pacman/Rosetta - ArchWiki

< Pacman

This page uses a table to display the correspondence of package management commands among some of the most popular Linux distributions. The original inspiration was given by openSUSE's Software Management Command Line Comparison.

Tip: Arch users having to temporarily deal with another Linux distribution can use pacapt, a simple wrapper around other package managers.

Basic operations

Action Arch Red Hat/Fedora Debian/Ubuntu SLES/openSUSE Gentoo
Search for package(s). What exact fields are being searched by default varies in each tool. Mostly options bring tools on par. pacman -Ss dnf search apt search zypper search or zypper se [-s] emerge --search (-s) or emerge --searchdesc (-S)
Install package(s) by name pacman -S dnf install apt install zypper install or zypper in emerge
Get source package(s) and build dependencies makepkg -s PKGBUILD dnf builddep apt build-dep zypper source-install (zypper si) or zypper install -d emerge, or explicitly emerge --with-bdeps
Only print the targets instead of performing the actual operation pacman --print (or -p) dnf --setopt=tsflags=test apt --simulate (or -s, --dry-run, --just-print) zypper --dry-run emerge --pretend (-p)
Toggle the manual confirmations pacman --confirm or pacman --noconfirm dnf --assumeyes (-y) or dnf --assumeno apt --yes (-y) zypper --non-interactive (-n) or zypper --no-confirm (-y) emerge --ask (-a)
Refresh the local package repository pacman -Sy (see the warnings about partial updates) dnf check-update or dnf makecache or dnf upgrade (built-in auto function) apt update zypper refresh or zypper ref [-s] emerge --sync
Upgrade Packages - Install packages which have an older version already installed pacman -Syu dnf upgrade apt upgrade zypper update or zypper up emerge -[a]uDN @world
Upgrade Packages - Another form of the update command, which can perform more complex updates -- like distribution upgrades. When the usual update command will omit package updates, which include changes in dependencies, this command can perform those updates. pacman -Syu dnf distro-sync apt dist-upgrade zypper dup emerge -[a]uDN @world
Remove a package(s) and all dependencies by name pacman -Rs dnf remove apt autoremove zypper remove or zypper rm emerge --depclean (-c)
Remove a package(s) and its configuration files pacman -Rn ? apt purge ? n/a
Remove a package(s) and all dependencies and configuration files pacman -Rns ? apt autoremove --purge ? n/a
Remove dependencies that are no longer needed (orphans), because e.g. the package which needed the dependencies was removed. pacman -Qdtq | pacman -Rs - (-Qdttq to also remove optional deps) dnf autoremove apt autoremove zypper rm -u (just for removing a package) or zypper packages --unneeded (listing only) emerge --depclean (-c)
Remove packages no longer included in any repositories. pacman -Qmq | pacman -Rs - dnf repoquery --extras aptitude purge '~o' ?
Mark a package previously installed as a dependency as explicitly required. pacman -D --asexplicit dnf mark install apt-mark manual zypper install --force (workaround which needs to reinstall the package) emerge --select (-w)
Install package(s) as dependency / without marking as explicitly required. pacman -S --asdeps dnf install and then dnf mark remove apt-mark auto n/a (feature request + workaround) emerge --oneshot (-1)
Only downloads the given package(s) without unpacking or installing them pacman -Sw dnf download apt install --download-only (into the package cache) or apt download (bypass the package cache) zypper --download-only emerge --fetchonly (-f)
Clean up all local caches. Options might limit what is actually cleaned. pacman -Sc or pacman -Scc dnf clean all apt autoclean removes only unneeded, obsolete information or apt clean zypper clean eclean distfiles
Start a shell to enter multiple commands in one session dnf shell zypper shell
Show a log of actions taken by the software management. read /var/log/pacman.log dnf history read /var/log/dpkg.log read /var/log/zypp/history or zypper-log provided by an additional package read /var/log/portage
Get a dump of the whole system information - Prints, Saves or similar the current state of the package management system. Preferred output is text or XML. (Note: Why either-or here? No tool offers the option to choose the output format.) see /var/lib/pacman/local see /var/lib/rpm/Packages apt-cache stats emerge --info
e-mail delivery of package changes apt install apt-listchanges eselect news read

