PACMAN(8) PACMAN(8)

Pacman Manual

NAME pacman - package manager utility SYNOPSIS pacman <operation> [options] [targets] DESCRIPTION Pacman is a package management utility that tracks installed packages on a Linux system. It features dependency support, package groups, install and uninstall hooks, and the ability to sync your local machine with a remote ftp server to automatically upgrade packages. Pacman packages are a zipped ta r format. Since version 3.0.0, pacman has been the frontend to libalpm(3), the Arch Linux Package Management library. This library allows alternative front ends to be written (for instance, a GUI front end). Invoking pacman involves specifying an operation with any potential optio ns and targets to operate on. A target is usually a package name, filename, URL, or a search string. Targets can be provided as command line arguments. Additionally, if stdin is not from a terminal and a single dash (-) is pa ssed as an argument, targets will be read from stdin. OPERATIONS -D, --database Modify the package database. This operation allows you to modify cert ain attributes of the installed packages in pacmans database. At the moment, you can only change the install reaso n using --asdeps and --asexplicit options. -Q, --query Query the package database. This operation allows you to view install ed packages and their files, as well as meta-information about individual packages (dependencies, conflicts, install date, build date, size). This can be run against the local package database or can be used on individua l .tar.gz packages. In the first case, if no package names are provided in the command line, all installed pack ages will be queried. Additionally, various filters can be applied on the package list. See Query Options below. -R, --remove Remove package(s) from the system. Groups can also be specified to be removed, in which case every package in that group will be removed. Files belonging to the specified package will be deleted, and the database will be updated. Most configuration files will be saved with a .pacsave exten sion unless the --nosave option is used. See Remove Options below.

-S, --sync Synchronize packages. Packages are installed directly from the ftp se rvers, including all dependencies required to run the packages. For example, pacman -S qt will download and inst all qt and all the packages it depends on. If a package name exists in more than one repo, the repo can be expli citly specified to clarify the package to install: pacman -S testing/qt. You can also specify version requireme nts: pacman -S "bash>=3.2". (Quotes are needed, otherwise your shell interprets ">" as redirection to file.) In addition to packages, groups can be specified as well. For example , if gnome is a defined package group, then pacman -S gnome will provide a prompt allowing you to select which pa ckages to install from a numbered list. The package selection is specified using a space and/or comma separated l ist of package numbers. Sequential packages may be selected by specifying the first and last package numbers sepa rated by a hyphen (-). Excluding packages is achieved by prefixing a number or range of numbers with a caret (^ ). Packages that provide other packages are also handled. For example, p acman -S foo will first look for a foo package. If foo is not found, packages that provide the same function ality as foo will be searched for. If any package is found, it will be installed. A selection prompt is provide d if multiple packages providing foo are found. You can also use pacman -Su to upgrade all packages that are out of d ate. See Sync Options below. When upgrading, pacman performs version comparison to determine which pack ages need upgrading. This behavior operates as follows: Alphanumeric: 1.0a < 1.0b < 1.0beta < 1.0p < 1.0pre < 1.0rc < 1.0 < 1.0.a < 1 .0.1 Numeric: 1 < 1.0 < 1.1 < 1.1.1 < 1.2 < 2.0 < 3.0.0 Additionally, version strings can have an epoch value defined that wi ll overrule any version comparison (unless the epoch values are equal). This is specified in an epoch:version-re l format. For example, 2:1.0-1 is always greater than 1:3.6-1. -T, --deptest Check dependencies; this is useful in scripts such as makepkg to chec k installed packages. This operation will check each dependency specified and return a list of dependencies tha t are not currently satisfied on the system. This operation accepts no other options. Example usage: pacma n -T qt "bash>=3.2". -U, --upgrade Upgrade or add package(s) to the system and install the required depe ndencies from sync repos. Either a URL or file path can be specified. This is a remove-then-add process. See Upgr

