Pacman/Rosetta

zh-CN:Pacman Rosetta This page pulls heavily from openSUSE's Software Management Command Line Comparison. It has been simplified and has added Arch to the comparison, as well as modified the order in which each distribution exists for the benefit of Arch users.

Users from other Linux distributions can benefit from pacman by using a simple wrapper: pacapt. The script could also be intended for Arch users having to temporarily deal with another distribution.

pacapt is a pacman shell script implementation for other linux distribution.

Note:

• Some of the tools described here are specific to a certain version of pacman. The -Qk option is new in pacman 4.1.
• The command pkgfile can be found in the pkgfile package.

Action	Arch	Red Hat/Fedora	Debian/Ubuntu	SUSE/openSUSE	Gentoo
Install a package(s) by name	pacman -S	yum install	apt-get install	zypper install zypper in	emerge [-a]
Remove a package(s) by name	pacman -Rc	yum remove/erase	apt-get remove	zypper remove zypper rm	emerge -C
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	yum search	apt-cache search	zypper search zypper se [-s]	emerge -S
Upgrade Packages - Install packages which have an older version already installed	pacman -Syu	yum update	apt-get upgrade	zypper update zypper up	emerge -u 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	yum distro-sync	apt-get dist-upgrade	zypper dup	emerge -uDN world
Reinstall given Package - Will reinstall the given package without dependency hassle.	pacman -S	yum reinstall	apt-get install --reinstall	zypper install --force	emerge [-a]
Installs local package file, e.g. app.rpm and uses the installation sources to resolve dependencies	pacman -U	yum localinstall	dpkg -i && apt-get install -f	zypper in /path/to/local.rpm	emerge
Updates package(s) with local packages and uses the installation sources to resolve dependencies	pacman -U	yum localupdate	n/a	emerge
Use some magic to fix broken dependencies in a system	pacman dep level - testdb, shared lib level - findbrokenpkgs or lddd	package-cleanup --problems	apt-get --fix-broken / aptitude install	zypper verify	revdep-rebuild
Only downloads the given package(s) without unpacking or installing them	pacman -Sw	yumdownloader (found in yum-utils package)	apt-get --download-only / aptitude download	zypper --download-only	emerge --fetchonly
Remove dependencies that are no longer needed, because e.g. the package which needed the dependencies was removed.	pacman -Qdtq | pacman -Rs -	yum autoremove	apt-get autoremove	zypper rm -u	emerge --depclean
Downloads the corresponding source package(s) to the given package name(s)	Use ABS && makepkg -o	yumdownloader --source	apt-get source / debcheckout	zypper source-install	emerge --fetchonly
Remove packages no longer included in any repositories.		package-cleanup --orphans
Install/Remove packages to satisfy build-dependencies. Uses information in the source package.	automatic	yum-builddep	apt-get build-dep	zypper si -d	emerge -o
Add a package lock rule to keep its current state from being changed	${EDITOR} /etc/pacman.conf modify IgnorePkg array	yum.conf <--”exclude” option (add/amend)	echo "$PKGNAME hold" | dpkg --set-selections	Put package name in /etc/zypp/locks	/etc/portage/package.mask
Delete a package lock rule	remove package from IgnorePkg line in /etc/pacman.conf	yum.conf <--”exclude” option (remove/amend)	echo "$PKGNAME install" | dpkg --set-selections	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	yum.conf (research needed)	/etc/apt/preferences	View /etc/zypp/locks	cat /etc/portage/package.mask
Add a checkpoint to the package system for later rollback		(unnecessary, 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	yum history list		n/a
Rolls entire packages back to a certain date or checkpoint.	N/A	yum history rollback		n/a
Undo a single specified transaction.	N/A	yum history undo		n/a
Mark a package previously installed as a dependency as explicitly required.	pacman -D --asexplicit		aptitude unmarkauto		emerge --select
Install package(s) as dependency / without marking as explicitly required.	pacman -S --asdeps				emerge -1
Package information management
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	n/a	emerge --info
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 -[S|Q]i	yum list or info	apt-cache show / apt-cache policy	zypper info zypper if	emerge -S; emerge -pv; eix
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	yum search	apt-cache search	zypper search zypper se [-s]	emerge -S
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	yum list updates yum check-update	apt-get upgrade -> n	zypper list-updates 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	yum list available	apt-cache dumpavail apt-cache dump (Cache only) apt-cache pkgnames	zypper packages	emerge -ep world
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.	pkgfile <filename>	yum whatprovides yum provides	apt-file search <filename>	zypper what-provides zypper wp	equery belongs (only installed packages); pfl
Display packages which require X to be installed, aka show reverse/ dependencies.	pacman -Sii	yum resolvedep	apt-cache rdepends / aptitude search ~Dpattern	IN PROGRESS	equery depends
Display packages which conflict with given expression (often package). Search can be used as well to mimic this function.	(none)	repoquery --whatconflicts	aptitude search '~Cpattern'	IN PROGRESS
List all packages which are required for the given package, aka show dependencies.	pacman -[S|Q]i	yum deplist	apt-cache depends / apt-cache show	IN PROGRESS	emerge -ep
List what the current package provides		yum provides		IN PROGRESS	equery files
