To build a rpm as a user and not as a root you need to setup a similar directory structure as your system requires. Under Caldera the RPMs are built under /usr/src/OpenLinux. Under Redhat it's under /usr/src/redhat.

The above directories contain the following subdirectories

        ./RPMS
        ./RPMS/i386
        ./SOURCES
        ./SPECS
        ./SRPMS
        ./BUILD

First create a directory that will be your base RPM environment. I've set it up this way.

        mkdir /home/username/myrpms

Edit the file /home/username/.rpmmacros with your favorite editor to include the line

        %_topdir /home/username/myrpms

Thank to Tom Rothamel for this tip.

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