Querying specific packages

Action Arch Red Hat/Fedora Debian/Ubuntu SLES/openSUSE Gentoo
Show all or most information about a package. The tools' verbosity for the default command vary. But with options, the tools are on par with each other. pacman -Si or pacman -Qi dnf list or dnf info apt show or apt-cache policy zypper info or zypper if emerge -S, emerge -pv or eix
Display local package information: Name, version, description, etc. pacman -Qi rpm -qi / dnf info installed dpkg -s or aptitude show zypper --no-remote info or rpm -qi emerge -pv or emerge -S
Display remote package information: Name, version, description, etc. pacman -Si dnf info apt-cache show or aptitude show zypper info emerge -pv and emerge -S or equery meta
Display files provided by local package pacman -Ql rpm -ql dpkg -L rpm -ql equery files or qlist
Display files provided by a remote package pacman -Fl dnf repoquery -l or repoquery -l (from package yum-utils) apt-file list pfl
Query the package which provides FILE pacman -Qo rpm -qf (installed only) or dnf provides (everything) or repoquery -f (from package yum-utils) dpkg -S or dlocate rpm -qf (installed only) or zypper search -f (everything) equery belongs or qfile
List the files that the package holds. Again, this functionality can be mimicked by other more complex commands. pacman -Ql or pacman -Fl dnf repoquery -l dpkg-query -L rpm -ql equery files or qlist
Displays packages which provide the given exp. aka reverse provides. Mainly a shortcut to search a specific field. Other tools might offer this functionality through the search command. pacman -F dnf provides apt-file search zypper what-provides or zypper wp (exact match) or zypper se --provides (fuzzy match) equery belongs (only installed packages) or pfl
Search all packages to find the one which holds the specified file. pacman -F dnf provides apt-file search or auto-apt is using this functionality. zypper search -f equery belongs or qfile
Show the changelog of a package pacman -Qc dnf changelog apt-get changelog rpm -q --changelog equery changes -f

Querying package lists

Action Arch Red Hat/Fedora Debian/Ubuntu SLES/openSUSE Gentoo
Search for package(s) by searching the expression in name, description, short description. What exact fields are being searched by default varies in each tool. Mostly options bring tools on par. pacman -Ss dnf search apt search zypper search or zypper se -s emerge -S or eix
Lists packages which have an update available. Note: Some provide special commands to limit the output to certain installation sources, others use options. pacman -Qu dnf list updates or dnf check-update apt list --upgradable zypper list-updates or zypper patch-check (just for patches) emerge -uDNp @world
Display a list of all packages in all installation sources that are handled by the packages management. Some tools provide options or additional commands to limit the output to a specific installation source. pacman -Sl dnf list available apt-cache dumpavail or apt-cache dump (Cache only) or apt-cache pkgnames zypper packages portageq all_best_visible /
Generates a list of installed packages pacman -Q dnf list installed `dpkg --list | grep
` zypper packages --installed-only qlist -IC
List packages that are installed but are not available in any installation source (anymore). pacman -Qm dnf list extras apt --installed list | grep ,local zypper packages --installed-only --orphaned eix-test-obsolete
List packages that were recently added to one of the installation sources, i.e. which are new to it. dnf list recent aptitude search '~N' or aptitude forget-new eix-diff
List installed local packages along with version pacman -Q rpm -qa dpkg -l or apt list --installed zypper search -si or rpm -qa qlist -ICv
Search locally installed package for names or descriptions pacman -Qs rpm -qa '*<str>*' aptitude search '~i(~n $name|~d $description)' zypper search --installed-only --search-descriptions eix -S -I
List packages not required by any other package pacman -Qtt dnf leaves or package-cleanup --leaves --all deborphan -anp1 zypper packages --unneeded emerge -pc
List packages installed explicitly (not as dependencies) pacman -Qe dnf history userinstalled apt-mark showmanual grep -E '^i\+' (workaround) emerge -pvO @selected or eix --selected
List packages installed automatically (as dependencies) pacman -Qd grep -E '^i[^+]' (workaround) apt-mark showauto

