Standardizing binary distributions in to native system packages reduces manual overhead and simplifies lifecycle management. This workflow demonstrates packaging the Prometheus node_exporter executable for Rocky Linux 9, replacing tedious extraction steps with automated installation procedures.

Environment: OS: Rocky Linux 9.2 Binary Asset: node_exporter-1.7.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz

Prerequisites

Install the necessary development utilities to generate RPM artifacts.

dnf install rpm-build rpmdevtools -y

Directory Initialization

Run the setup command to create the standard build tree within your user home directory.

rpmdev-setuptree

The resulting hierarchy includes directories for source files, specifications, and built binaries:

~/rpmbuild/
├── SOURCES     # Source archives and patches
├── SPECS       # Package definition files
└── RPMS        # Compiled binary packages

Asset Preparation

Move the compiled archive into the sources directory. Create a corresponding systemd unit file to ensure service integration upon installation.

~/rpmbuild/SOURCES/
├── node_exporter-1.7.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz
└── exporter.service

Systemd Unit Definition (exporter.service):

[Unit]
Description=Prometheus Node Exporter
After=network-online.target

[Service]
Type=simple
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/node_exporter
Restart=on-failure

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Specification File Creation

Define the package logic in ~/rpmbuild/SPECS/node_exporter.spec. This text-based recipe controls how files are staged, installed, and verified.

Name:           node_exporter
Version:        1.7.0
Release:        1%{?dist}
Summary:        Hardware metrics collector
License:        ASL 2.0
URL:            https://prometheus.io/
Source0:        %{name}-%{version}.linux-amd64.tar.gz

Requires:       libc.so.6

%description
Provides hardware and OS metrics exposed by *NIX kernels.

%prep
# Extract archive quietly to build directory
%setup -q -n %{name}-%{version}.linux-amd64

%install
# Copy binary to execution path
mkdir -p %{buildroot}/usr/local/bin
install -p -m 755 node_exporter %{buildroot}/usr/local/bin/node_exporter

# Configure systemd service
mkdir -p %{buildroot}/usr/lib/systemd/system
install -m 644 %{_sourcedir}/exporter.service %{buildroot}/usr/lib/systemd/system/exporter.service

%files
/usr/local/bin/node_exporter
/usr/lib/systemd/system/exporter.service

%changelog
* Mon Apr 20 2024 System Admin - 1.7.0-1
- Initial RPM build for RHEL-based systems

Build Execution

Compile the specification into a binary RPM using the -ba flag (build all).

rpmbuild -ba ~/rpmbuild/SPECS/node_exporter.spec

Deployment

Locate the ganerated RPM in RPMS/x86_64. Deploy using the distribution manager.

dnf install ~/rpmbuild/RPMS/x86_64/node_exporter-1.7.0-1.el9.x86_64.rpm
systemctl start node_exporter

Networked environments automatically fetch required library dependencies. For disconnected workstations, pre-resolve these requirements before transfer.

Offline Dependency Handling

Inspect the package without installing to reveal missing libraries:

dnf install node_exporter-1.7.0-1.el9.x86_64.rpm --show-duplicates

Collect dependencies into a temporary repository folder:

dnf download --resolve --downloaddir=/repo/packages node_exporter-1.7.0-1.el9.x86_64.rpm

Transfer both the package and dependencies to the target host. Execute a local transaction from the directory containing all RPM files:

cd /repo/packages
dnf localinstall ./*.rpm

Alternatively, mount this directory as a custom repository to enable direct installs from the local cache.

Key Specification Directives

• Metadata: Fields like Version and Release define identity.
• Sources: Source0 references the input archive.
• Staging: %prep unpacks data; %install places files into the roootfs for packaging.
• Manifest: %files explicitly declares included artifacts.
• Logging: %changelog tracks version history.