Add SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH support for reproducible builds#1537
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neolynx merged 1 commit intoaptly-dev:masterfrom Feb 28, 2026
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Add SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH support for reproducible builds#1537neolynx merged 1 commit intoaptly-dev:masterfrom
neolynx merged 1 commit intoaptly-dev:masterfrom
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Implement support for the SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH environment variable as specified by reproducible-builds.org. When set, this variable overrides the current timestamp in the Release file's Date and Valid-Until fields, enabling reproducible filesystem publishes. - Read SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH environment variable in Publish() - Use the epoch timestamp for both Date and Valid-Until fields - Gracefully fallback to current time if unset or invalid - Add comprehensive tests for valid and invalid SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH values
Codecov Report✅ All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests. Additional details and impacted files@@ Coverage Diff @@
## master #1537 +/- ##
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- Coverage 76.96% 76.64% -0.32%
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Files 160 160
Lines 14754 14757 +3
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- Hits 11355 11311 -44
- Misses 2266 2317 +51
+ Partials 1133 1129 -4 ☔ View full report in Codecov by Sentry. 🚀 New features to boost your workflow:
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@neolynx Can you please have a look? |
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Thanks man! |
tonobo
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Mar 3, 2026
Both the external GPG signer (--faked-system-time) and internal Go OpenPGP signer (signerConfig.Time) now honor SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH, producing reproducible signatures alongside the plain Release file dates. Adds system tests for both signer backends verifying byte-identical Release, Release.gpg and InRelease across repeated publishes. The internal signer test (PublishRepo38Test) uses an Ed25519 key because Ed25519 signatures are deterministic by design. The Go openpgp library uses a random nonce for DSA/ECDSA (see signature.go Sign calls using config.Random() link below) so those signatures vary across runs even with a fixed timestamp, making byte-identical verification impossible. In addition to 49f3428 Ref: aptly-dev#1537 Ref: https://github.com/ProtonMail/go-crypto/blob/v1.4.0/openpgp/packet/signature.go#L945-L979
tonobo
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Mar 3, 2026
Both the external GPG signer (--faked-system-time) and internal Go OpenPGP signer (signerConfig.Time) now honor SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH, producing reproducible signatures alongside the plain Release file dates. Adds system tests for both signer backends verifying byte-identical Release, Release.gpg and InRelease across repeated publishes. The internal signer test (PublishRepo38Test) uses an ed25519 key because ed25519 signatures are deterministic by design. The Go openpgp library uses a random nonce for DSA/ECDSA (see signature.go Sign calls using config.Random() link below) so those signatures vary across runs even with a fixed timestamp, making byte-identical verification impossible. In addition to 49f3428 Ref: aptly-dev#1537 Ref: https://github.com/ProtonMail/go-crypto/blob/v1.4.0/openpgp/packet/signature.go#L945-L979
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tonobo
added a commit
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Mar 3, 2026
Both the external GPG signer (--faked-system-time) and internal Go OpenPGP signer (signerConfig.Time) now honor SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH, producing reproducible signatures alongside the plain Release file dates. Adds system tests for both signer backends verifying byte-identical Release, Release.gpg and InRelease across repeated publishes. The signer tests (PublishRepo3[78]Test) are using an ed25519 key because ed25519 signatures are deterministic by design. The Go openpgp library uses a random nonce for DSA/ECDSA (see signature.go Sign calls using config.Random() link below) so those signatures vary across runs even with a fixed timestamp, making byte-identical verification impossible. In addition to 49f3428 Ref: aptly-dev#1537 Ref: https://github.com/ProtonMail/go-crypto/blob/v1.4.0/openpgp/packet/signature.go#L945-L979
tonobo
added a commit
to tonobo/aptly
that referenced
this pull request
Mar 3, 2026
Both the external GPG signer (--faked-system-time) and internal Go OpenPGP signer (signerConfig.Time) now honor SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH, producing reproducible signatures alongside the plain Release file dates. Adds system tests for both signer backends verifying byte-identical Release, Release.gpg and InRelease across repeated publishes. The signer tests (PublishRepo3[78]Test) are using an ed25519 key because ed25519 signatures are deterministic by design. The Go openpgp library uses a random nonce for DSA/ECDSA (see signature.go Sign calls using config.Random() link below) so those signatures vary across runs even with a fixed timestamp, making byte-identical verification impossible. In addition to 49f3428 Ref: aptly-dev#1537 Ref: https://github.com/ProtonMail/go-crypto/blob/v1.4.0/openpgp/packet/signature.go#L945-L979
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Description of the Change
Reproducible builds ensure that building the same source input always produces byte-identical output, regardless of when or where the build happens. This is important for security and trust: anyone can independently verify that published binaries actually correspond to their source code, with no tampering or hidden modifications.
When aptly publishes a repository to the filesystem, the Release file includes a Date field set to the current time. This means publishing the same packages twice produces different output, breaking reproducibility. By honoring SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH (a Unix timestamp typically derived from the last source change), the Date and Valid-Until fields become deterministic, making the entire published repository output byte-identical across runs with the same input.
This follows the https://reproducible-builds.org/specs/source-date-epoch/ specification, which is widely adopted across the Debian ecosystem and other projects.
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