Building From Source

Building ExaBGP From Source

Compiling ExaBGP and Creating Distribution Packages

This guide covers building ExaBGP from source code, creating Debian (.deb) packages, and creating RPM packages. Most users should install via pip or package managers (see Installation Guide), but building from source is useful for development, testing unreleased versions, or packaging for internal distribution.

When to Build From Source

Consider building from source if you:

✅ Need unreleased features from main branch
✅ Want to test bug fixes before release
✅ Contribute to ExaBGP development
✅ Create custom packages for internal distribution
✅ Run ExaBGP on unsupported platforms
✅ Need to apply custom patches

Use package manager instead if you:

❌ Just want to use ExaBGP in production
❌ Prefer stable, tested releases
❌ Want automatic updates

Prerequisites

All Platforms

Python Version:

Minimum: Python 3.7
Recommended: Python 3.9+
Latest: Python 3.11+ (best performance)

Required Tools:

# Git for source code
git --version

# Python development tools
python3 --version
python3 -m pip --version

Debian/Ubuntu

# Basic build tools
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y git python3 python3-pip python3-dev python3-setuptools

# For building .deb packages
sudo apt-get install -y \
    git-core \
    devscripts \
    build-essential \
    lintian \
    python3-all \
    python3-setuptools \
    dh-python

RHEL/CentOS/Fedora

# Basic build tools
sudo dnf install -y git python3 python3-pip python3-devel python3-setuptools

# For building RPM packages
sudo dnf install -y \
    rpm-build \
    rpmdevtools \
    python3-devel \
    python3-setuptools

macOS

# Install Homebrew if needed
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

# Install Python and git
brew install python git

Building from Git

Clone Repository

Latest development version (main branch):

git clone https://github.com/Exa-Networks/exabgp.git
cd exabgp

Specific release (recommended for stability):

git clone https://github.com/Exa-Networks/exabgp.git
cd exabgp
git tag -l                    # List available tags
git checkout 4.2.21           # Checkout specific version

Specific branch:

git clone https://github.com/Exa-Networks/exabgp.git
cd exabgp
git checkout -b my-branch origin/some-feature-branch

Install from Source (Development Mode)

Editable install (for development):

# Install in development mode (changes reflect immediately)
python3 -m pip install -e .

# Verify installation
exabgp --version
which exabgp  # Should show your git checkout path

Standard install:

# Install to system Python
sudo python3 setup.py install

# Or install to user directory (no sudo)
python3 setup.py install --user

# Verify
exabgp --version

Install Dependencies

ExaBGP has NO runtime dependencies!

ExaBGP is designed to have zero external dependencies for maximum portability.

Development dependencies (optional, for testing):

# For running tests
python3 -m pip install pytest pytest-cov

# For code linting
python3 -m pip install flake8 pycodestyle

Creating Debian Packages

Build .deb packages for Debian, Ubuntu, Mint, etc.

💡 Attribution: Based on community contributions. Debian packaging is maintained by the Debian Python team.

Prerequisites

sudo apt-get install -y \
    git-core \
    devscripts \
    build-essential \
    lintian \
    python3-all \
    python3-setuptools \
    dh-python

Build Process

Step 1: Clone and checkout version

git clone https://github.com/Exa-Networks/exabgp.git
cd exabgp

# Checkout specific version (example: 4.2.21)
git checkout 4.2.21

Step 2: Retrieve Debian packaging files

# Get debian/ directory from packaging branch
git checkout origin/debian/sid -- debian

Step 3: Update changelog

# Update version in changelog
dch -v 4.2.21-1 "New upstream release"

# Or manually edit
editor debian/changelog

Step 4: Prepare build

# Remove incompatible settings (if needed)
rm -f debian/source/format

# Clean up any version-specific issues
# (Adjust based on your version)

Step 5: Build packages

# Build unsigned packages (for local use)
debuild -us -uc

# You may see warning about missing .orig tarball
# Answer 'y' to continue

# Build with signing (for distribution)
debuild -sa

Step 6: Install built packages

# Packages are created in parent directory
cd ..
ls -la *.deb

# Install packages
sudo dpkg -i exabgp_*.deb

# Fix dependencies if needed
sudo apt-get install -f

Debian Package Structure

Packages created:

exabgp_X.Y.Z-N_all.deb - Main ExaBGP package
exabgp-common_X.Y.Z-N_all.deb - Common files (if separate)

Installation locations:

Binary: /usr/sbin/exabgp
Python modules: /usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/exabgp/
Configuration: /etc/exabgp/
Systemd unit: /lib/systemd/system/exabgp.service
Documentation: /usr/share/doc/exabgp/

Creating RPM Packages

Build RPM packages for RHEL, CentOS, Fedora, etc.

