rpm-ostree module fails with "CONFIG_DIRECTORY: unbound variable" error

[JungleJM]

Hello, I'm new to bug reports (and to Universal Blue!), so please forgive me if I'm totally reading this wrong. I'm using AI to help me write this context and bug report. I've had an error with building a custom BlueBuild and getting rpm-ostree to install. I've disabled all rpm-ostree functions for now, but want to mention this in case it's helpful.

[BUG] rpm-ostree module fails with "CONFIG_DIRECTORY: unbound variable" error

Bug Description

The rpm-ostree module fails during build with an unbound variable error for CONFIG_DIRECTORY, preventing any package installation when local rpm files are referenced in the recipe configuration.

Environment

• BlueBuild Version: blue-build/github-action@v1.6
• Base Image: ghcr.io/ublue-os/bluefin-dx:41
• Build Environment: GitHub Actions (ubuntu-latest)
• Affected Module: rpm-ostree

Steps to Reproduce

1. Create a BlueBuild recipe that uses the rpm-ostree module with any configuration:

name: test-recipe
base-image: ghcr.io/ublue-os/bluefin-dx
image-version: 41

modules:
  - type: rpm-ostree
    install:
      - jq
      - yq
      - tree

2. Build using BlueBuild GitHub Action
3. Build fails during rpm-ostree module execution

Expected Behavior

The rpm-ostree module should successfully install

Actual Behavior

Build fails with CONFIG_DIRECTORY: unbound variable error when the script reaches line 28 or 92 in the rpm-ostree module where ${CONFIG_DIRECTORY} is referenced.

Root Cause Analysis

Looking at the [rpm-ostree module source](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/blue-build/modules/main/modules/rpm-ostree/rpm-ostree.sh), the issue occurs on these lines:

Line 28:

elif [[ ! "${REPO}" =~ ^https?:\/\/.* ]] && [[ "${REPO}" == *".repo" ]] && [[ -f "${CONFIG_DIRECTORY}/rpm-ostree/${REPO}" ]]; then

Line 92:

elif [[ ! "${PKG}" =~ ^https?:\/\/.* ]] && [[ -f "${CONFIG_DIRECTORY}/rpm-ostree/${PKG}" ]]; then

The CONFIG_DIRECTORY variable is referenced but never defined or passed to the module script. This affects both repository file handling and local package installation logic.

Impact

• Severity: High - It feels like this blocks rpm-ostree module usage
• Workaround: Currently I've disable rpm-ostree module entirely in my build

Suggested Fix

The CONFIG_DIRECTORY variable needs to be initialized. Based on BlueBuild architecture, I imagine this this would be:

1. Set by the build framework before calling module scripts, or
2. Default to a standard path like /tmp/config or /tmp/files within the module script

Potential fix in rpm-ostree.sh:

# Near the top of the script, add:
CONFIG_DIRECTORY="${CONFIG_DIRECTORY:-/tmp/config}"

Or ensure the BlueBuild framework passes this variable consistently to all modules.

Additional Context

This appears to be a regression or an environment variable that's not being passed from the BlueBuild framework to the module scripts.

Test Case

To verify the fix, test with this minimal recipe:

name: test-config-directory-fix
base-image: ghcr.io/ublue-os/bluefin-dx
image-version: 41

modules:
  - type: rpm-ostree
    install:
      - tree

[gmpinder]

Would you mind posting a link to a failing build of yours?

[JungleJM]

Hi Yes - Here is the build with last time I had encountered that error. In recipe.yml I had rpm-ostree install a few things on line 9, which was disabled on next commit

The Recipe link for that commit

[xynydev]

The issue is as follows:

• The CLI template only passes the CONFIG_DIRECTORY variable to the build if the folder config/ or the folder files/ (which has replaced the former) exists in the user's build.
  

  cli/template/templates/Containerfile.j2

  Lines 11 to 15 in 2b843a5

  	{%- if self::files_dir_exists() %}
  	ARG CONFIG_DIRECTORY="/tmp/files"
  	{%- else if self::config_dir_exists() %}
  	ARG CONFIG_DIRECTORY="/tmp/config"
  	{%- endif %}

• Multiple modules (at least rpm-ostree and systemd being another one I could find) expect the CONFIG_DIRECTORY variable to always be set, so that they can check the existence of the folders they would read from if they existed. This may cause errors or just the wrong directory being read from.

• @JungleJM's repository does not contain an empty files/ folder unlike currently expected, since it seems to be structured manually and not from our template.

Solution:

• Temporary, individual: create an empty files/ directory and move on

• Systematic (different options):

  1. Set CONFIG_DIRECTORY to /tmp/files even if no applicable directory exists, have modules handle the possible non-existence of the directory.
  2. Set CONFIG_DIRECTORY to /tmp/files even if no applicable directory exists, create an empty /tmp/files/ directory to mount into the build.
  3. Refactor all modules to check if CONFIG_DIRECTORY is set before trying to access said variable. Skip trying to read anything from the folder if the variable is not set.

Of the solutions, 1 & 2 seem pretty simple and equal to me, so I'm not sure which one is better. 3 would be the most work out of these, and as such is probably not worth it.

[JungleJM]

I'm fine to add /files for now, and will do so now. For the systematic options - I personally like solution 2, as it would move projects forward with the simplest solution. Thank you for looking into this!

[JungleJM]

At this point should I mark this 'closed?' For my purpose the I've been able to solve this by adding the /files directory. Up to y'all.