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PACMAN(8)
=========
NAME
----
pacman - package manager utility
SYNOPSIS
--------
'pacman' <operation> [options] [packages]
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 manlink:libalpm[3], the
"Arch Linux Package Management" library. This library allows alternative front
ends to be written (for instance, a GUI front end).
OPERATIONS
----------
-A, --add (deprecated)::
Add a package to the system. Either a URL or file path can be specified.
The package will be uncompressed into the installation root and the
database will be updated. The package will not be installed if another
version is already installed. *NOTE*: please use `--upgrade` in place of
this option.
-F, --freshen::
This is like `--upgrade` except it will only upgrade packages already
installed on the system.
-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. See <<QO,Query Options>> below.
-R, --remove::
Remove a package from the system. 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. You can also use `pacman -Su` to upgrade all
packages that are out of date. See <<SO,Sync Options>> below.
-U, --upgrade::
Upgrade or add a package to the system. Either a URL or file path can be
specified. This is a "remove-then-add" process. 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
-------
--ask <number>::
Pre-specify answers to questions. It is doubtful whether this option
even works, so I would not recommend using it. *TODO*: document this
more, as I have no idea how it works or when you would use it, or if we
should just dump it.
-b, --dbpath <path>::
Specify an alternative database location (default is `/var/lib/pacman`).
This should not be used unless you know what you are doing.
-d, --nodeps::
Skips all dependency checks. 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.
-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.
-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. By using
this option you not only specify where the software should be installed,
but you also specify which package database and cache location to use.
-v, --verbose::
Output more status messages, such as the Root and DBPath.
--cachedir <dir>::
Specify an alternative package cache location (default is
`/var/cache/pacman/pkg`). This should not be used unless you know what
you are doing.
--config <file>::
Specify an alternate configuration file.
--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.
--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.
Query Options[[QO]]
-------------------
-c, --changelog::
View the ChangeLog of a package. Not every package will provide one but
it will be shown if available.
-e, --orphans::
List all packages that were pulled in by a previously installed package
but no longer required by any installed package.
-g, --groups::
Display all packages that are members of a named group. If not name is
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.
-l, --list::
List all files owned by a given package. Multiple packages can be
specified on the command line.
-m, --foreign::
List all 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 the package that owns file.
-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`.
-s, --search <regexp>::
This will search each locally-installed package for names or
descriptions that matche regexp.
-u, --upgrades::
Lists all packages that are out of date on the local system. 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.
-k, --keep::
Removes the database entry only. Leaves all files in place.
-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 dependencies, provided that
(A) they are not required by other packages; and (B) they were not
explicitly installed by the user. This option is analogous to a
backwards `--sync` operation.
Sync Options[[SO]]
------------------
-c, --clean::
Remove old packages from the cache to free up disk space. When pacman
downloads packages, it saves them in `/var/cache/pacman/pkg`. Use one
`--clean` switch to remove old packages; use two to remove all packages
from the cache.
-e, --dependsonly::
Install all dependencies of a package, but not the specified package
itself. This is pretty useless and we're not sure why it even exists.
-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 dependency and other information for a given package. This will
search through all repositories for a matching package.
-l, --list::
List all packages in the specified repositories. Multiple repositories
can be specified on the command line.
-p, --print-uris::
Print out URIs for each package that will be installed, including any
dependencies yet to be installed. These can be piped to a file and
downloaded at a later time, using a program like wget.
-s, --search <regexp>::
This will search each package in the sync databases for names or
descriptions that match regexp.
-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.
-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 pacman.conf. 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 are thought to be up to date.
--ignore <package>::
Directs pacman to ignore upgrades of package even if there is one
available.
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.
Configuration
-------------
See manlink:pacman.conf[5] for more details on configuring pacman using the
`pacman.conf` file.
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.
See Also
--------
manlink:pacman.conf[5], manlink:makepkg[8], manlink:libalpm[3]
See the Arch Linux website at http://www.archlinux.org for more current
information on the distribution and the pacman family of tools.
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