On 03/08/25 00:56, Antoine Le Gonidec wrote:
Le Sun, Aug 03, 2025 at 12:36:58AM +0530, Ayusman Avisek Nanda a écrit :I’m very interested in co-maintaining a small, low-maintenance Debian package to begin learning the packaging process and contribute in a meaningful way. I’d be grateful for any suggestions, guidance, or an opportunity to assist with an existing package under mentorship or sponsorship.At this step, I think the most important is to chose a software you use on a regular basis, that you truly want to see being well-maintained in Debian. Do not go picking a random package just because it seems "small" or "low-maintenance", unless of course you find one that happens to be part of your usual toolset too. Maintenance of things you do not use is no fun, and without fun you won’t get a good first experience in Debian packaging.
Hi Ayusman, I agree with what Antoine said.Debian packaging is not really straightforward as your only reference to packaging are the tutorials and guides on Debian sites and you will have to spend a few hours and days on mailing lists and IRC channels to get a lot of help.
It really helps you if you're packaging something that you will use in your everyday life as it helps you stay motivated.
It also helps you a lot if you familiarise yourself with the Free Software and Debian Philosophy [1] as a lot of volunteers around here are here because of the philosophy and it's what keeps people around.
On the other hand, if you want to learn more about packaging, it's actually better if you go for a small but high maintenance package as you'll get the bigger picture about packaging and patching.
Library packages like rust and python are much simpler to start with if you're looking for a starting point. You can join the #debian-mentors IRC channel on OFTC if you want more help. We'll gladly help you out with any problems you encounter.
Also it's much more helpful to take up RFPs rather than ITA right now since you're new as you'll have to work on the initial debianisation work from the ground up and you'll get a better idea about the packaging process.
[1] https://www.debian.org/intro/philosophy -- Regards, Aryan Karamtoth Debian Contributor IRC: SpaciousCoder78 XMPP: SpaciousCoder78@xmpp.earth GPG Fingerprint: 7A7D 9308 2BD1 9BAF A83B 7E34 FE90 07B8 ED64 0421
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