azldev-mock

name

azldev-mock

description

Read this before testing or inspecting a built RPM; do not drive mock by hand from memory. Explains how to test and inspect built packages in a mock chroot with 'azldev adv mock shell', covering non-interactive (heredoc) and interactive chroot workflows, the -p/--add-package flag, and resetting stale chroot state. Triggers include test package, mock shell, inspect rpm, smoke test, chroot, verify build output.

Test and inspect packages in a mock chroot

Never install built RPMs on the host. They target the distro you are building, not your dev machine. Use a mock chroot instead.

azldev tests and inspects packages inside mock build roots via mock shell, which lives under the hidden advanced group (azldev adv is an alias for azldev advanced; it does not appear in azldev --help).

Non-interactive chroot (preferred for agents)

Pipe commands in via a heredoc — fully autonomous, no user interaction needed:

azldev adv mock shell --add-package /path/to/package.rpm <<'CMDS'
<command> --version
echo "exit code: $?"
exit
CMDS

Use this for automated checks: running binaries, querying installed packages, inspecting paths.

Inspect an RPM without installing it

When --add-package fails to install, or you just want to look at an RPM's contents, get the file inside the chroot and inspect it there rather than installing on the host. If the RPM is not already reachable inside the build root, copy it in first with mock --copyin <rpm> /tmp/ (using the project's distro mock config), then:

azldev adv mock shell <<'CMDS'
rpm -qip /tmp/<name>*.rpm    # package info
rpm -qlp /tmp/<name>*.rpm    # file list
rpm -qRp /tmp/<name>*.rpm    # dependencies
dnf install /tmp/<name>*.rpm # retry the install to see the error details
exit
CMDS

This gives you the full distro environment for debugging dependency issues, file conflicts, and failed installs, without touching the host.

Interactive chroot

Use when you need to explore interactively or react to output between commands:

azldev adv mock shell --add-package /path/to/package.rpm --enable-network

When driving an interactive shell as an agent:

1. Run a simple command (e.g. echo ready) in a foreground terminal to establish a shared shell.
2. Ask the user to run the azldev adv mock shell command in that same terminal.
3. Wait for confirmation that they are inside the mock shell.
4. Run diagnostic commands in the same foreground terminal — they execute inside the chroot.
5. Run exit to leave the chroot.

Prefer the non-interactive heredoc approach; use interactive only when you must react to output between commands.

Key flags

Flag	Purpose
-p, --add-package <path>	Install a package into the chroot before entering. Accepts an RPM file path or a package name. May be repeated.
--enable-network	Allow network access (dependency resolution, downloads).

-p means --add-package, not a component name. Unlike azldev comp build -p <name>, mock shell has no component selector. -p <name> installs a package by name from the configured repos — it does not set up a chroot with that component's build dependencies.

Gotchas

• Don't mix -p <name> with --add-package /path/to/<name>.rpm for the same package — that installs both the repo build and your local build, which conflict. Use one or the other.
• The mock chroot is persistent across azldev adv mock shell sessions — installed packages and created files survive. Handy (install once, re-enter later), but stale state can confuse. azldev has no built-in reset; clear it with mock directly (--scrub=chroot, or --scrub=all to also drop the bootstrap), pointing at the project's distro mock config.
• One mock session per terminal. Running azldev adv mock shell while a terminal is already inside a mock shell fails — run exit first.

Generated by azldev docs agent; do not hand-edit. Generated for azldev version v0.3.0.