ade Options below; also see Handling Config Files for an explanation on how pacman takes care of config fi les. -V, --version Display version and exit. -h, --help Display syntax for the given operation. If no operation was supplied then the general syntax is shown. OPTIONS -b, --dbpath <path> Specify an alternative database location (a typical default is /var/l ib/pacman). This should not be used unless you know what you are doing. NOTE: if specified, this is an absolute path and the root path is not automatically prepended. -r, --root <path> Specify an alternative installation root (default is /). This should not be used as a way to install software into /usr/local instead of /usr. This option is used if you want to i nstall a package on a temporary mounted partition that is "owned" by another system. NOTE: if database path or logfile are not specified on either the command line or in pacman.conf(5), their default location will be ins ide this root path. -v, --verbose Output paths such as as the Root, Conf File, DB Path, Cache Dirs, etc . --arch <arch> Specify an alternate architecture. --cachedir <dir> Specify an alternative package cache location (a typical default is / var/cache/pacman/pkg). Multiple cache directories can be specified, and they are tried in the order they ar e passed to pacman. NOTE: this is an absolute path, the root path is not automatically prepended. --color <when> Specify when to enable coloring, can be always, never or auto. Always forces colours on, never forces colours off, and auto only automatically enables colours when outputting onto a tty. --config <file> Specify an alternate configuration file. --debug Display debug messages. When reporting bugs, this option is recommend ed to be used. --gpgdir <dir> Specify a directory of files used by GnuPG to verify package signatur es (a typical default is /etc/pacman.d/gnupg). This directory should contain two files: pubrin

g.gpg and trustdb.gpg. pubring.gpg holds the public keys of all packagers. trustdb.gpg contains a so-called t rust database, which specifies that the keys are authentic and trusted. NOTE: this is an absolute path, the root path is not automatically prepended. --logfile <file> Specify an alternate log file. This is an absolute path, regardless o f the installation root setting. --noconfirm Bypass any and all Are you sure? messages. Its not a good idea to do thi s unless you want to run pacman from a script. TRANSACTION OPTIONS (APPLY TO -S, -R AND -U) -d, --nodeps Skips dependency version checks. Package names are still checked. Nor mally, pacman will always check a packages dependency fields to ensure that all dependencies are installed and t here are no package conflicts in the system. Specify this option twice to skip all dependency checks. --dbonly Adds/Removes the database entry only, leaves all files in place. --noprogressbar Do not show a progress bar when downloading files. This can be useful for scripts that call pacman and capture the output. --noscriptlet If an install scriptlet exists, do not execute it. Do not use this un less you know what you are doing. -p, --print Only print the targets instead of performing the actual operation (sy nc, remove or upgrade). Use --print-format to specify how targets are displayed. The default format string is "% l", which displays URLs with -S, filenames with -U and pkgname-pkgver with -R. --print-format <format> Specify a printf-like format to control the output of the --print ope ration. The possible attributes are: %n for pkgname, %v for pkgver, %l for location, %r for repo and %s for size. UPGRADE OPTIONS (APPLY TO -S AND -U) --force Bypass file conflict checks and overwrite conflicting files. If the p ackage that is about to be installed contains files that are already installed, this option will cause all those files to be overwritten. Using --force will not allow overwriting a directory with a file or install ing packages with conflicting files and directories. This option should be used with care, ideally not at all . --asdeps Install packages non-explicitly; in other words, fake their install r

