Install a set of debian packages as a metapackage that depends on them.

aptdeps.py

#!/usr/bin/env python

"""
Creates a debian package with no content and a set of dependencies. Useful for
keeping track of large numbers of installed packages (eg. for building a piece
of software) in Debian by installing a metapackage. This allows easy cleanup
using apt-get autoremove.

https://www.shackleton.io
"""

from __future__ import print_function

import argparse
import tempfile
import shutil
import os
import os.path
import socket
import getpass
from subprocess import call


parser = argparse.ArgumentParser('Install a set of Debian packages as ' +
        'dependencies of a metapackage.')
parser.add_argument('name', metavar='name', type=str,
        help='Name of the metapackage')
parser.add_argument('packages', metavar='pkg', type=str, nargs='+',
        help='Packages to generate dependencies for')
parser.add_argument('--desc', metavar='desc', type=str,
        help='Package description')


def main():
    args = parser.parse_args()
    work_dir = tempfile.mkdtemp()

    debian = os.path.join(work_dir, 'DEBIAN')
    os.mkdir(debian)

    control = open(os.path.join(debian, 'control'), 'w')
    control.write(
"""Section: misc
Priority: optional
Package: {0}
Version: 0.0.1
Maintainer: {1}<{2}>
Depends: {3}
Architecture: all
Description: {4}
""".format(
    args.name,
    getpass.getuser(),
    socket.gethostname(),
    ", ".join(args.packages),
    args.desc
    ))

    control.close()

    call(['dpkg-deb', '--build', work_dir, "{0}.deb".format(args.name)])

    shutil.rmtree(work_dir)


if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()