FreeBSD Porter's Handbook
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# Chapter 8 The `pkg-`*`` Files

There are some tricks we have not mentioned yet about the `pkg-`*`` files that come in handy sometimes.

# 8.1 `pkg-message`

If you need to display a message to the installer, you may place the message in `pkg-message`. This capability is often useful to display additional installation steps to be taken after a pkg_add(1) or to display licensing information.

When some lines about the build-time knobs or warnings have to be displayed, use `ECHO_MSG`. The `pkg-message` file is only for post-installation steps. Likewise, the distinction between `ECHO_MSG` and `ECHO_CMD` should be kept in mind. The former is for printing informational text to the screen, while the latter is for command pipelining.

A good example for both can be found in `shells/bash2/Makefile`:

    update-etc-shells:
    	@${ECHO_MSG} "updating /etc/shells"
    	@${CP} /etc/shells /etc/shells.bak
    	@( ${GREP} -v ${PREFIX}/bin/bash /etc/shells.bak; \
    		${ECHO_CMD} ${PREFIX}/bin/bash) >/etc/shells
    	@${RM} /etc/shells.bak

> Note: The `pkg-message` file does not need to be added to `pkg-plist`. Also, it will not get automatically printed if the user is using the port, not the package, so you should probably display it from the `post-install` target yourself.

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