[RFC] Refactor PKGBUILD build options by 1Naim · Pull Request #941 · CachyOS/linux-cachyos

1Naim · 2026-07-23T07:01:15Z

so we have a lot of PKGBUILDs... this is an attempt at reducing them. here i opted to use a string to specify what features the kernel will be built with. The default _features="cachy o3" is equivalent to $_cachy_config=yes and $_cc_harder=yes. Overall, _features currently saves around 7 variables. There's also _modules for extra modules (zfs, nvidia, r8125).

Having these be space separated string is quite dubious and I did consider a real array, but that would require an array parser if we want to pass build options from environment/GUI and I didn't think that was worth it.

I'm open to other solutions too, maybe the booleans are okay after all?

This would obviously need changes in kernel manager.

Closes #750
Closes #894

Fixes: #894 Signed-off-by: Eric Naim <dnaim@cachyos.org>

linux-cachyos-lto is no longer in repos, so noone should have this obsolete package anymore. Signed-off-by: Eric Naim <dnaim@cachyos.org>

The values to set BBR3 as default can be set at runtime. No good reason to have an option to set it by default at compile time. Signed-off-by: Eric Naim <dnaim@cachyos.org>

$_features is a set of build options to configure the kernel. It's purpose is to remove most of the boolean build options we have in the PKGBUILD and make it declarative in the PKGBUILD. Signed-off-by: Eric Naim <dnaim@cachyos.org>

Adds a cachy value to $_features that replaces the boolean $_cachy_config. No function changes intended. Signed-off-by: Eric Naim <dnaim@cachyos.org>

Converts the boolean $_cc_harder to a value in $_features. No functional changes intended. Signed-off-by: Eric Naim <dnaim@cachyos.org>

Setting the performance governor as default is possible via the kernel commandline `cpufreq.default_governor=performance`. Clean up the PKGBUILD by removing this arguably redundant build configuration. Signed-off-by: Eric Naim <dnaim@cachyos.org>

Converts the boolean $_use_kcfi to a value in $_features. No functional changes intended. Signed-off-by: Eric Naim <dnaim@cachyos.org>

For a more generic PKGBUILD, refactor pkgsuffix construction to use known variables and not hardcode information. Signed-off-by: Eric Naim <dnaim@cachyos.org>

Instead of making PREEMPT_RT a $_cpusched, make it a "feature" instead. This doesn't lock it down to only EEVDF and BORE and makes it possible to use PREEMPT_RT on other schedulers if supported. As an additional change, allow setting preemption mode on PREEMPT_RT builds. They are configurable in runtime anyway. Signed-off-by: Eric Naim <dnaim@cachyos.org>

Allow building a handheld kernel from a single PKGBUILD by passing the "handheld" feature. This will override the pkgsuffix to -deckify, add the needed patches and enable the corresponding Kconfigs. Signed-off-by: Eric Naim <dnaim@cachyos.org>

Add the CachyOS server kernel preset as a feature. When has_feature server, this will override the existing build options to the server kernel preset. This is only intended for CachyOS use as it doesn't respect previously set build options, but users are also free to use it knowing the implications. Signed-off-by: Eric Naim <dnaim@cachyos.org>

pkgdesc currently has hardcoded information. This is clearly undesirable for a generic PKGBUILD. Solve this by parsing information from build options and create a description based on those options. $_kernel_pkgdesc is only used for the kernel package as it is where most people would check for what the kernel is configured with. Signed-off-by: Eric Naim <dnaim@cachyos.org>

Both of these options are mutually exclusive, so it makes sense to merge them together to a single variable. Signed-off-by: Eric Naim <dnaim@cachyos.org>

Refactor the build scripts to make use of the newly written PKGBUILD. This removes 6 PKGBUILDs that are just there for different build configurations. LTS, RC and hardened PKGBUILDs are still kept because they differ by version and not configuration. Signed-off-by: Eric Naim <dnaim@cachyos.org>

Like with $_features, convert the boolean build_modules options to a string of modules to build. Signed-off-by: Eric Naim <dnaim@cachyos.org>

Having hardened in $_cpusched is fundamentally incorrect because, well, it's not a CPU scheduler! Regardless, having that as an option is also not possible to do correctly since: 1. version can lag behind current stable 2. it needs a different config that isn't easily toggleable so a different file must be provided With that in mind, remove it from $_cpusched. Signed-off-by: Eric Naim <dnaim@cachyos.org>

Signed-off-by: Eric Naim <dnaim@cachyos.org>

1Naim · 2026-07-23T07:09:28Z

also @ptr1337 i didn't put autofdo and propeller to $_features because i thought it would affect your workflow, let me know if its okay to merge it if the impl. is okay

Copilot

Pull request overview

This RFC consolidates multiple kernel flavor PKGBUILDs into a single configurable linux-cachyos/PKGBUILD by switching from many boolean build toggles to two whitespace-delimited selectors (_features and _modules), and updates local/CI build scripts accordingly. It also removes several now-redundant flavor packages (server/deckify/eevdf/bore/bmq/rt-bore) that are intended to be reproduced via environment-driven builds.

