How do I keep tracks of changes in packages?
I build my own packports and use a cron job to keep track of changes. Recently Debian started insisting on using JavaScript in your browser.
So, short of using a web driver - (headless) webbrowser combination, how
do I keep track of changes?
Hi there
How do I keep tracks of changes in packages?
I build my own packports and use a cron job to keep track of changes. Recently Debian started insisting on using JavaScript in your browser.
So, short of using a web driver - (headless) webbrowser combination, how
do I keep track of changes?
How do I keep tracks of changes in packages?
I build my own packports and use a cron job to keep track of changes. Recently Debian started insisting on using JavaScript in your
browser.
So, short of using a web driver - (headless) webbrowser combination,
how do I keep track of changes?
On Tue, 2026-04-07 at 07:21 +0200, Rob van der Putten wrote:
How do I keep tracks of changes in packages?
I build my own packports and use a cron job to keep track of changes.
Recently Debian started insisting on using JavaScript in your
browser.
That's probably protection against "AI" bots... :-(
So, short of using a web driver - (headless) webbrowser combination,
how do I keep track of changes?
You don't say how & where you were looking now?
One way is to look at updates based on the metadata in the
repositories, which should work without JavaScript.
Rob van der Putten <rob@sput.nl> wrote:
Hi thereWhat do you do in your browser that relates to apt and packages? I do
How do I keep tracks of changes in packages?
I build my own packports and use a cron job to keep track of changes.
Recently Debian started insisting on using JavaScript in your browser.
So, short of using a web driver - (headless) webbrowser combination, how
do I keep track of changes?
nearly all of my updates using apt/apt-get from the command line with occasional forays into synaptic. I don't understand how javascritp in
your browser could affect things. (for that matter how would using
javascript affect your cron job, unless it screen scrapes which seems
a rather odd way of doing such things)
I build my own packports and use a cron job to keep track of changes. Recently Debian started insisting on using JavaScript in your browser.
So, short of using a web driver - (headless) webbrowser combination, how
do I keep track of changes?
On 07/04/2026 12:21 pm, Rob van der Putten wrote:
I build my own packports and use a cron job to keep track of changes.
Recently Debian started insisting on using JavaScript in your browser.
So, short of using a web driver - (headless) webbrowser combination,
how do I keep track of changes?
Have you heard about apt-listchanges and "apt changelog PKG"? I am
unsure what you are trying to achieve, but selection of tools looks
rather peculiar.
On 08/04/2026 04:33, Max Nikulin wrote:
On 07/04/2026 12:21 pm, Rob van der Putten wrote:
I build my own packports and use a cron job to keep track of changes.
Recently Debian started insisting on using JavaScript in your
browser. So, short of using a web driver - (headless) webbrowser
combination, how do I keep track of changes?
Have you heard about apt-listchanges and "apt changelog PKG"? I am
unsure what you are trying to achieve, but selection of tools looks
rather peculiar.
Why don't you give me an example?
On 08/04/2026 2:19 pm, Rob van der Putten wrote:
On 08/04/2026 04:33, Max Nikulin wrote:
On 07/04/2026 12:21 pm, Rob van der Putten wrote:
I build my own packports and use a cron job to keep track of
changes. Recently Debian started insisting on using JavaScript in
your browser. So, short of using a web driver - (headless)
webbrowser combination, how do I keep track of changes?
Have you heard about apt-listchanges and "apt changelog PKG"? I am
unsure what you are trying to achieve, but selection of tools looks
rather peculiar.
Why don't you give me an example?
I have not guessed what is your goal.
I expect that manuals and other
docs, maybe blog posts or earlier discussions should be better than
random examples.
There is no need to guess. I clearly stated that I build backports.
So I
need to keep track of changes in Debian versions that are not installed
on any of my systems.
I could not find information about this in any of
the man pages.
So how do I use apt-listchanges or "apt changelog PKG" to keep track of changes of certain packages in Sid on a Bookworm system? And how do I
run this from cron?
Sending me an email whenever a change occurs.
On 09/04/2026 1:44 pm, Rob van der Putten wrote:
There is no need to guess. I clearly stated that I build backports.
I admit you did it, but description of issues you faced with your
approach was more verbose.
So I need to keep track of changes in Debian versions that are not
installed on any of my systems.
Am I right that you need notifications about new package versions
similar to
<https://tracker.debian.org/news/1714333/accepted- asterisk-12282dfsgcs61560671435-1-source-into-unstable/>?
Perhaps registered users might be able to subscribe to email
notifications specific to a source package, but there is at least public
RSS feed with package-related events. I would consider it if you need to track just a handful of packages.
I could not find information about this in any of the man pages.
So how do I use apt-listchanges or "apt changelog PKG" to keep track
of changes of certain packages in Sid on a Bookworm system? And how do
I run this from cron?
Add sid repositories to apt configuration with negative priority to
prevent updates from it.
