When do we run createrepo

There are several situations when we need to update repository metadata in copr repository.

We need to run createrepo when some build finishes so the built RPMs are distributed to the repository end-users. Similarly we need to update repodata when some build is removed.

Also, there’s no sophisticated “gating” mechanism in copr similar to Fedora’s Bodhi (aka updates vs updates-testing repositories). The alternative approach in Copr is to temporarily disable the “Auto Create Repo” feature (or ACR). With such configuration, copr instead creates the repodata in a separate directory named devel – so the subsequent builds still can be built against previously finished builds. With such configuration though, copr doesn’t re-generate the “production” repodata after each build automatically (even though there freshly built RPMs, they are not visible in repos) so project maintainers are fully responsible for recreating the “production” metadata manually when it is appropriate (in the web-UI - in project overview, hit the Regenerate Repositories button).

The following table describes situations when we execute /bin/createrepo_c.

situation	what copr dirs	what chroots	devel/normal repo
new Project created	main	all	normal + devel if not ACR
new chroot(s) added	all	only new chroots	Normal + devel if not ACR
new CoprDir added (pull-request)	the one just created	all	Normal + devel if not ACR
ACR toggle	all	all	normal if ACR else devel
post-build	affected	affected	normal if ACR else devel
manual createrepo event	all	all	normal
delete build event	affected	affected	both
prunerepo script	affected	affected	normal

The copr dirs can be either the default project directory (e.g. jsmith/coolproject), or pull-request directories (e.g. jsmith/coolproject:pr:100).