srcprepare

Srcprepare is a term used in software development to denote the preparation stage applied to a source tree before building, packaging, or distribution. It is not a single standardized tool; rather, it can refer to a script, a make target, or a collection of conventions implemented by a project or packaging system. The exact behavior of srcprepare varies, but it typically aims to normalize the source tree to a consistent state.

Common responsibilities of a srcprepare step include applying patches, removing or renaming files, updating version information, enforcing licensing or copyright headers, adjusting line endings, and preparing metadata. It may also run autoreconf or other configuration tasks, generate documentation, or prune tests to streamline builds. The overarching goal is to produce a reproducible and build-ready source tree.

In practice, a srcprepare stage is invoked after source extraction and before configure or make. It can be implemented as a standalone script named srcprepare, as a designated make target, or as part of a packaging recipe. Implementations should be idempotent, so repeated invocations do not alter the result beyond the initial run. Some packaging workflows use a similar pre-build step under different names, reflecting that srcprepare is a conventional concept rather than a universal standard.

See also: build systems; source tarballs; patch management; reproducible builds; packaging guidelines.