I do not have sid, but the following command
works for testing:
ÿÿÿ apt-get changelog asterisk-core-sounds-en/testing
I posted "apt changelog PKG" in my first reply expecting that it should
be enough.
Sending me an email whenever a change occurs.
If you detect new version (e.g. from "apt-cache show..." or aptitude
output) than you may diff fetched changelog with its earlier version. Perhaps apt-listchanges has a low level command for that.
Hi there
On 09/04/2026 04:21, Max Nikulin wrote:
On 08/04/2026 2:19 pm, Rob van der Putten wrote:
On 08/04/2026 04:33, Max Nikulin wrote:
On 07/04/2026 12:21 pm, Rob van der Putten wrote:
I build my own packports and use a cron job to keep track of
changes. Recently Debian started insisting on using JavaScript in
your browser. So, short of using a web driver - (headless)
webbrowser combination, how do I keep track of changes?
Have you heard about apt-listchanges and "apt changelog PKG"? I am
unsure what you are trying to achieve, but selection of tools looks
rather peculiar.
Why don't you give me an example?
I have not guessed what is your goal.
There is no need to guess. I clearly stated that I build backports. So I
need to keep track of changes in Debian versions that are not installed
on any of my systems. I could not find information about this in any of
the man pages.
So how do I use apt-listchanges or "apt changelog PKG" to keep track of changes of certain packages in Sid on a Bookworm system? And how do I
run this from cron? Sending me an email whenever a change occurs.
I currently do have a cron job that does this for me. But apparently
using apt-listchanges or "apt changelog PKG" is a better idea.
I expect that manuals and other
docs, maybe blog posts or earlier discussions should be better than
random examples.
I'm interested in keeping track of Asterisk.
On Thu, Apr 9, 2026 at 2:45?AM Rob van der Putten <rob@sput.nl> wrote:
On 09/04/2026 04:21, Max Nikulin wrote:
On 08/04/2026 2:19 pm, Rob van der Putten wrote:
On 08/04/2026 04:33, Max Nikulin wrote:
On 07/04/2026 12:21 pm, Rob van der Putten wrote:
I build my own packports and use a cron job to keep track of
changes. Recently Debian started insisting on using JavaScript in
your browser. So, short of using a web driver - (headless)
webbrowser combination, how do I keep track of changes?
Have you heard about apt-listchanges and "apt changelog PKG"? I am
unsure what you are trying to achieve, but selection of tools looks
rather peculiar.
Why don't you give me an example?
I have not guessed what is your goal.
There is no need to guess. I clearly stated that I build backports. So I
need to keep track of changes in Debian versions that are not installed
on any of my systems. I could not find information about this in any of
the man pages.
So how do I use apt-listchanges or "apt changelog PKG" to keep track of
changes of certain packages in Sid on a Bookworm system? And how do I
run this from cron? Sending me an email whenever a change occurs.
I currently do have a cron job that does this for me. But apparently
using apt-listchanges or "apt changelog PKG" is a better idea.
Please post your scripts to GitHub so the folks on the list can
provide helpful suggestions.
The list needs to see the details of what you are doing. Folks like
Andy and Max do not have an orbuculum.
I expect that manuals and other
docs, maybe blog posts or earlier discussions should be better than
random examples.
I'm interested in keeping track of Asterisk.
So then, I got a router-like PC to run Debian on which has been great.
Hi there
On 07/04/2026 09:23, Jan Claeys wrote:
On Tue, 2026-04-07 at 07:21 +0200, Rob van der Putten wrote:
How do I keep tracks of changes in packages?
I build my own packports and use a cron job to keep track of changes.
Recently Debian started insisting on using JavaScript in your
browser.
That's probably protection against "AI" bots... :-(
I found those in my logs as well.
So, short of using a web driver - (headless) webbrowser combination,
how do I keep track of changes?
You don't say how & where you were looking now?
packages.debian.org
A shell script looks for changes in the package page and then mails me
those changes.
One way is to look at updates based on the metadata in the
repositories, which should work without JavaScript.
Downloading and processing Packages.gz does work.
I just wrote a shell script that runs from cron.
This is actually simpeler and works better.
Summery:
Do an IMS GET of Sid's Packages.xz
If there is a new version, do a diff.
If the new version is different, xzcat Packages.xz to a little util that reads to 'Package: Package_Name' (in this case 'Package: asterisk') and
then to 'Version: '.
Put the version in a file.[...]
Compare with previous version.
Mail if different.
Meanwhile I found a relevant Debian web page that does work without JavaScript;
https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/asterisk
So tracking changes in this page from cron would probably work as well.
On 10/04/2026 04:36, Max Nikulin wrote:
Add sid repositories to apt configuration with negative priority to
prevent updates from it.
I tested this with 'bookworm-backports' (I still run bookworm), just to
make sure that it would not update anything. Which is exactly what
happens. As one would expect.
