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doc: add instructions to remove a package

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Co-authored-by: Sandro <sandro.jaeckel@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: Ben Siraphob <bensiraphob@gmail.com>
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davidak 2021-03-15 22:47:40 +01:00
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doc/contributing/submitting-changes.chapter.md
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@ -82,6 +82,52 @@ If a security fix applies to both master and a stable release then, similar to r
Critical security fixes may by-pass the staging branches and be delivered directly to release branches such as `master` and `release-*`.
## Deprecating/removing packages {#submitting-changes-deprecating-packages}
There is currently no policy when to remove a package.
Before removing a package, one should try to find a new maintainer or fix smaller issues first.
### Steps to remove a package from Nixpkgs
We use jbidwatcher as an example for a discontinued project here.
1. Have Nixpkgs checked out locally and up to date.
1. Create a new branch for your change, e.g. `git checkout -b jbidwatcher`
1. Remove the actual package including its directory, e.g. `rm -rf pkgs/applications/misc/jbidwatcher`
1. Remove the package from the list of all packages (`pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix`).
1. Add an alias for the package name in `pkgs/top-level/aliases.nix` (There is also `pkgs/misc/vim-plugins/aliases.nix`. Package sets typically do not have aliases, so we can't add them there.)
For example in this case:
```
jbidwatcher = throw "jbidwatcher was discontinued in march 2021"; # added 2021-03-15
```
The throw message should explain in short why the package was removed for users that still have it installed.
1. Test if the changes introduced any issues by running `nix-env -qaP -f . --show-trace`. It should show the list of packages without errors.
1. Commit the changes. Explain again why the package was removed. If it was declared discontinued upstream, add a link to the source.
```ShellSession
$ git add pkgs/applications/misc/jbidwatcher/default.nix pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix pkgs/top-level/aliases.nix
$ git commit
```
Example commit message:
```
jbidwatcher: remove
project was discontinued in march 2021. the program does not work anymore because ebay changed the login.
https://web.archive.org/web/20210315205723/http://www.jbidwatcher.com/
```
1. Push changes to your GitHub fork with `git push`
1. Create a pull request against Nixpkgs. Mention the package maintainer.
This is how the pull request looks like in this case: [https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/pull/116470](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/pull/116470)
## Pull Request Template {#submitting-changes-pull-request-template}
The pull request template helps determine what steps have been made for a contribution so far, and will help guide maintainers on the status of a change. The motivation section of the PR should include any extra details the title does not address and link any existing issues related to the pull request.