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+# netdata contrib
+
+## Building .deb packages
+
+The `contrib/debian/` directory contains basic rules to build a
+Debian package.  It has been tested on Debian Jessie and Wheezy,
+but should work, possibly with minor changes, if you have other
+dpkg-based systems such as Ubuntu or Mint.
+
+To build netdata for a Debian Jessie system, the debian directory
+has to be available in the root of the netdata source. The easiest
+way to do this is with a symlink:
+
+    ~/netdata$ ln -s contrib/debian
+
+Then build the debian package:
+
+    ~/netdata$ dpkg-buildpackage -us -uc -rfakeroot
+
+This should give a package that can be installed in the parent
+directory, which you can install manually with dpkg.
+
+    ~/netdata$ ls ../*.deb
+    ../netdata_1.0.0_amd64.deb
+    ~/netdata$ sudo dpkg -i ../netdata_1.0.0_amd64.deb
+
+
+### Building for a Debian system without systemd
+
+The included packaging is designed for modern Debian systems that
+are based on systemd. To build non-systemd packages (for example,
+for Debian wheezy), you will need to make a couple of minor
+updates first.
+
+* edit `contrib/debian/rules` and adjust the `dh` rule near the
+  top to remove systemd (see comments in that file).
+
+* edit `contrib/debian/control`: remove `dh-systemd` from the
+  Build-Depends list, and add `pkg-config` to it.
+
+Then proceed as the main instructions above.
+
+### Reinstalling netdata
+
+The recommended way to upgrade netdata packages built from this
+source is to remove the current package from your system, then
+install the new package. Upgrading on wheezy is known to not
+work cleanly; Jessie may behave as expected.
+