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  0.2 / Full and semi-functioning indev build. Pre-Release

  huntedbytheirs released this 2026-08-04 14:46:31 -04:00 | 8 commits to main since this release

  kappa 0.2 (indev) — release notes

  What changed from 0.1

  0.1 could parse .kap files, validate configs, and generate service files for
  five init systems — but it couldn't actually build anything. The build backend
  was a compile-time stub that returned "build backend not implemented". 0.2
  makes kappa a real package manager.

  Build backend. Packages now build end-to-end. The build pipeline executes
  prepare, build, check, and install phases through /bin/sh, with full variable
  interpolation (${prefix}, ${jobs}, ${destdir}, ${enabledinit},
  ${cfg.*}, ${feature.*}), config file generation to DESTDIR, and
  environment variable handling. The scheduler distributes work across -w
  workers with depth-based priority grouping. Verified by building GNU Make
  4.4.1 from source.

  Env operators. Three ways to set build environment variables:

  • = — hard set (overwrite)
  • += — append with space separator
  • ?= — soft set (only if variable is not already defined)

  System-level env propagates to all packages. Subsequent entries can build on
  earlier ones — CFLAGS = "-O2"; CFLAGS += "-pipe" → "-O2 -pipe".

  Indexed repos. Flat remotes = [...] has been joined by structured
  repos { } blocks with named repositories, channels (stable, testing),
  mirror URLs, and priority. The new index "name" { } file format lists every
  package and version in a repo. kappa index <dir> scans a directory of .kap
  files and generates the index. Clients fetch the index once, cache it, and
  re-fetch only when the remote changes via HTTP conditional requests. Mirrors
  are tried in order as fallbacks. Backward compatible — remotes = [...] still
  works.

  Package operations. kappa add <pkg> [version] writes to the system
  config's packages {} block. kappa remove <pkg> removes it. No config file
  editing required. Both are idempotent. The --root flag works everywhere.

  Conflict detection. Package conflicts were caught internally by the
  resolver but silently ignored by resolve and rebuild. Both now abort with a
  clear error before any builds start.

  Testing and CI. 138 integration tests across three suites cover CLI error
  handling, all DSL keywords, config parsing, users/groups, assertions, imports,
  doctor diagnostics, repos/remotes, index generation, add/remove, install DB,
  conflicts, deptree ordering, build execution, env operators, init systems,
  bootloaders, variable interpolation, --root override, and more. CI runs on an
  Arch Linux container — clang-18, cmake 3.28, three suites, zero warnings.

  Documentation. STYLEGUIDE.md covers every codebase convention. Updated
  README with the kappa add workflow. CONTRIBUTING.md refreshed with current
  test counts and issue list.

  What might come in 0.3

  • Transitive dependency resolution. Currently the config must list every
    package explicitly. Auto-including transitive deps would let you declare only
    top-level packages.

  • kappa search. Query the cached index without touching the network.
    Basic name match, semver filtering, channel pinning.

  • --features / --config flags for kappa add. Enable features or set
    config values at add time instead of editing the config afterward.

  • Delta rebuilds. Rebuild only packages whose dependencies actually
    changed, not just the ones with version bumps.

  • Binary package support. Pre-built caches for common configurations so
    rebuilds don't always start from source.

  • Signed indexes and recipes. pubkey field in repo config. Verify index
    signatures before trusting content. Enable community mirrors without trusting
    the mirror operator.

  • Shell completions. Bash, zsh, fish tab-completion for subcommands and
    package names.

  • kappa upgrade. Compare installed versions against the index, rebuild
    everything with newer versions available.

  • Overlay activation. Atomic filesystem snapshots like Nix profiles — switch
    between generations without a reboot.

  • Remote build farm. Distribute build work across machines with
    distcc-style job forwarding, controlled by repo config.

  Downloads

  • kappa-7ba3fe6-v0.3-2026-45.tar.zst
    307 KiB

    2026-08-04 14:52:01 -04:00
  • Source Code (ZIP)
  • Source Code (TAR.GZ)