So I’ve always wondered what the process is to get a package into Ubuntu so I finally decided to sit down and attempt it myself. Here are the steps I used to setup my system:

1. Install packaging tools

$ sudo apt-get install devscripts build-essential fakeroot debhelper gnupg pbuilder dh-make

2. Setup environment variables

• Go to home directory ($ cd ~)
• Edit .bashrc file ($ gedit .bashrc)
• Add the following to the end of the file
  • export DEBFULLNAME=”John Doe”
  • export DEBEMAIL=”johndoe@myemail.com”
• Restart shell ($ source .bashrc)

3. Generate PGP key

• Type the following at the prompt: $ gpg –gen-key
• Follow instructions, entering in your real name and email address
• Use a safe (longish) pass phrase e.g. “sailor sam loves his rum”
• Once it gets to the point of requiring entropy, leave it to run in the background and proceed to the next step

4. Setup pbuilder

• Go to home directory ($ cd ~)
• Edit .pbuilderrc file ($ gedit .pbuilderrc). You may have to create it if it doesn’t exist
• Add the following line to the file
  • COMPONENTS=”main restricted universe multiverse”
• Run the following command: $ sudo pbuilder create

(Source)

For more update information, you might want to try the Getting Started Guide on the Ubuntu wiki