How to create a meta-package for Debian Astro (the Pure Blend) that bundles a selection of astronomy-related packages.

You’re looking to create a meta-package for Debian Astro (the Pure Blend) that bundles a selection of astronomy-related packages without causing the installation to fail if some of them don’t install correctly. That’s absolutely doable using Debian tools—let me walk you through it.

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Step 1: Identify Available Astro Metapackages

Debian Astro organizes its astronomy software into thematic meta-packages such as:

• astro-catalogs
• astro-datareduction
• astro-development
• astro-education
• astro-frameworks
• astro-gdl
• astro-java
• astro-publication
• astro-python3
• astro-radioastronomy
• astro-simulation
• astro-telescopecontrol
• astro-tools
• astro-viewers
• astro-virtual-observatory
  …and more (Debian Blends, Debian Packages).

You can install all at once using astro-all if you wish, but you want a custom, robust setup that tolerates failures.

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Step 2: Use equivs to Build Your Custom Meta-Package

The equivs package lets you create a Debian package that essentially lists other packages as dependencies, without containing any actual software. It’s perfect for building resilient meta-packages (Fekir’s Blog, Ask Ubuntu, The Debian Administrator’s Handbook).

Here’s how to do it:

1. Install equivs:

2.  sudo apt-get install equivs

3. Generate a control template:

4.  equivs-control my-astro-meta

5. Edit the my-astro-meta file:
   • Set meaningful fields like Package: astro-custom-meta, Version: 1.0, Maintainer, etc.
   • Use either Depends: or Recommends: to list the Astro meta-packages you want.
     Example:

o    Depends: astro-python3, astro-datareduction, astro-radioastronomy, astro-telescopecontrol

Using Recommends: makes installation more flexible: if something fails, apt still proceeds.

6. Build the package:

7.  equivs-build my-astro-meta

8. Install your new meta-package:

9.  sudo dpkg -i astro-custom-meta_1.0_all.deb

This creates a tidy way to install astronomy-related packages in one go, while keeping errors from stopping the whole process (Ask Ubuntu, The Debian Administrator’s Handbook).

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Optional: Handling Unavailable or Problematic Packages

If some of your selected packages are problematic or unavailable, and you still want the meta-package to allow installation to succeed, consider creating dummy packages to satisfy dependencies:

• Use equivs again to generate empty placeholder packages for the problematic or missing ones.
• Give them the same package names or Provides: lines accordingly, so dpkg believes they exist and moves on (Fekir’s Blog, Debian Wiki, The Debian Administrator’s Handbook).

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Summary

Task	Recommendation
Collect and group Astro packages	Use lists from Debian Astro (astro-... meta-packages) (Debian Blends, Debian Packages)
Build your meta-package	Use equivs to specify Depends: or Recommends:
Make it robust	Use Recommends: or dummy packages with equivs to prevent failure