    }
  }
}

All java-21-openjdk builds get the java-portable flavor. Portable branch builds additionally skip %check via a mock definition override. The *portable* pattern is more specific than * and takes priority for portable branches.

How It Works

1. releng-monitoring fetches this file periodically (every 30 minutes)
2. When creating ALBS builds, it looks up each package name and matches against branch patterns
3. Per-build overrides (secure_boot, platform_flavors) determine build grouping — packages with different per-build params go into separate ALBS builds
4. Per-task overrides (mock_options) are applied individually to each package's task within a build
5. Product-level albs_config (from repositories.yaml) is always the base layer; this file acts as an overlay

Adding a New Package

1. Add a new top-level key with the source package name
2. Add one or more branch patterns with the desired overrides
3. Commit and push — changes take effect within 30 minutes (next refresh cycle)

{
  "my-package": {
    "a*": {
      "mock_options": {
        "definitions": { "my_macro": "value" }
      }
    }
  }
}