Changes:

Refactor linux-cachyos/PKGBUILD to use _features (kernel feature set) and _modules (extra module builds) plus _package_suffix, and adjust pkg naming/description generation.
Update build helper scripts to build remaining standalone PKGBUILDs and build former “flavor” variants by passing environment variables into Docker builds.
Remove several flavor PKGBUILD/.SRCINFO pairs and update GitHub Actions workflow to use _modules env.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 18 out of 24 changed files in this pull request and generated 4 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
script.sh	Refactors local Docker build loop into `build_pkg()` and builds former flavors via env vars.
script-znver4.sh	Same as `script.sh`, but targets the znver4 Docker image and repo output path.
script-v3-v4.sh	Deduplicates v3/v4 build logic via `docker_build()` and shared env arrays.
linux-cachyos/PKGBUILD	Core refactor: replaces multiple booleans with `_features`/`_modules`, updates suffix logic, sources, and pkgdesc generation.
linux-cachyos-server/PKGBUILD	Removed flavor PKGBUILD (server variant intended to be produced via `_features=server`).
linux-cachyos-server/.SRCINFO	Removed corresponding metadata for the server flavor.
linux-cachyos-rt-bore/PKGBUILD	Removed flavor PKGBUILD (RT+Bore intended to be produced via `_features=... rt` + `_cpusched=bore`).
linux-cachyos-rt-bore/.SRCINFO	Removed corresponding metadata for rt-bore flavor.
linux-cachyos-rc/PKGBUILD	Adds maintainer line.
linux-cachyos-eevdf/PKGBUILD	Removed flavor PKGBUILD (EEVDF intended to be produced via `_cpusched=eevdf`).
linux-cachyos-eevdf/.SRCINFO	Removed corresponding metadata for eevdf flavor.
linux-cachyos-deckify/PKGBUILD	Removed flavor PKGBUILD (handheld intended to be produced via `_features=... handheld`).
linux-cachyos-deckify/.SRCINFO	Removed corresponding metadata for deckify flavor.
linux-cachyos-bore/PKGBUILD	Removed flavor PKGBUILD (BORE intended to be produced via `_cpusched=bore`).
linux-cachyos-bore/.SRCINFO	Removed corresponding metadata for bore flavor.
linux-cachyos-bmq/PKGBUILD	Removed flavor PKGBUILD (BMQ intended to be produced via `_cpusched=bmq`).
linux-cachyos-bmq/.SRCINFO	Removed corresponding metadata for bmq flavor.
.github/workflows/build.yml	Switches CI to `_modules` env and changes makepkg integrity-skipping behavior.

💡 Add Copilot custom instructions for smarter, more guided reviews. Learn how to get started.

1Naim · 2026-07-23T07:18:15Z

+has_feature() {
+    local feature
+    for feature in $_features; do
+        [[ $feature == "$1" ]] && return 0
+    done
+    return 1
+}
+
+has_module() {
+    local module
+    for module in $_modules; do
+        [[ $module == "$1" ]] && return 0
+    done
+    return 1
+}


will wait for @ventureoo to chime in for this.

ventureoo · 2026-07-23T16:06:32Z

I also thought about merging all into a single PKGBUILD, but I imagined it as just a _flavor variable that would be a ready-made preset for other variables with the ability to override. This way you can use $_flavor as a $pkgsuffix at the same time, and it also requires one case.. in at the begin, without having to smear all PKGBUILD. The idea with _features seems to me a bit of overengineering. Also, it’s not clear what to put into _features and what to put into regular options. You also have a server and rt features here, which conflict with each other by changing PREEMPT.