Querying package dependencies

Action Arch Red Hat/Fedora Debian/Ubuntu SLES/openSUSE Gentoo
Display packages which require X to be installed, aka show reverse dependencies. pacman -Sii or pacman -Qii dnf repoquery --alldeps --whatrequires or repoquery --whatrequires apt-cache rdepends or aptitude search ~D$pattern zypper search --requires equery depends
Display packages which conflict with given expression (often package). Search can be used as well to mimic this function. pacman -Si or pacman -Qi dnf repoquery --conflicts aptitude search '~C$pattern' zypper search --conflicts
List all packages which are required for the given package, aka show dependencies. pacman -Si or pacman -Qi dnf repoquery --requires or repoquery -R apt-cache depends or apt-cache show zypper info --requires emerge -ep
List what the current package provides pacman -Sii or pacman -Qii dnf repoquery --provides dpkg -s or aptitude show zypper info --provides equery files or qlist
List all packages that require a particular package pacman -Sii dnf repoquery --installed --alldeps --whatrequires aptitude search ~D{depends,recommends,suggests}:$pattern or aptitude why or apt-cache rdepends zypper search --requires equery depends -a
Display all packages that the specified packages obsoletes. pacman -Si or pacman -Qi dnf list obsoletes apt-cache show zypper info --obsoletes
Generates an output suitable for processing with dotty for the given package(s). apt-cache dotty

Installation sources management

Action Arch Red Hat/Fedora Debian/Ubuntu SLES/openSUSE Gentoo
Installation sources management edit /etc/pacman.conf edit /etc/yum.repos.d/${REPO}.repo edit /etc/apt/sources.list edit /etc/zypp/repos.d/${REPO}.repo layman or eselect repository
Add an installation source to the system. Some tools provide additional commands for certain sources, others allow all types of source URI for the add command. Again others, like apt force editing a sources list. apt-cdrom is a special command, which offers special options design for CDs/DVDs as source. edit /etc/pacman.conf dnf config-manager apt-cdrom add zypper ar <URL or .repo file> layman or overlays
Refresh the information about the specified installation source(s) or all installation sources. pacman -Sy (always upgrade the whole system afterwards) dnf clean expire-cache and then dnf check-update apt-get update zypper refresh or zypper ref -s emerge --sync or layman -S
Prints a list of all installation sources including important information like URI, alias etc. cat /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist cat /etc/yum.repos.d/* apt-cache policy zypper repos or zypper lr --uri --alias layman -l or eselect repository list
List all packages from a certain repo paclist <repo> zypper packages -r <repo> or zypper pa -r <repo> eix --in-overlay
Disable an installation source for an operation dnf --disablerepo= emerge package::repo-to-use
Download packages from a different version of the distribution than the one installed. pacman -S *repo_name*/*package* dnf --releasever= apt-get install -t release package or apt-get install package/release (dependencies not covered) zypper install -r <repo> package echo "category/package ~amd64" >> /etc/portage/package.keywords and then emerge package

