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
scripts, and the ability to sync your local machine with a remote repository to
automatically upgrade packages. Pacman packages are a zipped tar format.

Since version 3.0.0, pacman has been the front-end 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, file name, URL, or
a search string. Targets can be provided as command line arguments.
Additionally, if stdin is not from a terminal and a single hyphen (-) is passed
as an argument, targets will be read from stdin.


Operations
----------
*-D, \--database*::
    Operate on the package database. This operation allows you to modify
    certain attributes of the installed packages in pacman's database. It
    also allows you to check the databases for internal consistency.
    See <<DO,Database Options>> below.

*-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 package files. 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 remote
    repositories, 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
    repository, the repository 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 the
    shell interprets ">" as redirection to a 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 packages to install from a numbered list.
The package selection is specified using a space- and/or comma-separated list of
package numbers. Sequential packages may be selected by specifying the first
and last package numbers separated 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, `pacman -S
foo` will first look for a foo package. If foo is not found, packages that
provide the same functionality as foo will be searched for. If any package is
found, it will be installed. A selection prompt is provided if multiple packages
providing foo are found.
+
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 < 1.0b < 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 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 dependencies that 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 repositories. 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 configuration files.

*-F, \--files*::
    Query the files database. This operation allows you to look for packages
    owning certain files or display files owned by certain packages. Only
    packages that are part of your sync databases are searched. See
    <<FO,File Options>> below.

*-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 (the 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
    temporarily mounted partition that is "owned" by another system.
    *NOTE*: If database path or log file 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 (the 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, and the root path is not automatically
    prepended.

*\--color* <when>::
    Specify when to enable coloring. Valid options are 'always', 'never', or
    'auto'. 'always' forces colors on; 'never' forces colors off; and 'auto' only
    automatically enables colors when outputting onto a tty.

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

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

*\--gpgdir* <dir>::
    Specify a directory of files used by GnuPG to verify package signatures
    (the default is +{sysconfdir}/pacman.d/gnupg+). This directory should contain
    two files: `pubring.gpg` and `trustdb.gpg`. `pubring.gpg` holds the public keys
    of all packagers. `trustdb.gpg` contains a so-called trust database, which
    specifies that the keys are authentic and trusted. *NOTE*: This is an absolute
    path, and the root path is not automatically prepended.

*\--hookdir* <dir>::
    Specify a alternative directory containing hook files (the default is
    +{sysconfdir}/pacman.d/hooks+). Multiple hook directories can be specified
    with hooks in later directories taking precedence over hooks in earlier
    directories. *NOTE*: This is an absolute path, and the root path is not
    automatically prepended.

*\--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.

*\--confirm*::
    Cancels the effects of a previous '\--noconfirm'.


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.

*\--assume-installed* <package=version>::
    Add a virtual package "package" with version "version" to the transaction
    to satisfy dependencies. This allows to disable specific dependency checks
    without affecting all dependency checks. To disable all dependency
    checking, see the '\--nodeps' option.

*\--dbonly*::
    Adds/removes the database entry only, leaving 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', file names 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 repository, and "%s" for size. Implies '\--print'.


Upgrade Options (apply to '-S' and '-U')[[UO]]
----------------------------------------------
*\--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.
    Using '\--force' will not allow overwriting a directory with a file or
    installing 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 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.

*\--needed*::
    Do not reinstall the targets that are already up-to-date.


Query Options (apply to '-Q')[[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 that
    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. Specifying this option twice will perform
    more detailed file checking (including permissions, file sizes, and
    modification times) for packages that contain the needed mtree file.

*-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'.

*-n, \--native*::
    Restrict or filter output to packages that are found in the sync
    database(s). This is the inverse filter of '\--foreign'.

*-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 print only packages neither required nor
    optionally required by any currently installed package. Specify this
    option twice to include packages which are optionally, but not directly,
    required by another 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 (apply to '-R')[[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 it 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 (apply to '-S')[[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 files
    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 repository, 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 downgrades; in this case, pacman will
select sync packages whose versions do not match with the local versions. This
can be useful when the user switches from a testing repository 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 database 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 databases, even if they appear to be
    up-to-date.


Database Options (apply to '-D')[[QO]]
--------------------------------------
*\--asdeps* <package>::
    Mark a package as non-explicitly installed; in other words, set their install
    reason to be installed as a dependency.

*\--asexplicit* <package>::
    Mark a package as explicitly installed; in other words, set their install
    reason to be explicitly installed. This is useful it you want to keep a
    package installed even when it was initially installed as a dependency
    of another package.

*-k, \--check*::
    Check the local package database is internally consistent. This will
    check all required files are present and that installed packages have
    the required dependencies, do not conflict and that multiple packages
    do not own the same file. Specifying this option twice will perform
    a check on the sync databases to ensure all specified dependencies
    are available.

*-q, \--quiet*::
    Suppress messages on successful completion of database operations.

File Options (apply to '-F')[[FO]]
----------------------------------
*-y, --refresh*::
    Download fresh package databases from the server. Use twice to force a
    refresh even if databases are up to date.

*-l, \--list*::
    List the files owned by the queried package.

*-s, \--search*::
    Search package file names for matching strings.

*-x, --regex*::
    Treat arguments to '--search' as regular expressions.

*-o, \--owns*::
    Search for packages that own a particular file.

*-q, \--quiet*::
    Show less information for certain file operations. This is useful when
    pacman's output is processed in a script, however, you may want to use
    '--machinereadable' instead.

*--machinereadable*::
    Use a machine readable output format for '--list', '--search' and
    '--owns'. The format is 'repository\0pkgname\0pkgver\0path\n' with '\0'
    being the NULL character and '\n' a linefeed.

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, three 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 is about to be installed, and one for the
actual file existing on the file system. After comparing these three 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 bug fixes, install the new file.

original=X, current=Y, new=X::
    Both package versions contain the exact same file, but the one on the
    file system 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.

original=NULL, current=Y, new=Z::
    The package was not previously installed, and the file already exists on the
    file system. 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:alpm-hooks[5], linkman:libalpm[3], linkman:makepkg[8],
linkman:pacman.conf[5]

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