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Deb Datasource

Table of values

Name Value Notes
Identifier deb
Default versioning deb
Custom registry support Yes
Release timestamp support No
Source URL support No

Description

Renovate uses the Debian datasource to update packages from Debian repositories. The debian datasource is meant for projects that:

  • depend on Debian-based systems, or
  • depend on Debian-based distributions, like Ubuntu

The dockerfile manager detects packages installed by apt install or apt-get install in a RUN instruction. Anywhere else, you must combine the Debian datasource with regex managers for Renovate to detect your dependencies.

Set URL when using a Debian repository

To use a Debian repository with the datasource, you must set a properly formatted URL with specific query parameters as registryUrl:

  • components: Comma-separated list of repository components (e.g., main,contrib,non-free).
  • binaryArch: Architecture of the binary packages (e.g., amd64,all).
  • suite:
    • A rolling release alias like stable.
    • A fixed release name such as bullseye or buster.

Note

These parameters are used to give Renovate context and are not directly used to call the repository. Therefore, the registryUrl has not to be a valid URL for a repository.

Example:

https://deb.debian.org/debian?suite=stable&components=main,contrib,non-free&binaryArch=amd64

This URL points to the stable suite of the Debian repository for amd64 architecture, including main, contrib, and non-free components.

Dockerfile support

When using Debian-based images, it is common to use a version pin for your packages, like so:

FROM debian:trixie
RUN apt-get update \
  && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends curl=8.14.1-2 \
  && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

This provides reproducibility in the case that the upstream package updates under you.

The dockerfile manager extracts these packages, allowing updates to them directly, without needing a Custom Manager.

The dockerfile manager does not work out a registryUrl from your base image, so it skips these packages with skipReason: unknown-registry rather than look them up against a suite which may hold versions your image cannot install. Set the registryUrls which match your base image with a packageRules entry to have them looked up.

Point deb lookups at the Debian trixie repositories
{
  "packageRules": [
    {
      "matchFileNames": ["Dockerfile"],
      "matchDatasources": ["deb"],
      "registryUrls": [
        "https://deb.debian.org/debian?suite=trixie&components=main,contrib,non-free&binaryArch=amd64"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Usage Example

Where the version is not given to apt directly - say it is held in an environment variable - you can extract it with a custom manager.

First you would set a custom manager in your renovate.json file for Dockerfile:

{
  "$schema": "https://docs.renovatebot.com/renovate-schema.json",
  "customManagers": [
    {
      "customType": "regex",
      "managerFilePatterns": ["/^Dockerfile$/"],
      "matchStrings": [
        "#\\s*renovate:\\s*?(suite=(?<suite>.*?))?\\s*depName=(?<depName>.*?)?\\sENV .*?_VERSION=\"(?<currentValue>.*)\""
      ],
      "registryUrlTemplate": "https://deb.debian.org/debian?suite={{#if suite }}{{suite}}{{else}}stable{{/if}}&components=main,contrib,non-free&binaryArch=amd64",
      "datasourceTemplate": "deb"
    }
  ]
}

Then you would put comments in your Dockerfile, to tell Renovate where to find the updates:

FROM debian:bullseye

# renovate: suite=bullseye depName=gcc-11
ENV GCC_VERSION="11.2.0-19"

RUN apt-get update && \
    apt-get install -y \
    gcc-11="${GCC_VERSION}" && \
    apt-get clean

When the apt package for gcc is updated, Renovate updates the environment variable.

Override deb registryUrl with a packageRules entry
{
  "packageRules": [
    {
      "matchDatasources": ["deb"],
      "matchPackageNames": ["gcc-11"],
      "registryUrls": [
        "https://deb.debian.org/debian?suite=stable&components=main,contrib,non-free&binaryArch=amd64"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Artifactory

The Debian datasource can be used with Artifactory.

Supported repository types

The debian datasource supports these repository types:

  • virtual
  • local
  • remote

Set a registryUrl

To use Artifactory, first configure the deb datasource by setting the registryUrl.

Example of valid registryUrl format
https://<host>:<port>/artifactory/<repository-slug>?suite=<suite>&components=<components>&binaryArch=<binaryArch>
https://artifactory.example.com:443/artifactory/debian?suite=bookworm&components=main,contrib,non-free&binaryArch=amd64

Authenticating to Artifactory

If Artifactory asks for authentication, you must set up a host rule. First, generate a password for Renovate with Artifactory's "Set Me Up" feature. Then, add the following configuration:

Example Artifactory host rule configuration, with username and password
{
  "hostRules": [
    {
      "hostType": "deb",
      "matchHost": "https://artifactory.example.com:443/artifactory/debian",
      "username": "myuser",
      "password": "< the generated password >"
    }
  ]
}