Managing repositories

Copr automatically creates and maintains RPM repositories for your builds. This guide covers how to manage repositories and chroots for your projects.

Understanding Copr repositories

Each Copr project has one repository per enabled chroot. For example, a project with fedora-39-x86_64 and fedora-40-x86_64 chroots will have two separate repositories.

Repository structure

Repositories are organized as:

https://download.copr.fedorainfracloud.org/results/
  <owner>/
    <project>/
      <chroot>/
        *.rpm
        repodata/

For example:

https://download.copr.fedorainfracloud.org/results/
  @copr/
    copr-dev/
      fedora-39-x86_64/
      fedora-40-x86_64/

Managing chroots

Enabling chroots

Enable chroots when creating a project:

copr-cli create my-project \
  --chroot fedora-39-x86_64 \
  --chroot fedora-40-x86_64 \
  --chroot fedora-rawhide-x86_64

Or add chroots to an existing project:

copr-cli modify my-project \
  --chroot fedora-41-x86_64

Available chroots

View all available chroots:

copr-cli list-chroots

Common chroots include:

Fedora: fedora-{39,40,41,rawhide}-{x86_64,aarch64,ppc64le,s390x}
EPEL: epel-{7,8,9}-{x86_64,aarch64,ppc64le,s390x}
CentOS Stream: centos-stream-{8,9,10}-{x86_64,aarch64,ppc64le,s390x}
openSUSE: opensuse-leap-{15.5,15.6}-x86_64, opensuse-tumbleweed-x86_64

Per-chroot configuration

Each chroot can have custom settings that override project-level defaults.

Web UI
CLI

Navigate to project settings

Go to your project page and click the “Settings” tab.

Find the chroot

Scroll to the “Chroots” section and find the chroot you want to configure.

Click Edit

Click the “Edit” button next to the chroot name.

Configure settings

Modify chroot-specific settings like packages, modules, or repositories.

copr-cli edit-chroot my-project/fedora-39-x86_64 \
  --packages "extra-package" \
  --repos "https://example.com/repo/"

Chroot-specific options

Additional packages Install extra packages in the buildroot:

copr-cli edit-chroot my-project/fedora-39-x86_64 \
  --packages "cmake ninja-build"

Additional repositories Enable extra repositories during builds:

copr-cli edit-chroot my-project/fedora-39-x86_64 \
  --repos "https://example.com/repo/"

Module enable/disable Enable or disable modules in the buildroot:

copr-cli edit-chroot my-project/fedora-39-x86_64 \
  --module-toggle "nodejs:18, postgresql:15"

Format: module_name:stream. Disable a module with -module_name:stream. Bootstrap configuration Override project-level bootstrap settings:

copr-cli edit-chroot my-project/fedora-39-x86_64 \
  --bootstrap image

Options: default, on, off, image, custom_image, unchanged Isolation method Override isolation settings:

copr-cli edit-chroot my-project/fedora-39-x86_64 \
  --isolation nspawn

Options: default, nspawn, simple, unchanged

Automatic repository creation

By default, Copr automatically updates repository metadata after each successful build. This makes new packages immediately available to users.

How it works

Build completes successfully
RPMs are added to the repository directory
createrepo_c runs to update metadata
Repository is immediately available to users

Manual repository creation

For large projects with many packages (like KDE or GNOME stacks), you may want to control when repository metadata is published.

Enabling manual mode

copr-cli create my-project \
  --chroot fedora-rawhide-x86_64 \
  --disable-createrepo on

Or for existing projects:

copr-cli modify my-project --disable-createrepo on

In the API, this feature is called devel_mode. In the web UI, it’s the “Create repositories manually” checkbox.

How manual mode works

Build completes successfully
RPMs are added to an internal devel/repodata directory
This development repository is enabled for subsequent builds but not visible to users
You manually regenerate repositories when ready to publish

Regenerating repositories

Web UI
CLI

Click the “Regenerate Repositories” button on your project overview page.

copr-cli regenerate-repos my-project

This atomically moves your repository from one consistent state to another.

Use cases for manual mode

Large software stacks: Build hundreds of packages, then publish them all at once
Coordinated releases: Ensure all packages are built before users can install them
Testing: Test the development repository before making it public
Atomic updates: Prevent users from seeing partially-updated package sets

Builds in devel/repodata can see each other as dependencies, but users cannot install them until you regenerate repositories.

Repository metadata

AppStream metadata

AppStream metadata enables software centers to display your applications.

copr-cli modify my-project --appstream on

Generating AppStream metadata slows down builds in large projects. Disable it if you don’t need it.

GPG signing

All packages in Copr repositories are automatically signed with the Copr signing key. The GPG key is included in the repository configuration file and is automatically imported when users enable your repository.

Multilib repositories

Multilib allows users on 64-bit systems to install 32-bit packages.