Overrides

Action Arch Red Hat/Fedora Debian/Ubuntu SLES/openSUSE Gentoo
Add a package lock rule to keep its current state from being changed edit /etc/pacman.conf modifying IgnorePkg array edit dnf.conf adding/amending the exclude option apt-mark hold pkg zypper al or put package name in /etc/zypp/locks /etc/portage/package.mask
Delete a package lock rule edit /etc/pacman.conf removing package from IgnorePkg line apt-mark unhold pkg zypper rl or remove package name from /etc/zypp/locks /etc/portage/package.mask (or package.unmask)
Show a listing of all lock rules cat /etc/pacman.conf /etc/apt/preferences zypper ll or view /etc/zypp/locks cat /etc/portage/package.mask
Set the priority of the given package to avoid upgrade, force downgrade or to overwrite any default behavior. Can also be used to prefer a package version from a certain installation source. edit /etc/pacman.conf modifying HoldPkg and/or IgnorePkg arrays /etc/apt/preferences, apt-cache policy zypper mr -p edit /etc/portage/package.accept_keywords adding a line with =category/package-version
Remove a previously set priority /etc/apt/preferences zypper mr -p edit /etc/portage/package.accept_keywords removing offending line
Show a list of set priorities apt-cache policy or /etc/apt/preferences zypper lr -p grep -r . /etc/portage/package.accept_keywords

Verification and repair

Action Arch Red Hat/Fedora Debian/Ubuntu SLES/openSUSE Gentoo
Verify single package pacman -Qk (can add another k) rpm -V debsums rpm -V equery check
Verify all packages pacman -Qk (can add another k) rpm -Va debsums rpm -Va equery check
Reinstall given package; this will reinstall the given package without dependency hassle pacman -S dnf reinstall apt install --reinstall zypper install --force emerge -1O
Verify dependencies of the complete system; used if installation process was forcefully killed pacman -Dk dnf repoquery --requires apt-get check zypper verify emerge -uDN @world
Use some magic to fix broken dependencies in a system for pacman dependency level, use pacman -Dk; for shared library level, use findbrokenpkgs AUR or lddd (from devtools) dnf repoquery --unsatisfied apt-get --fix-broken and then aptitude install zypper verify revdep-rebuild
Add a checkpoint to the package system for later rollback (unnecessary, it is done on every transaction) n/a
Remove a checkpoint from the system n/a n/a n/a
Provide a list of all system checkpoints n/a dnf history list n/a
Rolls entire packages back to a certain date or checkpoint n/a dnf history rollback n/a
Undo a single specified transaction n/a dnf history undo n/a

Using package files and building packages

Action Arch Red Hat/Fedora Debian/Ubuntu SLES/openSUSE Gentoo
Query a package supplied on the command line rather than an entry in the package management database pacman -Qp rpm -qp dpkg -I
List the contents of a package file pacman -Qpl rpmls rpm -qpl dpkg -c rpm -qpl
Install local package file, e.g. app.rpm and uses the installation sources to resolve dependencies pacman -U dnf install dpkg -i zypper in emerge
Updates package(s) with local packages and uses the installation sources to resolve dependencies pacman -U dnf upgrade debi emerge
Add a local package to the local package cache mostly for debugging purposes. cp *package-filename* /var/cache/pacman/pkg/ apt-cache add *package-filename* n/a cp *package-filename* /usr/portage/distfiles
Extract a package tar -xvf rpm2cpio | cpio -vid dpkg-deb -x rpm2cpio | cpio -vid tar -jxvf
Install/Remove packages to satisfy build-dependencies. Uses information in the source package Use ABS and makepkg -seoc dnf builddep apt-get build-dep zypper si -d emerge -o
Display the source package to the given package name(s) dnf repoquery -s apt-cache showsrc n/a
Download the corresponding source package(s) to the given package name(s) Use ABS and makepkg -o dnf download --source apt-get source or debcheckout zypper source-install emerge --fetchonly
Build a package makepkg -s rpmbuild -ba (normal) or mock (in chroot) debuild rpmbuild -ba, then build, and then osc build ebuild or quickpkg
Check for possible packaging issues namcap (requires namcap) rpmlint lintian rpmlint repoman

Log file rotation

By default, Arch Linux does not rotate pacman.log. See, for example, FS#11272 and FS#20428#comment66480. This is in contrast to the default policy of most other Linux distributions. Some distributions, notably Gentoo, hardly write log files by default.

See also