The same test with 'sid' however, does want to do an update. Which is
rather unexpected.
On 10/04/2026 7:28 pm, Rob van der Putten wrote:
Summery:
Do an IMS GET of Sid's Packages.xz
It is job of "apt-get update". It should use "if modified" HTTP headers. Maybe it has been done already since there is apt-daily.timer.
If there is a new version, do a diff.
If the new version is different, xzcat Packages.xz to a little util
that reads to 'Package: Package_Name' (in this case 'Package:
asterisk') and then to 'Version: '.
apt-cache show PKG
Put the version in a file.[...]
Compare with previous version.
Mail if different.
Meanwhile I found a relevant Debian web page that does work without
JavaScript;
This thread increases probability of invasion of aggressive scraping bots.
https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/asterisk
So tracking changes in this page from cron would probably work as well.
There is at least RSS feed for events related to the package <https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/asterisk/rss>.
Perhaps docs for the service describe other options.
On 10/04/2026 5:49 pm, Rob van der Putten wrote:
On 10/04/2026 04:36, Max Nikulin wrote:
Add sid repositories to apt configuration with negative priority to
prevent updates from it.
I tested this with 'bookworm-backports' (I still run bookworm), just to
make sure that it would not update anything. Which is exactly what
happens. As one would expect.
The same test with 'sid' however, does want to do an update. Which is
rather unexpected.
It is expected. Backports is not intended to upgrade all available
packages, so they have special repository metadata. That is why I wrote about pinning the repository to negative priority. See <https://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/debian-reference/ch02.en.html>
Besides rmadison suggested by Nick, there may be more useful tools in devscripts/debian-goodies/dpkg-dev.
On Tue, 7 Apr 2026 at 10:20, Rob van der Putten <rob@sput.nl> wrote:
On 07/04/2026 09:23, Jan Claeys wrote:
On Tue, 2026-04-07 at 07:21 +0200, Rob van der Putten wrote:
How do I keep tracks of changes in packages?
I build my own packports and use a cron job to keep track of changes.
Recently Debian started insisting on using JavaScript in your
browser.
That's probably protection against "AI" bots... :-(
I found those in my logs as well.
So, short of using a web driver - (headless) webbrowser combination,
how do I keep track of changes?
You don't say how & where you were looking now?
packages.debian.org
A shell script looks for changes in the package page and then mails me
those changes.
One way is to look at updates based on the metadata in the
repositories, which should work without JavaScript.
Downloading and processing Packages.gz does work.
I just wrote a shell script that runs from cron.
This is actually simpeler and works better.
Rob,
If you need to query a specific package's version in Debian, you can
use rmadison.
E.g. to get the version of asterisk in unstable/amd64:
rmadison -s unstable -a amd64 asterisk | \
awk 'BEGIN{FS=OFS="|"} {gsub(/^[ ]+|[ ]+$/, "", $2)} {print $2}'
The first half of the query above uses rmadison to retrieve details
about asterisk in Debian unstable; the second half uses awk to extract
the version number (the second pipe-delimited field) and trim leading/trailing spaces for further use in your script.
On 11/04/2026 00:35, Nick Morrott wrote:
On Tue, 7 Apr 2026 at 10:20, Rob van der Putten <rob@sput.nl> wrote:
On 07/04/2026 09:23, Jan Claeys wrote:
On Tue, 2026-04-07 at 07:21 +0200, Rob van der Putten wrote:
How do I keep tracks of changes in packages?
I build my own packports and use a cron job to keep track of changes. >>>>> Recently Debian started insisting on using JavaScript in your
browser.
That's probably protection against "AI" bots...ÿ :-(
I found those in my logs as well.
So, short of using a web driver - (headless) webbrowser combination, >>>>> how do I keep track of changes?
You don't say how & where you were looking now?
packages.debian.org
A shell script looks for changes in the package page and then mails me
those changes.
One way is to look at updates based on the metadata in the
repositories, which should work without JavaScript.
Downloading and processing Packages.gz does work.
I just wrote a shell script that runs from cron.
This is actually simpeler and works better.
Rob,
If you need to query a specific package's version in Debian, you can
use rmadison.
E.g. to get the version of asterisk in unstable/amd64:
rmadison -s unstable -a amd64 asterisk | \
ÿÿÿÿ awk 'BEGIN{FS=OFS="|"} {gsub(/^[ ]+|[ ]+$/, "", $2)} {print $2}'
The first half of the query above uses rmadison to retrieve details
about asterisk in Debian unstable; the second half uses awk to extract
the version number (the second pipe-delimited field) and trim
leading/trailing spaces for further use in your script.
This is _VERY_ convenient, even without the AWK bit!
Thanks!
Using pinning to block an upgrade to 'unstable' instead of 'sid' does
indeed work;
ÿPackage: *
ÿPin: release a=unstable
ÿPin-Priority: -1
Previously I used 'Pin: release a=sid', which doesn't work.
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