List the files that the package holds. Again, this functionality can be mimicked by other more complex commands.	pacman -Ql $pkgname pkgfile -l	repoquery -l $pkgname	dpkg -L / apt-file list	IN PROGRESS	equery files
List all packages that require a particular package		repoquery --whatrequires [--recursive]			equery depends -a
Search all packages to find the one which holds the specified file. auto-apt is using this functionality.	pkgfile -s	yum provides yum whatprovides	apt-file search	IN PROGRESS	equery belongs
Display all packages that the specified packages obsoletes.		yum list obsoletes	apt-cache show	IN PROGRESS
Verify dependencies of the complete system. Used if installation process was forcefully killed.	testdb	yum deplist	apt-get check	n/a	emerge -uDN world
Generates a list of installed packages	pacman -Q	yum list installed	dpkg --get-selections	zypper	emerge -ep world
List packages that are installed but are not available in any installation source (anymore).	pacman -Qm	yum list extras	deborphan	zypper se -si | grep 'System Packages'	eix-test-obsolete
List packages that were recently added to one of the installation sources, i.e. which are new to it.	(none)	yum list recent	aptitude search '~N' / aptitude forget-new	n/a	eix-diff
Show a log of actions taken by the software management.	cat /var/log/pacman.log	yum history cat /var/log/yum.log	cat /var/log/dpkg.log	cat /var/log/zypp/history	located in /var/log/portage
Clean up all local caches. Options might limit what is actually cleaned. Autoclean removes only unneeded, obsolete information.	pacman -Sc pacman -Scc	yum clean	apt-get clean / apt-get autoclean / aptitude clean	zypper clean	eclean distfiles
Add a local package to the local package cache mostly for debugging purposes.	cp $pkgname /var/cache/pacman/pkg/		apt-cache add	n/a	cp $srcfile /usr/portage/distfiles
Display the source package to the given package name(s)		repoquery -s	apt-cache showsrc	n/a
Generates an output suitable for processing with dotty for the given package(s).			apt-cache dotty	n/a
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.	${EDITOR} /etc/pacman.conf Modify HoldPkg and/or IgnorePkg arrays	yum-plugin-priorities and yum-plugin-protect-packages	/etc/apt/preferences, apt-cache policy	zypper mr -p	${EDITOR} /etc/portage/package.keywords Add a line with =category/package-version
Remove a previously set priority			/etc/apt/preferences	zypper mr -p	${EDITOR} /etc/portage/package.keywords remove offending line
Show a list of set priorities.			apt-cache policy /etc/apt/preferences	n/a	cat /etc/portage/package.keywords
Ignores problems that priorities may trigger.				n/a
Installation sources management	${EDITOR} /etc/pacman.conf	${EDITOR} /etc/yum.repos.d/${REPO}.repo	${EDITOR} /etc/apt/sources.list		layman
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 and yum force editing a sources list. apt-cdrom is a special command, which offers special options design for CDs/DVDs as source.	${EDITOR} /etc/pacman.conf	${EDITOR} /etc/yum.repos.d/${REPO}.repo	apt-cdrom add	zypper service-add	layman, overlays
Refresh the information about the specified installation source(s) or all installation sources.	pacman -Sy	yum clean expire-cache && yum check-update	apt-get update	zypper refresh zypper ref	layman -f
Prints a list of all installation sources including important information like URI, alias etc.	cat /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist	cat /etc/yum.repos.d/*		zypper service-list	layman -l
Disable an installation source for an operation		yum --disablerepo=${REPO}			emerge package::repo-to-use
Download packages from a different version of the distribution than the one installed.		yum --releasever=${VERSION}	apt-get install -t release package/ apt-get install package/release (deps not covered)		echo "category/package ~amd64" >> /etc/portage/package.keywords && emerge package
Other commands
Start a shell to enter multiple commands in one session		yum shell	apt-config shell	zypper shell
Package Verification
Single package	pacman -Qk[k] <package>	rpm -V <package>	debsums	rpm -V <package>	equery check
All packages	pacman -Qk[k]	rpm -Va	debsums	rpm -Va	equery check
Package Querying
List installed local packages along with version	pacman -Q	rpm -qa	dpkg -l		emerge -e world
Display local package information: Name, version, description, etc.	pacman -Qi	rpm -qi	dpkg -s		emerge -pv and emerge -S
Display remote package information: Name, version, description, etc.	pacman -Si	yum info	apt-cache show / aptitude show		emerge -pv and emerge -S
Display files provided by local package	pacman -Ql	rpm -ql	dpkg -L		equery files
Display files provided by a remote package	pkgfile -l	repoquery -l			pfl
Query the package which provides FILE	pacman -Qo	rpm -qf (installed only) or yum whatprovides (everything)	dpkg -S/dlocate		equery belongs
Query a package supplied on the command line rather than an entry in the package management database	pacman -Qp	rpm -qp	dpkg -I
Show the changelog of a package	pacman -Qc	rpm -q --changelog	apt-get changelog		equery changes -f
Search locally installed package for names or descriptions	pacman -Qs		aptitude search '~i(~nexpr|~dexpr)'		eix -S -I
Building Packages
Build a package	makepkg -s	rpmbuild -ba (normal) mock (in chroot)	debuild	rpmbuild -ba	ebuild; quickpkg
Check for possible packaging issues		rpmlint	lintian		repoman
List the contents of a package file	pacman -Qpl <file>	rpmls rpm -qpl	dpkg -L	rpm -qpl
Extract a package	tar -Jxvf	rpm2cpio | cpio -vid	ar vx | tar -zxvf data.tar.gz	rpm2cpio | cpio -vid	tar -jxvf
Query a package supplied on the command line rather than an entry in the package management database	pacman -Qp	rpm -qp	dpkg -I
Action	Arch	Red Hat/Fedora	Debian/Ubuntu	SUSE/openSUSE	Gentoo