💡 Attribution: EPEL packaging guidance by @garybuhrmaster (Issue #1166).

Prerequisites

# Install build tools
sudo dnf install -y rpm-build rpmdevtools python3-devel python3-setuptools

# Setup RPM build environment
rpmdev-setuptree

Using Existing SPEC File

For EPEL 9 (Fedora 36+, RHEL 9+):

💡 Quote from Gary Buhrmaster: "The packaging has been modified from the generic spec file on this site to use (what the RH python packagers call) 'modern' python build macros available in Fedora and EL9."

The ExaBGP SPEC file for Fedora/EPEL is maintained in Fedora dist-git:

Fedora SPEC: https://src.fedoraproject.org/rpms/python-exabgp/tree/rawhide
EPEL 9 SPEC: https://src.fedoraproject.org/rpms/python-exabgp/tree/epel9

Download and use:

# Get the SPEC file from Fedora dist-git
curl -O https://src.fedoraproject.org/rpms/python-exabgp/raw/epel9/f/python-exabgp.spec

# Download source tarball
spectool -g python-exabgp.spec

# Copy to rpmbuild
cp python-exabgp.spec ~/rpmbuild/SPECS/
cp exabgp-*.tar.gz ~/rpmbuild/SOURCES/

# Build RPM
cd ~/rpmbuild/SPECS
rpmbuild -ba python-exabgp.spec

Building from Git (Manual SPEC)

Step 1: Create source tarball

git clone https://github.com/Exa-Networks/exabgp.git
cd exabgp
git checkout 4.2.21

# Create tarball
git archive --format=tar.gz --prefix=exabgp-4.2.21/ \
    -o ~/rpmbuild/SOURCES/exabgp-4.2.21.tar.gz 4.2.21

Step 2: Create basic SPEC file

# Use Fedora SPEC as template (recommended)
# Or create minimal SPEC:
cat > ~/rpmbuild/SPECS/exabgp.spec << 'EOF'
%global srcname exabgp

Name:           python-%{srcname}
Version:        4.2.21
Release:        1%{?dist}
Summary:        BGP route injector

License:        BSD
URL:            https://github.com/Exa-Networks/exabgp
Source0:        %{srcname}-%{version}.tar.gz

BuildArch:      noarch
BuildRequires:  python3-devel
BuildRequires:  python3-setuptools

%description
ExaBGP is a BGP route injector.

%prep
%autosetup -n %{srcname}-%{version}

%build
%py3_build

%install
%py3_install

# Install systemd unit
install -D -m 644 etc/systemd/exabgp.service %{buildroot}%{_unitdir}/exabgp.service

# Install configuration
install -D -m 644 etc/exabgp/exabgp.conf %{buildroot}%{_sysconfdir}/exabgp/exabgp.conf

%files
%license COPYRIGHT
%doc README.md CHANGELOG.rst
%{_bindir}/exabgp
%{python3_sitelib}/%{srcname}/
%{python3_sitelib}/%{srcname}-*.egg-info/
%{_unitdir}/exabgp.service
%config(noreplace) %{_sysconfdir}/exabgp/

%changelog
* $(date +"%a %b %d %Y") Your Name <[email protected]> - 4.2.21-1
- New upstream release
EOF

Step 3: Build RPM

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

# Check built packages
ls -la ~/rpmbuild/RPMS/noarch/
ls -la ~/rpmbuild/SRPMS/

Step 4: Install

sudo dnf install ~/rpmbuild/RPMS/noarch/python3-exabgp-*.rpm

RHEL/Fedora Package Structure

Package name: python3-exabgp

Installation locations:

Binary: /usr/bin/exabgp
Python modules: /usr/lib/python3.X/site-packages/exabgp/
Configuration: /etc/exabgp/
Systemd unit: /usr/lib/systemd/system/exabgp.service
Documentation: /usr/share/doc/python3-exabgp/

