RPM automatically handles package verification, checking to see that the proper files are installed, and testing the files themselves for the proper size and other attributes. You may need to do more in your package, though, to ensure everything is properly set up. With RPM, you can:

*Control the tests used to verify each file, as described in Chapter 9, Working with Spec Files

*Create a verify script that performs other tests

If you need to perform some other test to verify your package, such as check that a configuration file has a particular setting (and that the setting is valid), you can fill in the %verifyscript in the spec file. The %verifyscript acts much like the %pre or %post scripts, except that the %verifyscript gets executed during package verification. Fill in a %verifyscript as follows:

%verifyscript

your script commands ....

Common %verifyscript actions are to check for an entry in a system configuration file, such as an init-time startup script or /etc/shells (which lists the available shells). These are files owned by other packages that may need to be properly modified for a package to be properly installed. If your package has a similar circumstance, write a %verifyscript. In your script, send all error output to stderr.

Cross Reference

See Chapter 4, Using the RPM Database for more on package verification.