1Naim added 15 commits July 23, 2026 13:18

PKGBUILD: Use llvm-strip in headers() when kernel is built with LLVM

810a977

Fixes: #894 Signed-off-by: Eric Naim <dnaim@cachyos.org>

linux-cachyos: Remove linux-cachyos-lto provides=() and replaces=()

2427337

linux-cachyos-lto is no longer in repos, so noone should have this obsolete package anymore. Signed-off-by: Eric Naim <dnaim@cachyos.org>

PKGBUILD: Remove _tcp_bbr3

489e7e3

The values to set BBR3 as default can be set at runtime. No good reason to have an option to set it by default at compile time. Signed-off-by: Eric Naim <dnaim@cachyos.org>

PKGBUILD: Implement $_features

5d528b5

$_features is a set of build options to configure the kernel. It's purpose is to remove most of the boolean build options we have in the PKGBUILD and make it declarative in the PKGBUILD. Signed-off-by: Eric Naim <dnaim@cachyos.org>

PKGBUILD: Convert $_cachy_config to $_features

6da1071

Adds a cachy value to $_features that replaces the boolean $_cachy_config. No function changes intended. Signed-off-by: Eric Naim <dnaim@cachyos.org>

PKGBUILD: Convert $_cc_harder to $_features

7530384

Converts the boolean $_cc_harder to a value in $_features. No functional changes intended. Signed-off-by: Eric Naim <dnaim@cachyos.org>

PKGBUILD: Remove $_per_gov

1c2a259

Setting the performance governor as default is possible via the kernel commandline `cpufreq.default_governor=performance`. Clean up the PKGBUILD by removing this arguably redundant build configuration. Signed-off-by: Eric Naim <dnaim@cachyos.org>

PKGBUILD: Convert $_use_kcfi to $_features

7d69ae3

Converts the boolean $_use_kcfi to a value in $_features. No functional changes intended. Signed-off-by: Eric Naim <dnaim@cachyos.org>

PKGBUILD: Refactor pkgsuffix construction

31d0b8d

For a more generic PKGBUILD, refactor pkgsuffix construction to use known variables and not hardcode information. Signed-off-by: Eric Naim <dnaim@cachyos.org>

PKGBUILD: Add handheld feature

3ec14d0

Allow building a handheld kernel from a single PKGBUILD by passing the "handheld" feature. This will override the pkgsuffix to -deckify, add the needed patches and enable the corresponding Kconfigs. Signed-off-by: Eric Naim <dnaim@cachyos.org>

PKGBUILD: Unify $_use_lto_suffix and $_use_gcc_suffix

c846bda

Both of these options are mutually exclusive, so it makes sense to merge them together to a single variable. Signed-off-by: Eric Naim <dnaim@cachyos.org>

1Naim requested review from ptr1337, sirlucjan and ventureoo July 23, 2026 07:01

1Naim added 6 commits July 23, 2026 14:05

PKGBUILD: Convert $_build_* to $_modules string

2fb16c4

Like with $_features, convert the boolean build_modules options to a string of modules to build. Signed-off-by: Eric Naim <dnaim@cachyos.org>

PKGBUILD: Move $_features to the top of PKGBUILD

67fca50

Signed-off-by: Eric Naim <dnaim@cachyos.org>

linux-cachyos: Add myself as maintainer

6db38ed

Signed-off-by: Eric Naim <dnaim@cachyos.org>

linux-cachyos-rc: Add myself as maintainer

cf566a7

Signed-off-by: Eric Naim <dnaim@cachyos.org>

ci: build: Also skip PGP checks on build

473132e

Signed-off-by: Eric Naim <dnaim@cachyos.org>

1Naim force-pushed the unify-pkgbuild branch from f9b467b to 473132e Compare July 23, 2026 07:05

ptr1337 requested a review from Copilot July 23, 2026 07:07

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of ptr1337 July 23, 2026 07:07 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Jul 23, 2026

View reviewed changes

ventureoo mentioned this pull request Jul 23, 2026

Unify kernel flavors in one PKGBUILD #944

Open

Provide feedback

Saved searches

Use saved searches to filter your results more quickly

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

[RFC] Refactor PKGBUILD build options - #941

[RFC] Refactor PKGBUILD build options#941
1Naim wants to merge 21 commits into
masterfrom
unify-pkgbuild

1Naim commented Jul 23, 2026 •

edited

Loading

Uh oh!

1Naim commented Jul 23, 2026

Uh oh!

Copilot AI left a comment

Uh oh!

1Naim Jul 23, 2026

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

ventureoo commented Jul 23, 2026

Uh oh!

Reviewers

Assignees

Labels

Projects

Milestone

Development

Uh oh!

3 participants

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Conversation

1Naim commented Jul 23, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

1Naim commented Jul 23, 2026

Uh oh!

Copilot AI left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Pull request overview

Reviewed changes

Uh oh!

1Naim Jul 23, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

ventureoo commented Jul 23, 2026

Uh oh!

Reviewers

Assignees

Labels

Projects

Milestone

Development

Uh oh!

3 participants

1Naim commented Jul 23, 2026 •

edited

Loading