StarRocks/starrocks

[Feature Request] Provide official Debian (.deb) and RPM packages for standard installation

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#68205 opened on Jan 21, 2026

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good first issuetype/feature-requestversion:4.2

Description

Feature request

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe. Currently, StarRocks is distributed primarily via binary tarballs or Docker images. While this works for testing, it creates friction for bare-metal production deployments and standard Linux administration:

  1. Non-Standard Paths: When using the tarball, logs and configurations reside inside the installation directory (e.g., StarRocks-x.x/fe/log) instead of standard Linux Standard Base (LSB) paths like /var/log/starrocks and /etc/starrocks.
  2. Service Management: There is no native systemd integration out of the box. Administrators have to manually write unit files to manage the fe and be services or use start/stop scripts manually.
  3. Upgrade Complexity: Upgrading requires downloading a new tarball and manually migrating config files, whereas standard packages allow seamless updates via apt-get upgrade or yum update.

Describe the solution you'd like I would like StarRocks to provide official package repositories for major Linux distributions (Debian/Ubuntu and RHEL/CentOS).

Similar to how Apache Cassandra handles installation, we should be able to:

  1. Add a StarRocks repository key and URL.
  2. Run commands like sudo apt-get install starrocks-fe starrocks-be.
  3. Have the package automatically:
    • Place configs in /etc/starrocks/.
    • Place logs in /var/log/starrocks/.
    • Place data in /var/lib/starrocks/.
    • Register and enable systemd services (e.g., systemctl start starrocks-fe).

Describe alternatives you've considered

  • Docker: While Docker is available, it adds an abstraction layer that isn't always desirable for high-performance bare-metal setups where we want direct OS control.
  • Ansible/Chef/Puppet: We currently have to write complex playbooks to download tarballs, move files to /etc/ and /var/, and create custom systemd files to simulate a package installation. This is high maintenance.

Additional context Most enterprise-grade data systems (Cassandra, MySQL, PostgreSQL, ClickHouse) provide native package management support. Adding this would significantly lower the barrier to entry for SysAdmins and DevOps engineers accustomed to standard Linux workflows.

Reference examples:

Contributor guide

Tech stack
javashell
Domain
devopsinfrastructurerelease
Issue type
feature
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
4
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
over 1 week
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
blocked
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
Linux packagingsystemd
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
15
Research direction
The issue requests official .deb and .rpm packages for StarRocks. There is an existing PR #68821 that may have progress. To contribute, review Debian and RPM packaging standards and examine how Apache Cassandra provides repositories. Focus on creating packaging scripts, systemd unit files, and LSB compliant paths. Since the issue is already assigned, newcomers should look for unassigned packaging tasks or contribute to the referenced PR.