Default Behavior for Handling Modified Configuration Files During Package Updates

[BoBBer446]

Hello,

I have a question regarding the default behavior of our package management system when it comes to updating packages that include configuration files which have been manually edited by the user. For example, if I have made custom changes to the nginx.conf file for nginx, what happens to this file when the nginx package is updated through our package manager?

Could you please clarify:

• Does the package update process overwrite custom modifications in configuration files like nginx.conf?
• Are there any mechanisms in place (such as prompting the user or creating backup versions of the original configuration files) that help preserve these modifications?
• If the default behavior is to overwrite these files, is there a way to influence or change this behavior to ensure that custom modifications are preserved during an update?

I'm looking for insights on best practices for managing updates to packages with customized configuration files to avoid losing important customizations.

Thank you for your assistance.

[rjmateus]

That will depend on how the package was build and the configuration file defined. One possible behavior is add the new file from the package and nginx.conf.new.
How it behaves is defined at package build time. You have a look at: https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~jw35/docs/rpm_config.html