Step 1: Prepare a Simple Program

Create hello.c:

// hello.c
#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    printf("Hello, RPM World!\n");
    return 0;
}

Compile it:

gcc -o hello hello.c

This generates an executable named hello.

Step 2: Install RPM Build Tools

On Fedora (or any RPM-based system):

sudo dnf install rpm-build rpmdevtools gcc

Explanation:

  • rpm-build: Main tool to build RPMs.
  • rpmdevtools: Provides helper scripts (like rpmdev-setuptree).
  • gcc: C compiler.

Set up your RPM build environment:

rpmdev-setuptree

This creates a directory structure in your home directory:

~/rpmbuild/
├── BUILD
├── RPMS
├── SOURCES
├── SPECS
├── SRPMS

Explanation:

  • SOURCES: Where you put your source tarballs.
  • SPECS: Where you keep spec files.
  • RPMS: Built RPM packages go here.

Step 3: Prepare the Source Tarball

Move your hello.c file into a folder named hello-1.0/:

mkdir hello-1.0
mv hello.c hello-1.0/

Create a tarball from that folder:

tar czvf hello-1.0.tar.gz hello-1.0

Move it to SOURCES:

mv hello-1.0.tar.gz ~/rpmbuild/SOURCES/

Explanation: RPM expects your source code to be in a tarball named <name>-<version>.tar.gz, containing a directory with the same name. This matches what %setup in the spec file expects.

Step 4: Create the Spec File

Create a .spec file, add the following:

touch ~/rpmbuild/SPECS/hello.spec

Name:           hello
Version:        1.0
Release:        1%{?dist}
Summary:        Simple Hello World program

License:        MIT
URL:            http://example.com/
Source0:        hello-1.0.tar.gz

BuildRequires:  gcc

%description
A simple Hello World program packaged as an RPM example.

%prep
%setup -q

%build
gcc %{optflags} -o hello hello.c

%install
mkdir -p %{buildroot}/usr/bin
install -m 0755 hello %{buildroot}/usr/bin/hello

%files
/usr/bin/hello

%changelog
* Tue Jul 01 2025 Yashwanth Rathakrishnan <you@example.com> - 1.0-1
- Initial package

Explanation (important!):

  • %prep: Prepares the source (unpacks tarball).
  • %build: Compiles the program.
  • %install: Copies files to a temporary install location (%{buildroot}), simulating how they will be installed.
  • %files: Lists which files get included in the final RPM.
  • %changelog: Package history.

Step 5: Build the RPM

cd ~/rpmbuild/SPECS
rpmbuild -ba hello.spec

Explanation:

  • -ba: Build both binary and source RPM.

The resulting RPM will be inside:

~/rpmbuild/RPMS/<architecture>/

What is RPM?

RPM is a typical package that makes the package installation, upgrade and removal easier by handling dependencies automatically and ensuring files are placed in the correct locations. It contains, compiled software(binaries), metadata, configuration files, scripts and so on. It contains all the files that an RPM package should have.

What is Source RPM?

A Source RPM is often called SRPM, is a special type of RPM pcakge, that contains the _original source code(tarball), the spec file(build instructions), any patches or additional files needed for building the package.

Step 6: Install, Test, and Remove

Install the .rpm:

sudo rpm -ivh ~/rpmbuild/RPMS/x86_64/hello-1.0-1.fc42.x86_64.rpm
  • -i = install; Tell rpm to install a new package.
  • -v = verbose; Shows detailed output while installing, so you can see what’s happening.
  • -h = Prints a progress bar with # symbols as the package installs.

Test:

hello

Output should be:

Hello, RPM World!

Uninstall it:

sudo rpm -e hello

Check:

hello
# bash: /usr/bin/hello: No such file or directory

Write program ➜ Package sources ➜ Write .spec ➜ Build ➜ Install ➜ Test ➜ Remove

Extract Content Of An RPM Package

Method 1: Use rpm2cpio + cpio

rpm2cpio packageName | cpio -idmv
  • rpm2cpio packageName: converts RPM to a cpio archive stream.
  • cpio -idmv: extract files
    • i: extract
    • d: create directories as needed
    • m: preserve modification times
    • v: verbose output

Method 2: Use mc (Midnight Commander)

sudo dnf install mc #it doesn't come pre-built in any distro

mc #execute this, navigate to the rpm file