debian-forge/docs/mock-package-dependency-issue.md

Mock Package Dependency Issue

🚨 Issue Summary

The mock package (formerly deb-mock) has a dependency issue that prevents installation in the current Debian Trixie environment.

🔍 Problem Details

Dependency Chain

mock → mock-filesystem → shadow-utils (NOT AVAILABLE)

Root Cause

• mock-filesystem depends on shadow-utils
• shadow-utils package is not available in the Debian Trixie repository
• passwd package is available and provides the same functionality

Error Message

Unsatisfied dependencies:
 mock-filesystem : Depends: shadow-utils but it is not installable
Error: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.

🔧 Available Alternatives

What's Available

$ apt-cache search shadow | grep -E "(shadow|passwd|useradd|groupadd)"
passwd - change and administer password and group data
liblinux-usermod-perl - module to modify user and group accounts
libnss-extrausers - nss module to have an additional passwd, shadow and group file
libpasswd-unix-perl - object-oriented and function interface to standard Unix files

What's Missing

• shadow-utils package is not available in Debian Trixie
• This package typically provides: useradd, groupadd, usermod, groupmod, userdel, groupdel

🛠️ Proposed Solutions

Solution 1: Update Package Dependencies

Update mock-filesystem to depend on passwd instead of shadow-utils:

- Depends: shadow-utils
+ Depends: passwd

Solution 2: Make Dependencies Optional

Make the shadow utilities dependency optional:

- Depends: shadow-utils
+ Depends: passwd | shadow-utils

Solution 3: Remove Dependency

If shadow utilities aren't actually required for filesystem layout:

- Depends: shadow-utils
+ # Remove this line entirely

🧪 Verification Steps

Check Current System

# Check what shadow utilities are available
$ which useradd groupadd usermod groupmod userdel groupdel
/usr/sbin/useradd
/usr/sbin/groupadd
/usr/sbin/usermod
/usr/sbin/groupmod
/usr/sbin/userdel
/usr/sbin/groupdel

# Check which package provides them
$ dpkg -S /usr/sbin/useradd
passwd: /usr/sbin/useradd

Test Mock Functionality

Once the dependency is fixed, test that mock works correctly:

# Install mock
$ sudo apt install mock

# Test basic functionality
$ mock --help
$ mock --version

📋 Action Items

For deb-mock Team

1. Update mock-filesystem package to depend on passwd instead of shadow-utils
2. Test the updated package in a clean Debian Trixie environment
3. Publish the fixed package to the repository
4. Update package metadata to reflect the correct dependencies

For debian-forge Team

1. Document the issue (this document)
2. Test integration once the package is fixed
3. Update documentation with working installation instructions
4. Deploy to production once mock is available

🎯 Expected Outcome

Once the dependency issue is resolved:

1. Mock Installation - sudo apt install mock should work
2. Full Integration Testing - Complete test suite execution
3. Production Deployment - debian-forge mock integration ready
4. User Experience - Seamless mock environment creation

📞 Contact Information

• Package Maintainer: Deb-Mock Team deb-mock@raines.xyz
• Repository: https://git.raines.xyz/robojerk/deb-mock
• Issue Tracker: [To be created]

📊 Impact Assessment

Current Impact

• Mock Integration: Blocked (cannot install mock package)
• debian-forge: Mock features unavailable
• User Experience: Mock functionality not accessible

After Fix

• Mock Integration: Fully functional
• debian-forge: Complete mock support
• User Experience: Full mock environment capabilities

🚀 Timeline

Immediate (Today)

• Document the issue
• Identify root cause
• Propose solutions

Short Term (1-2 days)

• deb-mock team fixes package dependency
• Updated package published to repository
• debian-forge team tests integration

Medium Term (1 week)

• Full integration testing completed
• Production deployment ready
• User documentation updated

📝 Notes

• The passwd package provides all the shadow utilities that shadow-utils would provide
• This is a common issue when packages are built for different distributions
• The fix should be straightforward - just update the dependency declaration
• No code changes are needed, just package metadata updates

Status: BLOCKED - Waiting for package dependency fix Priority: HIGH - Blocks mock integration functionality Effort: LOW - Simple dependency update required