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Add linux/debian/README.md: packaging overview and headless service #3799

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Add linux/debian/README.md: packaging overview and headless service
Jul 17, 2026
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Clarify qmake target naming for both packages
Jul 18, 2026
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Update linux/debian/README.md
mcfnord Jul 23, 2026
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Update linux/debian/README.md
mcfnord Jul 23, 2026
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Apply review suggestion: bump title to # Debian packaging
Jul 23, 2026
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### Copyright (c) 2026
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Author(s):
* The Jamulus Development Team

This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by
the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
(at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
GNU Affero General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
along with this program. If not, see [<https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/).

---

# Debian Packaging
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`linux/deploy_deb.sh` (run from the repository root) uses this directory to build two packages with `debuild`:

- **jamulus** — the desktop client/server (built with `CONFIG+=noupcasename`).
- **jamulus-headless** — a server-only binary (`CONFIG+=headless serveronly`) with no GUI library dependencies, plus a systemd service.

@pljones pljones Jul 18, 2026

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noupcasename missing here?

@mcfnord mcfnord Jul 18, 2026

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Not missing — rules sets TARGET=jamulus-headless explicitly for that build, which overrides the target name directly (noupcasename only renames the default Jamulus → jamulus). Updated the README to spell out both mechanisms so the asymmetry is clear.

@pljones pljones Jul 19, 2026

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Thanks.

I wonder why, though. Unless there's a good reason, we should be consistent. Is TARGET used elsewhere? (I mean, we added noupcasename specifically for Debian, if I remember correctly.)


Most files here are standard Debian packaging (`control`, `rules`, `copyright`, `*.install`, …). `changelog` is regenerated at build time from the top-level `ChangeLog` — don't edit it by hand.

## jamulus-headless.service

Installed to `lib/systemd/system` by the headless package. It runs `/usr/bin/jamulus-headless -s -n` as the unprivileged `jamulus` system user (created in `jamulus-headless.postinst`), restarts on failure, and raises CPU and I/O scheduling priority for real-time audio.

Start it with `sudo systemctl enable --now jamulus-headless`. To name, publish or otherwise configure the server, adjust the `ExecStart=` options — see https://jamulus.io/wiki/Running-a-Server#server-mode-related-options.