eason to be installed as a dependency. This is useful for makepkg and other build from source tools that need to install dependencies before building the package. --asexplicit Install packages explicitly; in other words, fake their install reaso n to be explicitly installed. This is useful if you want to mark a dependency as explicitly installed so it will not be removed by the --recursive remove operation. --ignore <package> Directs pacman to ignore upgrades of package even if there is one ava ilable. Multiple packages can be specified by separating them with a comma. --ignoregroup <group> Directs pacman to ignore upgrades of all packages in group even if th ere is one available. Multiple groups can be specified by separating them with a comma. --needed Do not reinstall the targets that are already up to date. QUERY OPTIONS -c, --changelog View the ChangeLog of a package if it exists. -d, --deps Restrict or filter output to packages installed as dependencies. This option can be combined with -t for listing real orphans - packages that were installed as dependencies but are n o longer required by any installed package. -e, --explicit Restrict or filter output to explicitly installed packages. This opti on can be combined with -t to list explicitly installed packages that are not required by any other pack age. -g, --groups Display all packages that are members of a named group. If a name is not specified, list all grouped packages. -i, --info Display information on a given package. The -p option can be used if querying a package file instead of the local database. Passing two --info or -i flags will also display the list of backup files and their modification states. -k --check Check that all files owned by the given package(s) are present on the system. If packages are not specified or filter flags are not provided, check all installed packages. Specifyi ng this option twice will perform more detailed file checking (including permissions, file sizes and modific ation times) for packages that contain the needed mtree file.

-l, --list List all files owned by a given package. Multiple packages can be spe cified on the command line. -m, --foreign Restrict or filter output to packages that were not found in the sync database(s). Typically these are packages that were downloaded manually and installed with --upgrade. -n, --native Restrict or filter output to packages that are found in the sync data base(s). This is the inverse filter of --foreign. -o, --owns <file> Search for packages that own the specified file(s). The path can be r elative or absolute and one or more files can be specified. -p, --file Signifies that the package supplied on the command line is a file and not an entry in the database. The file will be decompressed and queried. This is useful in combination with --info and --list. -q, --quiet Show less information for certain query operations. (This is useful w hen pacmans output is processed in a script.) Search will only show package names and not version, group, and description information; owns will only show package names instead of "file is owned by pkg" messages; group will only show package names and omit group names; list will only show files and omit package names; check will o nly show pairs of package names and missing files; a bare query will only show package names rather than names an d versions. -s, --search <regexp> Search each locally-installed package for names or descriptions that match regexp. When including multiple search terms, only packages with descriptions matching ALL of those t erms are returned. -t, --unrequired Restrict or filter output to packages not required by any currently i nstalled package. -u, --upgrades Restrict or filter output to packages that are out of date on the loc al system. (Only package versions are used to find outdated packages, replacements are not checked here.) This o ption works best if the sync database is refreshed using -Sy. REMOVE OPTIONS -c, --cascade Remove all target packages, as well as all packages that depend on on e or more target packages. This operation is recursive, and must be used with care since it can remove many pot

entially needed packages. -n, --nosave Instructs pacman to ignore file backup designations. Normally, when a file is removed from the system the database is checked to see if the file should be renamed with a .pacs ave extension. -s, --recursive Remove each target specified including all of their dependencies, pro vided that (A) they are not required by other packages; and (B) they were not explicitly installed by the use r. This operation is recursive and analogous to a backwards --sync operation, and helps keep a clean sys tem without orphans. If you want to omit condition (B), pass this option twice. -u, --unneeded Removes targets that are not required by any other packages. This is mostly useful when removing a group without using the -c option, to avoid breaking any dependencies. SYNC OPTIONS -c, --clean Remove packages that are no longer installed from the cache as well a s currently unused sync databases to free up disk space. When pacman downloads packages, it saves them in a cac he directory. In addition, databases are saved for every sync DB you download from, and are not deleted even i f they are removed from the configuration file pacman.conf(5). Use one --clean switch to only remove packages t hat are no longer installed; use two to remove all files from the cache. In both cases, you will have a yes o r no option to remove packages and/or unused downloaded databases. If you use a network shared cache, see the CleanMethod option in pacm an.conf(5). -g, --groups Display all the members for each package group specified. If no group names are provided, all groups will be listed; pass the flag twice to view all groups and their members. -i, --info Display information on a given sync database package. Passing two --i nfo or -i flags will also display those packages in all repositories that depend on this package. -l, --list List all packages in the specified repositories. Multiple repositorie s can be specified on the command line. -q, --quiet Show less information for certain sync operations. (This is useful wh en pacmans output is processed in a script.) Search will only show package names and not repo, version, g roup, and description information; list will only show package names and omit databases and versions; group w ill only show package names and omit group

