Debian – Getting “Could not create local repository” error when building Debian package

debianmavenpackaging

I am trying to build a debian package against Debian stretch. The debian/rules file is this:

#!/usr/bin/make -f

%:
        dh $@

override_dh_auto_build:
        mvn clean package

When I build it using pbuilder-buildpackage I get this build error:

mvn -e clean package
[INFO] Error stacktraces are turned on.
[ERROR] Could not create local repository at /nonexistent/.m2/repository -> [Help 1]

How do I resolve this error?

Best Answer

Debian packages can’t rely on a home directory during builds. This is enforced in pbuilder with the /nonexistent home.

To fix this, you need to supply the appropriate options to Maven so that it places its repository in /tmp. But really, instead of doing that, you should build-depend on maven-debian-helper and let dh work its magic. Look at the Java packages in Debian for examples.

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