docker / docker/packaging

Add license copy for DEB files

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Dominant language
Dockerfile
Stars
35
Forks
38
Avg merge
1d 18h
Merged PRs (30d)
14

Description

It appears we aren't copying license files when install via .deb files. I think we need to copy a LICENSE file to /usr/share/doc/packagename/ to be compliant. Added a copyright to /usr/share/doc/packagename/

Example: https://github.com/docker/packaging/blob/91070db32ca21346d426ab5e514fa654fc42a4d0/pkg/buildx/deb/rules#L38

Pulling license info with dpkg-licenses after installation from the official repos.

./dpkg-licenses  | grep docker
ii  docker-buildx-plugin           0.30.0-1~ubuntu.24.04~noble    arm64  Docker Buildx plugin extends build capabilities with BuildKi unknown
ii  docker-ce                      5:29.0.1-1~ubuntu.24.04~noble  arm64  Docker: the open-source application container engine         unknown
ii  docker-ce-cli                  5:29.0.1-1~ubuntu.24.04~noble  arm64  Docker CLI: the open-source application container engine     unknown
ii  docker-ce-rootless-extras      5:29.0.1-1~ubuntu.24.04~noble  arm64  Rootless support for Docker.                                 unknown
ii  docker-compose-plugin          2.40.3-1~ubuntu.24.04~noble    arm64  Docker Compose (V2) plugin for the Docker CLI.               unknown
Sample copyright file
Format: https://www.debian.org/doc/packaging-manuals/copyright-format/1.0/
Upstream-Name: buildx
Upstream-Contact: Docker <hello@docker.com>
Source: https://github.com/docker/buildx

Files: *
Copyright: 2017-2025 Docker, Inc.
           2017-2025 The Buildx Authors
License: Apache-2.0

Files: debian/*
Copyright: 2025 Your Name <your-email@example.com>
License: Apache-2.0

License: Apache-2.0
 Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
 You may obtain a copy of the License at
 .
     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
 .
 Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
 distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
 WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
 See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 limitations under the License.
 .
 On Debian systems, the complete text of the Apache License version 2.0
 can be found in "/usr/share/common-licenses/Apache-2.0".

Desired output

ii  docker-buildx-plugin           0.30.0-1~ubuntu.24.04~noble    arm64  Docker Buildx plugin extends build capabilities with BuildKi Apache-2.0
ii  docker-ce                      5:29.0.1-1~ubuntu.24.04~noble  arm64  Docker: the open-source application container engine         unknown
ii  docker-ce-cli                  5:29.0.1-1~ubuntu.24.04~noble  arm64  Docker CLI: the open-source application container engine     unknown
ii  docker-ce-rootless-extras      5:29.0.1-1~ubuntu.24.04~noble  arm64  Rootless support for Docker.                                 unknown
ii  docker-compose-plugin          2.40.3-1~ubuntu.24.04~noble    arm64  Docker Compose (V2) plugin for the Docker CLI.               unknown

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start with the referenced pkg/buildx/deb/rules example at line 38 and compare it with this repository’s DEB packaging entry points. Build and install the affected packages, then run dpkg-licenses and confirm the generated package reports Apache-2.0 instead of unknown.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
docker
Domain
build-system, release
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
52/100

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