Testing Your Build

Basic Functionality Test

# Check version
exabgp --version

# Validate configuration syntax
exabgp --test /etc/exabgp/exabgp.conf

# Run in foreground (test mode)
exabgp --debug /etc/exabgp/exabgp.conf

# Should see:
# "Listening for BGP session on..."
# Press Ctrl+C to stop

Run Test Suite

cd /path/to/exabgp/source

# Install test dependencies
python3 -m pip install pytest pytest-cov

# Run all tests
python3 -m pytest

# Run specific test
python3 -m pytest tests/test_neighbor.py

# Run with coverage
python3 -m pytest --cov=exabgp tests/

Integration Test

# Create minimal test config
cat > /tmp/test-exabgp.conf << 'EOF'
process monitor {
    run python3 -c "import sys; print('ExaBGP API test'); sys.stdout.flush()";
    encoder text;
}

neighbor 127.0.0.1 {
    router-id 10.0.0.1;
    local-address 127.0.0.1;
    local-as 65001;
    peer-as 65001;
}
EOF

# Run test
exabgp --debug /tmp/test-exabgp.conf

# Should see "ExaBGP API test" output

Development Workflow

Editable Install for Development

# Clone repo
git clone https://github.com/Exa-Networks/exabgp.git
cd exabgp

# Create virtual environment (recommended)
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate

# Install in editable mode
pip install -e .

# Now you can edit code and test immediately
# No reinstall needed - changes reflect immediately

Running from Source (No Install)

# Set PYTHONPATH to source directory
export PYTHONPATH=/path/to/exabgp/src:$PYTHONPATH

# Run directly
./src/exabgp/application/cli.py --version

Code Style and Linting

# Install linters
pip install flake8 pycodestyle

# Check code style
flake8 src/exabgp/

# Auto-format (optional)
pip install black
black src/exabgp/

Common Issues

Issue: Python Version Mismatch

Problem: SyntaxError or ModuleNotFoundError

Solution:

# Check Python version
python3 --version  # Must be 3.7+

# Use specific Python version
python3.11 -m pip install -e .
python3.11 ./src/exabgp/application/cli.py

Issue: Permission Denied on Port 179

Problem: [Errno 13] Permission denied when binding to port 179

Solution:

# Option 1: Run as root (not recommended)
sudo exabgp /etc/exabgp/exabgp.conf

# Option 2: Use capability (Linux)
sudo setcap cap_net_bind_service=+ep $(which exabgp)

# Option 3: Use high port for testing
# In config: neighbor 127.0.0.1 { local-address 127.0.0.1 port 1790; }

Issue: Debian Build Fails with Missing .orig

Problem: expected exabgp_X.Y.Z.orig.tar.gz

Solution:

# Create .orig tarball
git archive --format=tar.gz --prefix=exabgp-4.2.21/ \
    -o ../exabgp_4.2.21.orig.tar.gz 4.2.21

# Then run debuild again
debuild -us -uc

Issue: RPM Build Fails with Missing Macros

Problem: Unknown tag: %py3_build

Solution:

# Install python3-rpm-macros
sudo dnf install python3-rpm-macros

# Fedora modern macros
sudo dnf install python3-rpm-generators

References

ExaBGP GitHub: https://github.com/Exa-Networks/exabgp
Fedora SPEC File: https://src.fedoraproject.org/rpms/python-exabgp
Debian Packaging: https://salsa.debian.org/python-team/packages/exabgp
Python Packaging Guide: https://packaging.python.org/

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Building From Source

Building ExaBGP From Source

Table of Contents

When to Build From Source

Prerequisites

All Platforms

Debian/Ubuntu

RHEL/CentOS/Fedora

macOS

Building from Git

Clone Repository

Install from Source (Development Mode)

Install Dependencies

Creating Debian Packages

Prerequisites

Build Process

Debian Package Structure

Creating RPM Packages

Prerequisites

Using Existing SPEC File

Building from Git (Manual SPEC)

RHEL/Fedora Package Structure

Testing Your Build

Basic Functionality Test

Run Test Suite

Integration Test

Development Workflow

Editable Install for Development

Running from Source (No Install)

Code Style and Linting

Common Issues

Issue: Python Version Mismatch

Issue: Permission Denied on Port 179

Issue: Debian Build Fails with Missing .orig

Issue: RPM Build Fails with Missing Macros

See Also

References

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