Ubuntu Repository Manager

Create and manage your own Ubuntu/Debian package repository (PPA-like) on your server.

Features

• 🚀 Easy setup wizard
• 📦 Add/remove packages with simple commands
• 🔐 Automatic GPG key generation and signing
• 🌐 Nginx web server configuration
• 📊 Package listing and management
• 🔄 Support for multiple distributions
• 🎯 Both public and internal network support

Requirements

• Ubuntu/Debian server with root access
• Internet connection (for initial setup)
• At least 1GB free disk space (more depending on packages)

Quick Start

1. Run the setup wizard

sudo ./ubuntu-repo_manager.sh setup

This will guide you through:

• Installing dependencies (aptly, gnupg, nginx)
• Generating GPG signing key
• Creating repository structure
• Configuring web server
• Showing client configuration

2. Add your first package

# Add a .deb package
sudo ./ubuntu-repo_manager.sh add /path/to/package.deb

# Or use interactive mode
sudo ./ubuntu-repo_manager.sh
# Then select option 2

3. Configure clients to use your repository

On client machines:

# Add GPG key (modern method)
wget -qO - http://your-server.com/KEY.gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/myrepo.gpg

# Add repository with signed-by
echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/myrepo.gpg] http://your-server.com focal main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/myrepo.list

# Update and install
sudo apt update
sudo apt install your-package

Usage

Interactive Menu

sudo ./ubuntu-repo_manager.sh

Provides a menu with all operations.

Command Line

# Setup new repository
sudo ./ubuntu-repo_manager.sh setup

# Add package
sudo ./ubuntu-repo_manager.sh add /path/to/package.deb

# Remove package
sudo ./ubuntu-repo_manager.sh remove package-name

# List all packages
sudo ./ubuntu-repo_manager.sh list

# Publish changes
sudo ./ubuntu-repo_manager.sh publish

# Show client configuration
sudo ./ubuntu-repo_manager.sh client-config

Architecture Overview

/var/www/ubuntu-repo/
├── aptly/              # Aptly database and package pool
│   ├── db/
│   └── pool/
└── public/             # Published repository (served by nginx)
    ├── dists/
    │   └── focal/
    │       └── main/
    ├── pool/
    └── KEY.gpg         # Public GPG key for verification

Configuration

Default configuration can be customized in the setup wizard:

• Repository Name: Default myrepo
• Distribution: Default focal (Ubuntu 20.04)
  • Other options: jammy (22.04), noble (24.04), bionic (18.04)
• Component: Default main
• Architecture: Default amd64
• Base Directory: Default /var/www/ubuntu-repo

Creating Packages for Your Repository

Option 1: Use existing .deb files

Download or build .deb packages and add them directly:

sudo ./ubuntu-repo_manager.sh add mypackage.deb

Option 2: Build from source

Create a simple package:

# Create package structure
mkdir -p mypackage_1.0/DEBIAN
mkdir -p mypackage_1.0/usr/local/bin

# Create control file
cat > mypackage_1.0/DEBIAN/control << EOF
Package: mypackage
Version: 1.0
Section: utils
Priority: optional
Architecture: all
Maintainer: Your Name <you@example.com>
Description: My custom package
 Longer description of my package
EOF

# Add your files
cp myscript.sh mypackage_1.0/usr/local/bin/

# Build package
dpkg-deb --build mypackage_1.0

# Add to repository
sudo ./ubuntu-repo_manager.sh add mypackage_1.0.deb

Advanced Usage

Supporting Multiple Distributions

To support multiple Ubuntu versions, run setup wizard multiple times with different distributions:

# Setup for Ubuntu 20.04
sudo ./ubuntu-repo_manager.sh setup
# Choose: focal

# Setup for Ubuntu 22.04
sudo ./ubuntu-repo_manager.sh setup
# Choose: jammy

HTTPS Support

For production environments, use HTTPS:

1. Install certbot:

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx

2. Get certificate:

sudo certbot --nginx -d repo.example.com

3. Certbot will automatically configure nginx for HTTPS

Firewall Configuration

Allow HTTP/HTTPS traffic:

sudo ufw allow 'Nginx Full'
sudo ufw enable

Internal Network Only

If you want the repository only accessible internally:

1. In nginx configuration, bind only to internal IP:

listen 192.168.1.100:80;

2. Or use firewall rules to restrict access:

sudo ufw allow from 192.168.1.0/24 to any port 80

Troubleshooting

Packages not showing up

After adding packages, always publish:

sudo ./ubuntu-repo_manager.sh publish

GPG signature errors on clients

Re-add the GPG key (modern method):

wget -qO - http://your-server.com/KEY.gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/myrepo.gpg

Note: The old apt-key method is deprecated. Always use the signed-by method shown above.

Nginx 404 errors

Check that the repository is published:

ls -la /var/www/ubuntu-repo/public/dists/

Should contain your distribution folders.

Permission errors

Ensure correct ownership:

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/ubuntu-repo/public/

Maintenance

Backup your repository

# Backup aptly database and packages
sudo tar -czf ubuntu-repo-backup.tar.gz /var/www/ubuntu-repo/aptly/

# Backup GPG keys
gpg --export-secret-keys > gpg-secret-keys.asc

Remove old package versions

# List packages
sudo ./ubuntu-repo_manager.sh list

# Remove old version
sudo ./ubuntu-repo_manager.sh remove package-name_old-version

# Publish changes
sudo ./ubuntu-repo_manager.sh publish

Monitor repository size

du -sh /var/www/ubuntu-repo/

Example: Complete Workflow

# 1. Setup repository
sudo ./ubuntu-repo_manager.sh setup

# 2. Create a simple package
mkdir -p hello_1.0/DEBIAN hello_1.0/usr/local/bin

cat > hello_1.0/DEBIAN/control << EOF
Package: hello
Version: 1.0
Architecture: all
Maintainer: Me <me@example.com>
Description: Hello world script
EOF

echo '#!/bin/bash' > hello_1.0/usr/local/bin/hello
echo 'echo "Hello from my repo!"' >> hello_1.0/usr/local/bin/hello
chmod +x hello_1.0/usr/local/bin/hello

dpkg-deb --build hello_1.0

# 3. Add to repository
sudo ./ubuntu-repo_manager.sh add hello_1.0.deb

# 4. On client machine
wget -qO - http://my-server.com/KEY.gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/myrepo.gpg
echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/myrepo.gpg] http://my-server.com focal main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/myrepo.list
sudo apt update
sudo apt install hello

# 5. Test
hello
# Output: Hello from my repo!

Security Considerations

1. Always use GPG signing: Enabled by default in this tool
2. Use HTTPS in production: Especially for public repositories
3. Regular security updates: Keep aptly and nginx updated
4. Access control: Use firewall rules or nginx auth for sensitive repos
5. Backup GPG keys: Store securely, losing them means rebuilding trust

Resources

• Aptly Documentation
• Debian Package Guide
• Ubuntu Packaging Guide
• Creating .deb Packages

License

This tool is part of BashCollection and follows the same license.