Run the release builder on a host that can build the OpenEmbedded layer. The xcat-core checkout must be clean. --xcat-ref checks that the checkout points to the intended commit; it does not change the checkout for you.

The packaging scripts use File::Slurper and IPC::Cmd. Install libfile-slurper-perl on Ubuntu. On EL, install perl-File-Slurper and perl-IPC-Cmd from EPEL and AppStream.

./genesis-openembedded/build \
  --xcat-source /path/to/xcat-core \
  --xcat-ref <tag-or-commit> \
  --all \
  --work-dir /path/to/oe-work \
  --output-dir /path/to/xcat-genesis-release

The default format is all, which produces RPM, SRPM, and DEB packages. Use --format rpm or --format deb when only one package family is needed. The supported image architectures are x86, x86_64, ppc64, ppc64le, armv7hf, aarch64, and riscv64.

Use --architecture for development builds. Repository publication requires a complete release built with --all.

Each package installs one exact-architecture export under /opt/xcat/share/xcat/netboot/genesis-openembedded/<architecture>/. The package and install namespaces are separate from the old Genesis packages, so both generations can be published and installed without replacing one another. The packages are noarch or all because they are installed on the management node, not run on the target node.

--work-dir keeps the OpenEmbedded downloads and build state between release builds. Without it, the builder uses a temporary directory and removes it when the command finishes.

The release directory contains:

rpm/, srpm/, and deb/ package directories
release.manifest, including the xcat-core commit
SHA256SUMS

Validate the directory before publishing it:

./genesis-openembedded/verify-release --complete /path/to/xcat-genesis-release

The checksum file detects incomplete or changed output. It does not authenticate the release, so only accept a directory produced by a trusted build host.

verify-release also checks the identity of each package, including a fixed build host and a build time taken from the source epoch. Those are reproduced by rpm 4.14.3, 4.16.1.3, 4.19.1.1, and 6.0.2. An EL8 or later builder, or a current Fedora builder, produces a release the verifier accepts.

Pass that same directory to the repository builders:

perl ./mockbuild-all.pl \
  --genesis-release /path/to/xcat-genesis-release \
  [other build options]

./build-apt-repo.sh \
  --genesis-release /path/to/xcat-genesis-release

The RPM builder publishes the binary packages once under xcat-dep/common. The per-EL repositories keep the old Genesis packages and contain no copies of the OpenEmbedded packages. Source RPMs stay in the verified release directory. The publisher locks the shared repository and replaces common only after the new package set, metadata, signatures, and local setup files are ready.

The APT builder publishes the DEBs once under pool/main/xcat-genesis-openembedded. Every suite indexes those same files. Genesis publication updates all suites together, so do not pass a DIST argument with --genesis-release. The input directories for every configured suite must already exist. Later suite rebuilds keep using the shared pool. Pass a new release only when replacing the Genesis packages.

APT metadata is generated in a temporary tree. New packages are copied into place before the metadata directories are replaced, and old packages are removed only after the new metadata is active. Rebuilt packages may keep the same filename; the previous files, signing key, and indexes are restored if publication fails. Use --force-unlock after an interrupted publisher to recover its saved repository and remove abandoned staging files.

Both consumers require all seven architectures and verify package identities and checksums before publication. A management node can install an image for a different target architecture.

Without --genesis-release, both builders keep their existing behavior. The new packages do not provide, replace, or obsolete the old package names. xcat-core selects the OpenEmbedded install namespace when an image package is present and falls back to the old Genesis image otherwise. Package installation or update runs mknb for that package's architecture on nodes with local TFTP storage. With site.sharedtftp=0, update service nodes before the management node so they can serve the exact architecture name immediately. Removing an image package retires its published files and rebuilds any legacy fallback that is still installed. Generated images and packages belong in release storage, not in Git.

The per-target RPM tarballs do not include xcat-dep/common. Mirror that repository separately, including its metadata, when preparing an offline installation.

Run the package tests on a Linux builder with RPM, DEB, and repository tools:

prove t/build_utils.t
prove -It/lib t/genesis_openembedded_release.t
sudo -E prove -It/lib t/genesis_openembedded_consumer.t