Rpm --recompile

rpm --recompile — What Does it Do?

The --recompile option directs RPM to perform the following steps:

* Install the specified source package file.
* Unpack the original sources.
* Build the software.
* Install the software.
* Remove the software's build directory structure.

While you might think this sounds a great deal like an install of the source package file, followed by an rpm -bi, this is not entirely the case. Using --recompile, the only file required is the source package file. After the software is built and installed, the only thing left, other than the newly installed software, is the original source package file.

The --recompile option is normally used when a previously installed package needs to be recompiled. --recompile comes in handy when software needs to be compiled against a new version of the kernel.

Here's what RPM displays during a --recompile:

# rpm --recompile cdplayer-1.0-1.src.rpm
Installing cdplayer-1.0-1.src.rpm
* Package: cdplayer
Executing: %prep
…
+ exit 0
Executing: %build
…
+ exit 0
Executing: %install
…
+ exit 0
Executing: special doc
…
+ exit 0
Executing: sweep
…
+ exit 0
#

The very first line shows RPM installing the source package. After that are ordinary executions of the %prep, %build, and %install sections of the spec file. Finally, the cleanup of the software's build directory takes place, just as if the --clean option had been specified.

Since rpm -i or rpm -U are not being used to install the software, the RPM database is not updated during a --recompile. This means that doing a --recompile on an already-installed package may result in problems down the road, when RPM is used to upgrade or verify the package.

Source

I also just found out, SuSE seems to have disabled the --recompile option. The --rebuild will do almost the same thing.