path: root/doc/pacman.8.txt

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pacman(8)
=========

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 tar format.

Since version 3.0.0, pacman has been the frontend to linkman: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 options 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 a single dash (-) is passed as an argument, targets will be
read from stdin.


Operations
----------
*-D, \--database*::
	Modify the package database. This operation allows you to modify certain
	attributes of the installed packages in pacman's database. At the
	moment, you can only change the install reason using '\--asdeps' and
	'\--asexplicit' options.

*-Q, \--query*::
	Query the package database. This operation allows you to view installed
	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
	individual '.tar.gz' packages. In the first case, if no package names
	are provided in the command line, all installed packages will be
	queried. Additionally, various filters can be applied on the package
	list. See <<QO,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' extension unless the '\--nosave' option is used.
	See <<RO,Remove Options>> below.

*-S, \--sync*::
	Synchronize packages. Packages are installed directly from the ftp
	servers, including all dependencies required to run the packages. For
	example, `pacman -S qt` will download and install qt and all the
	packages it depends on. If a package name exists in more than one repo, the
	repo can be explicitly specified to clarify the package to install:
	`pacman -S testing/qt`. You can also specify version requirements:
	`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 install every
package in the gnome group, as well as the dependencies of those packages.
+
Packages which provide other packages are also handled. For example, `pacman -S
foo` will first look for a foo package. If foo is not found, packages which
provide the same functionality as foo will be searched for. If any package is
found, it will be installed.
+
You can also use `pacman -Su` to upgrade all packages that are out of date. See
<<SO,Sync Options>> below. When upgrading, pacman performs version comparison
to determine which packages need upgrading. This behavior operates as follows:

  Alphanumeric:
    1.0a < 1.0alpha < 1.0b < 1.0beta < 1.0p < 1.0pre < 1.0rc < 1.0
  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 will
overrule any version comparison (unless the epoch values are equal). This is
specified in an `epoch:version-rel` 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 check
	installed packages. This operation will check each dependency specified and
	return a list of those which are not currently satisfied on the system.
	This operation accepts no other options. Example usage: `pacman -T qt
	"bash>=3.2"`.

*-U, \--upgrade*::
	Upgrade or add package(s) to the system and install the required
	dependencies from sync repos. Either a URL or file path can be
	specified. This is a ``remove-then-add'' process. See <<UO,Upgrade
	Options>> below; also see <<HCF,Handling Config Files>> for an explanation
	on how pacman takes care of config files.

*-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
	`{localstatedir}/lib/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 install a package on a
	temporary mounted partition which is "owned" by another system.
	*NOTE*: if database path or logfile are not specified on either the
	command line or in linkman:pacman.conf[5], their default location will
	be inside 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
	`{localstatedir}/cache/pacman/pkg`). Multiple cache directories can be specified,
	and they are tried in the order they are passed to pacman. *NOTE*: this
	is an absolute path, the root path is not automatically prepended.

*\--config* <file>::
	Specify an alternate configuration file.

*\--debug*::
	Display debug messages. When reporting bugs, this option is recommended
	to be used.

*\--logfile* <file>::
	Specify an alternate log file. This is an absolute path, regardless of
	the installation root setting.

*\--noconfirm*::
	Bypass any and all ``Are you sure?'' messages. It's not a good idea to do
	this 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. Normally,
	pacman will always check a package's dependency fields to ensure that all
	dependencies are installed and there are no package conflicts in the
	system. Specify this option twice to skip all dependency checks.

*-k, \--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
	unless you know what you are doing.

*-p, \--print*::
	Only print the targets instead of performing the actual operation (sync,
	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'
	operation. 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')[[UO]]
--------------------------------------------
*-f, \--force*::
	Bypass file conflict checks and overwrite conflicting files. If the
	package that is about to be installed contains files that are already
	installed, this option will cause all those files to be overwritten.
	This option should be used with care, ideally not at all.

*\--asdeps*::
	Install packages non-explicitly; in other words, fake their install reason
	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 reason 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
	available. 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
	there is one available. Multiple groups can be specified by
	separating them with a comma.

Query Options[[QO]]
-------------------
*-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 no longer required by any
	installed package.

*-e, \--explicit*::
	Restrict or filter output to explicitly installed packages. This option
	can be combined with '-t' to list explicitly installed packages which
	are not required by any other package.

*-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.

*-l, \--list*::
	List all files owned by a given package. Multiple packages can be
	specified 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'.

*-o, \--owns* <file>::
	Search for packages that own the specified file(s). The path can be
	relative 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 when
	pacman's 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 only show pairs of package names
	and missing files; a bare query will only show package names
	rather than names and 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 terms are returned.

*-t, \--unrequired*::
	Restrict or filter output to packages not required by any currently
	installed package.

*-u, \--upgrades*::
	Restrict or filter output to packages that are out of date on the local
	system. (Only package versions are used to find outdated packages,
	replacements are not checked here.) This option works best if the sync
	database is refreshed using '-Sy'.


Remove Options[[RO]]
--------------------
*-c, \--cascade*::
	Remove all target packages, as well as all packages that depend on one
	or more target packages. This operation is recursive, and must be used
	with care since it can remove many potentially 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 '.pacsave' extension.

*-s, \--recursive*::
	Remove each target specified including all of their dependencies, provided
	that (A) they are not required by other packages; and (B) they were not
	explicitly installed by the user. This operation is recursive and analogous
	to a backwards '\--sync' operation, and helps keep a clean system 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[[SO]]
------------------
*-c, \--clean*::
	Remove packages that are no longer installed from the cache as well as
	currently unused sync databases to free up disk space. When pacman
	downloads packages, it saves them in a cache directory. In addition,
	databases are saved for every sync DB you download from, and are not
	deleted even if they are removed from the configuration file
	linkman:pacman.conf[5]. Use one '\--clean' switch to only remove
	packages that are no longer installed; use two to remove all packages
	from the cache. In both cases, you will have a yes or no option to
	remove packages and/or unused downloaded databases.
+
If you use a network shared cache, see the 'CleanMethod' option in
linkman:pacman.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 '\--info'
	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 repositories
	can be specified on the command line.

*-q, \--quiet*::
	Show less information for certain sync operations. (This is useful when
	pacman's output is processed in a script.) Search will only show package
	names and not repo, version, group, and description information; list
	will only show package names and omit databases and versions; group will
	only show package names and omit group names.

*-s, \--search* <regexp>::
	This will search each package in the sync databases for names or
	descriptions that match `regexp`. When you include multiple search
	terms, only packages with descriptions matching 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 presented 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 pacman will
select sync packages whose version does not match with the local version.  This
can be useful when the user switches from a testing repo to a stable one.
+
Additional targets can also be specified manually, so that '-Su foo' will 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 anything.

*-y, \--refresh*::
	Download a fresh copy of the master package list from the server(s)
	defined in linkman: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.

*\--needed*::
	Don't reinstall the targets that are already up to date.


Handling Config Files[[HCF]]
----------------------------
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 required action: one for the original file
installed, one for the new file that's about to be installed, and one for the
actual file existing on the filesystem. After comparing these 3 hashes, the
follow scenarios can result:

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 the 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
	wasn't already installed.

Configuration
-------------
See linkman:pacman.conf[5] for more details on configuring pacman using the
'pacman.conf' file.


See Also
--------
linkman:pacman.conf[5], linkman:makepkg[8], linkman:libalpm[3]

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