Install shell completions with cmake #34714

1. 
   kpcyrd commented at 6:05 pm on March 2, 2026: none

   Please describe the feature you’d like to see added.

   When building a package, I currently have the following code to include shell completions for the relevant components:

    0for tool in bitcoin bitcoin-tx bitcoin-util bitcoin-wallet bitcoin-chainstate libbitcoinkernel
    1do
    2  DESTDIR="$pkgdir" cmake --install build --component "$tool"
    3
    4  # shell completions
    5  if [ -f "contrib/completions/bash/$tool.bash" ]; then
    6    install -Dm644 "contrib/completions/bash/$tool.bash" \
    7      "$pkgdir/usr/share/bash-completion/completions/$tool"
    8  fi
    9  if [ -f "contrib/completions/fish/$tool.fish" ]; then
   10    install -Dm644 contrib/completions/fish/$tool.fish \
   11      -t "$pkgdir/usr/share/fish/vendor_completions.d/"
   12  fi
   13done
   

   Is your feature related to a problem, if so please describe it.

   No response

   Describe the solution you’d like

   I’m wondering if there could be a way to include the shell completions in cmake --install, so running DESTDIR="$pkgdir" cmake --install build --component bitcoin-tx would copy shell completions to DESTDIR, if any are available.

   Describe any alternatives you’ve considered

   Keeping the current code as-is. :)

   Please leave any additional context

   No response

2. kpcyrd added the label Feature on Mar 2, 2026
3. maflcko added the label Build system on Mar 3, 2026
4. 
   hebasto commented at 11:13 am on March 3, 2026: member

   cc @purpleKarrot
5. 
   willcl-ark commented at 11:20 am on March 3, 2026: member

   Thank you for your work packaging bitcoind on Arch @kpcyrd :)

   IMO this seems like a perfectly reasonable request. I’d be happy to fix it.

   I’ll wait to see what @purpleKarrot thinks first, but the change itself is simple.

6. 
   purpleKarrot commented at 11:46 am on March 3, 2026: contributor

   Go for it @willcl-ark! I agree that shell completions should be installed together with each tool.

   We may want to rethink the 1:1 relationship of tool and component. Usually, you have components like “runtime”, “development”, and “data” where “runtime” contains binaries and .so files, “development” contains headers and soname links, “data” contains documentation, config files, shell completions, etc (all architecture independent files).

   Packagers may then decide how to organize components into sub-packages. Arch usually packages everything together, other distros provide packages on a finer granularity.

   We should make sure that @kpcyrd can execute:

   0cmake --install build --prefix $pkgdir
   

   And that should install all files to their expected location.

   I use Arch btw

7. 
   willcl-ark commented at 2:33 pm on March 3, 2026: member

   Opened #34721 to address this.

Contributors
kpcyrd hebasto willcl-ark purpleKarrot

Labels
Feature Build system