Enabling multilib

copr-cli create my-project \
  --chroot fedora-39-x86_64 \
  --chroot fedora-39-i386 \
  --multilib on

How multilib works

Enable both 64-bit and 32-bit chroots (e.g., fedora-39-x86_64 and fedora-39-i386)
Set --multilib on
Users get special multilib-enabled repository files
Both 32-bit and 64-bit packages are available concurrently

Multilib repository file example

[copr:copr.fedorainfracloud.org:user:project]
name=Copr repo for project owned by user
baseurl=http://copr-be.cloud.fedoraproject.org/results/user/project/fedora-$releasever-$basearch/
type=rpm-md
skip_if_unavailable=True
gpgcheck=1
gpgkey=https://download.copr.fedorainfracloud.org/results/user/project/pubkey.gpg
repo_gpgcheck=0
enabled=1
enabled_metadata=1

[copr:copr.fedorainfracloud.org:user:project:ml]
name=Copr repo for project owned by user (i386)
baseurl=http://copr-be.cloud.fedoraproject.org/results/user/project/fedora-$releasever-i386/
type=rpm-md
skip_if_unavailable=True
gpgcheck=1
gpgkey=https://download.copr.fedorainfracloud.org/results/user/project/pubkey.gpg
repo_gpgcheck=0
enabled=1
enabled_metadata=1
cost=1100

Module repositories

Copr supports Fedora Modularity features.

Module hotfixes

Allow non-module packages to override module packages:

copr-cli modify my-project --module-hotfixes on

This sets module_hotfixes=1 in repository files.

Building modules

See the modularity documentation for details on building module streams.

Repository priority

Set repository priority to control package preference:

copr-cli modify my-project --repo-priority 50

Lower numbers have higher priority. This is useful when you want your packages to take precedence over distribution packages.

It’s recommended to bump the release number instead of relying on repository priority.

Subprojects (CoprDirs)

Create isolated sub-repositories within a single project.

Creating subprojects

Subprojects are created automatically when you submit builds to them:

copr-cli build my-project:custom:feature-x package.src.rpm
copr-cli build my-project:pr:123 package.src.rpm

Subproject naming

Subproject names must follow this format:

Start with the project name
Followed by :custom: or :pr:
Followed by a suffix

Examples:

my-project:custom:testing
my-project:custom:staging
my-project:pr:42

Subproject isolation

Subproject builds can see packages from:
- Their own subproject repository
- The main project repository
Subproject builds cannot see packages from other subprojects
:pr: subprojects are automatically deleted after 40 days of inactivity

Enabling subprojects

dnf copr enable user/my-project:custom:testing

Custom repositories in buildroot

Add external repositories to be available during builds.

Project-level repositories

copr-cli modify my-project \
  --repo "https://example.com/repo/" \
  --repo "copr://user/another-project"

Chroot-level repositories

copr-cli edit-chroot my-project/fedora-39-x86_64 \
  --repos "https://example.com/repo/"

Repository URL formats

HTTP/HTTPS URLs

https://example.com/repo/

Copr repositories

copr://user/project
copr://@group/project

Repository caching

Fedora Copr uses AWS CDN to distribute repositories globally. This can cause caching issues.

Caching behavior

Repository metadata may be cached for several minutes
Directory listings may show outdated contents
DNF/YUM always gets the latest metadata
Web browsers may show stale directory listings

Viewing non-cached content

Access the non-cached backend directly:

http://copr-be.cloud.fedoraproject.org/results/

Caching doesn’t affect package manager behavior - only web browser directory listings.

Repository access

Public repositories

All Copr repositories are publicly accessible by default. Anyone can:

View the project page
Enable the repository
Install packages

Unlisted projects

Hide your project from the homepage:

copr-cli modify my-project --unlisted-on-hp on

The project is still public and accessible via direct URL, but doesn’t appear in searches or the homepage.

Deleting repositories

Deleting a project removes all its repositories and builds.

copr-cli delete my-project

This action is irreversible unless the project is marked as persistent.

Persistent projects

Protect projects from deletion:

copr-cli create my-project --persistent on

Persistent projects and their builds cannot be deleted by any means. This option cannot be changed after creation.

Get Started

User Guide

CLI Tool

Advanced

​Understanding Copr repositories

​Repository structure

​Managing chroots

​Enabling chroots

​Available chroots

​Per-chroot configuration

​Chroot-specific options

​Automatic repository creation

​How it works

​Manual repository creation

​Enabling manual mode

​How manual mode works

​Regenerating repositories

​Use cases for manual mode

​Repository metadata

​AppStream metadata

​GPG signing

​Multilib repositories

​Enabling multilib

​How multilib works

​Multilib repository file example

​Module repositories

​Module hotfixes

​Building modules

​Repository priority

​Subprojects (CoprDirs)

​Creating subprojects

​Subproject naming

​Subproject isolation

​Enabling subprojects

​Custom repositories in buildroot

​Project-level repositories

​Chroot-level repositories

​Repository URL formats

​Repository caching

​Caching behavior

​Viewing non-cached content

​Repository access

​Public repositories

​Unlisted projects

​Deleting repositories

​Persistent projects

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Understanding Copr repositories

Repository structure

Managing chroots

Enabling chroots

Available chroots

Per-chroot configuration

Chroot-specific options

Automatic repository creation

How it works

Manual repository creation

Enabling manual mode

How manual mode works

Regenerating repositories

Use cases for manual mode

Repository metadata

AppStream metadata

GPG signing

Multilib repositories

Enabling multilib

How multilib works

Multilib repository file example

Module repositories

Module hotfixes

Building modules

Repository priority

Subprojects (CoprDirs)

Creating subprojects

Subproject naming

Subproject isolation

Enabling subprojects

Custom repositories in buildroot

Project-level repositories

Chroot-level repositories

Repository URL formats

Repository caching

Caching behavior

Viewing non-cached content

Repository access

Public repositories

Unlisted projects

Deleting repositories

Persistent projects