pacdef

multi-backend declarative package manager for Linux

Installation

pacdef is available in the AUR as stable release or development version, and on crates.io.

The AUR package will also provide completions for zsh. If you use the crates.io version you can use pacdef completion to generate the completion file yourself -- you would then need to copy it to the right directory.

Use-case

pacdef allows the user to have consistent packages among multiple Linux machines and different backends by managing packages in group files. The idea is that (1) any package in the group files ("managed packages") will be installed explicitly, and (2) explicitly installed packages not found in any of the group files ("unmanaged packages") will be removed. The group files are maintained outside of pacdef by any VCS, like git.

If you work with multiple Linux machines and have asked yourself "Why do I have the program that I use every day on my other machine not installed here?", then pacdef is the tool for you.

Of groups, sections, and packages

pacdef manages multiple package groups (group files) that, e.g., may be tied to a specific use-case. Each group has one or more section(s) which correspond to a specific backend, like your system's package manager (pacman, apt, ...), or your programming languages package manger (cargo, pip, ...). Each section contains one or more packages that can be installed respective package manager.

Example

Let's assume you have the following group files.

base:

[arch]
paru
zsh

[rust]
pacdef
topgrade

development:

[arch]
rustup
rust-analyzer

[rust]
cargo-tree
flamegraph

Pacdef will make sure you have the following packages installed for each package manager:

• Arch (pacman, AUR helpers): paru, zsh, rustup, rust-analyzer
• Rust (cargo): pacdef, topgrade, cargo-tree, flamegraph

Note that the name of the section corresponds to the ecosystem it relates to, rather than the package manager it uses.

Supported backends

At the moment, supported backends are limited to the following.

Package Manager	Section	Application	Notes
pacman	[arch]	Arch Linux	includes pacman-wrapping AUR helpers (configurable)
cargo	[rust]	Rust

Pull requests for additional backends are welcome!

Example

This tree shows my pacdef repository (not the pacdef config dir).

.
├── generic
│   ├── audio
│   ├── base
│   ├── desktop
│   ├── private
│   ├── rust
│   ├── wayland
│   ├── wireless
│   ├── work
│   └── xorg
├── hosts
│   ├── hostname_a
│   ├── hostname_b
│   └── hostname_c
└── pacdef.conf

• The base group holds all packages I need unconditionally, and includes things like zfs, paru and neovim.
• In xorg and wayland I have stored the respective graphic servers and DEs.
• wireless contains tools like iwd and bluez-utils for machines with wireless interfaces.
• Under hosts I have one file for each machine I use. The filenames match the corresponding hostname. The packages are specific to one machine only, like device drivers, or any programs I use exclusively on that machine.

Usage on different machines:

• home server: base private hostname_a
• private PC: audio base desktop private rust wayland hostname_b
• work PC: base desktop rust work xorg hostname_c

Commands

Subcommand	Description
group import [<group>...]	import one or more groups, which creates managed packages
group remove [<group>...]	remove a previously imported group
group new [-e] [<group>...]	create new groups, use -e to edit them immediately after creation
group show [<group>...]	show contents of a group
group list	list names of all groups
package sync	install managed packages
package unmanaged	show all unmanaged packages
package clean	remove all unmanaged packages
package review	for each unmanaged package interactively decide what to do
package search <regex>	search for managed packages that match the search string
completion	generate completion file for zsh
version	show version information

Configuration

On first execution, it will create a basic config file under $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/pacdef/pacdef.yaml.

aur_helper: paru  # AUR helper to use on Arch Linux (paru, yay, ...)
aur_rm_args: null  # additional args to pass to AUR helper when removing packages (optional)
warn_not_symlinks: true  # warn if a group file is not a symlink

Group file syntax

Group files loosely follow the syntax for ini-files.

1. Sections begin by their name in brackets.
2. One package per line.
3. Anything after a # is ignored.
4. Empty lines are ignored.
5. If a package exists in multiple repositories, the repo can be specified as prefix followed by a forward slash. The package manager must understand this notation.

Example:

[arch]
alacritty
firefox  # this comment is ignored
libreoffice-fresh
mycustomrepo/zsh-theme-powerlevel10k

[rust]
cargo-update
topgrade

Naming

pacdef combines the words "package" and "define".

supported rust version

latest stable