names. -s, --search <regexp> This will search each package in the sync databases for names or desc riptions that match regexp. When you include multiple search terms, only packages with descriptions matchi ng ALL of those terms will be returned. -u, --sysupgrade Upgrades all packages that are out of date. Each currently-installed package will be examined and upgraded if a newer package exists. A report of all packages to upgrade will be pre sented and the operation will not proceed without user confirmation. Dependencies are automatically resolved at this level and will be installed/upgraded if necessary. Pass this option twice to enable package downgrade; in this case pacm an will select sync packages whose version does not match with the local version. This can be useful when the us er switches from a testing repo to a stable one. Additional targets can also be specified manually, so that -Su foo wi ll do a system upgrade and install/upgrade the foo package in the same operation. -w, --downloadonly Retrieve all packages from the server, but do not install/upgrade any thing. -y, --refresh Download a fresh copy of the master package list from the server(s) d efined in pacman.conf(5). This should typically be used each time you use --sysupgrade or -u. Passing two -refresh or -y flags will force a refresh of all package lists even if they appear to be up to date. HANDLING CONFIG FILES Pacman uses the same logic as rpm to determine action against files that are designated to be backed up. During an upgrade, 3 md5 hashes are used for each backup file to determine the requ ired action: one for the original file installed, one for the new file thats about to be installed, and one for t he actual file existing on the filesystem. After comparing these 3 hashes, the follow scenarios can resu lt: original=X, current=X, new=X All three files are the same, so overwrites are not an issue. Install the new file. original=X, current=X, new=Y The current file is the same as the original but the new one differs. Since the user did not ever modify the file, and the new one may contain improvements or bugfixes, install t he new file. original=X, current=Y, new=X Both package versions contain the exact same file, but the one on the

filesystem has been modified. Leave the current file in place. original=X, current=Y, new=Y The new file is identical to the current file. Install the new file. original=X, current=Y, new=Z All three files are different, so install the new file with a .pacnew extension and warn the user. The user must then manually merge any necessary changes into the original file. EXAMPLES pacman -Ss ne.hack Search for regexp "ne.hack" in package database. pacman -S gpm Download and install gpm including dependencies. pacman -U /home/user/ceofhack-0.6-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.gz Install ceofhack-0.6-1 package from a local file. pacman -Syu Update package list and upgrade all packages afterwards. pacman -Syu gpm Update package list, upgrade all packages, and then install gpm if it wasnt already installed. CONFIGURATION See pacman.conf(5) for more details on configuring pacman using the pacma n.conf file. SEE ALSO pacman.conf(5), makepkg(8), libalpm(3) See the pacman website at https://www.archlinux.org/pacman/ for current i nformation on pacman and its related tools. BUGS Bugs? You must be kidding, there are no bugs in this software. But if we happen to be wrong, send us an email with as much detail as possible to pacman-dev@archlinux.org. AUTHORS Current maintainers: Allan McRae <allan@archlinux.org> Dan McGee <dan@archlinux.org> Dave Reisner <dreisner@archlinux.org>

Past major contributors: Judd Vinet <jvinet@zeroflux.org> Aurelien Foret <aurelien@archlinux.org> Aaron Griffin <aaron@archlinux.org>

 tory.

Xavier Chantry <shiningxc@gmail.com> Nagy Gabor <ngaba@bibl.u-szeged.hu>

For additional contributors, use git shortlog -s on the pacman.git reposi

Pacman 4.1.0 PACMAN(8)

2013-04-01