wish: package /lib/systemd-cron/mail_on_failure separately

[Mark Stosberg]

I'd like to write my own systemd timers, but would like an easy way to send mail on failure. Splitting out /lib/systemd-cron/mail_on_failure would help with that.

Right now, installing systemd-cron on 16.04 causes ubuntu-standard and other things to be removed if I don't want, so installing systemd-cron just to get the `mail_on_failure` tool is not a good option

[Alexandre Detiste (alexandre-detiste)]

Hi,

I guess I'm the only one here reading your request, this should be better discussed at
<email address hidden> where the actual development for systemd in Debian/Ubuntu happens.

If there weren't the Python depedency, systemd maintainers would maybe accept to stuff
this script into Debian's systemd package (in debian/scripts/ in the git tree,
but it would then be installed in /lib/systemd/ in the resulting package)
so that it's always available for all jobs.

I don't see in anyway upstream accepting this kind of "legacy cruft" in their tree.

---------

Now you can just rip ou this single program for your convenienc without using the whole systemd-cron package.

https://github.com/systemd-cron/systemd-cron/blob/master/src/bin/mail_on_failure.py

It's pretty much "done", there's well one unicode bug related to it,
but I can't reproduce it.

https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=792777

I was also toying around with a C rewrite, but this is nowhere near ready:

https://github.com/systemd-cron/systemd-cron-c/blob/master/mail_on_failure.c

[Alexandre Detiste (alexandre-detiste)]

I checked, the extra's goes there: https://anonscm.debian.org/cgit/pkg-systemd/systemd.git/tree/debian/extra

[Mark Stosberg (markstos)]

Thanks for the prompt follow-ups. I contacted the recommended mailing list with my suggestion.

[Alexandre Detiste (alexandre-detiste)]

Hi,

this private helper has been renamed, rewrote & moved to /usr/libexec/ with absolutely no claim of API stableness.

please close this bug as WONTFIX

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

This bug was fixed in the package systemd-cron - 2.3.0-2

---------------
systemd-cron (2.3.0-2) unstable; urgency=medium

  * Misc. administrative tasks to clean up tracker:
    * Salsa VCS: git repository was moved to systemd team.
    * Update my email address to @debian.org one.
    * Close old Ubuntu bugs:
      * (LP: #1685364) not reproducible
      * (LP: #1583743) WONTFIX, this is a private API in /usr/libexec

 -- Alexandre Detiste <email address hidden> Wed, 29 Nov 2023 12:44:45 +0100