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packager

Arch Linux utility that turns a local .deb or .rpm into a real pacman package.

Temporary bridge until extra or an AUR maintainer ships a native package. Not a package manager, not an AUR helper (yay/paru), and not a bidirectional converter.

Default path: preview → PKGBUILD → makepkg → pacman -U. Use convert to stop before install, or scaffold to stop after the PKGBUILD.

Install

Arch Linux only.

yay -S packager

Then sudo pkgfile -u if pkgfile has no database yet.

Runtime tools on PATH:

Tool Role
bsdtar Unpack .deb / .rpm payload
readelf (binutils) ELF NEEDED, interpreter, class
pkgfile Map shared libraries to Arch packages
makepkg / fakeroot Build the pacman package (no -s)
pacman -U / -Q / -R / ownership / extra sync DB 
sudo pacman -S --needed base-devel binutils pkgfile libarchive
sudo pkgfile -u

AUR lookups use the AUR RPC (needs network). extra/multilib use the local pacman sync DB.

From source

Needs Rust 1.75+ (pacman -S rust or rustup) and git.

git clone https://github.com/barscn/packager.git
cd packager
make release
sudo make install

Installs to /usr/local/bin (PREFIX / DESTDIR override). make uninstall removes it.

Or, with ~/.cargo/bin on PATH:

cargo install --git https://github.com/barscn/packager --locked

A tagged GitHub Release ships the same make release binary (packager on PATH after unpacking).

Usage

Download a vendor .deb or .rpm, then:

sudo -E packager ./foo.deb     # preview → PKGBUILD → makepkg → pacman -U

sudo -E is required for pacman -U. makepkg then runs as $SUDO_USER. Preview prints first; Enter continues (-y skips the prompt).

To build only:

packager convert ./foo.deb     # no root; archive under ~/.cache/packager/<pkg>-<ver>/
packager foo.deb              # default = install
packager foo.rpm
packager install foo.deb

packager convert foo.deb      # preview + makepkg, do not install
packager scaffold foo.deb     # write PKGBUILD only

packager status               # tracked converts; native extra/AUR now?
packager forget <pkg>         # stop tracking; ask whether to pacman -R

Flags

Flag Effect
-h / --help Print the command summary and exit
--force Continue if extra/AUR already has a match, or if packaged files would overwrite another package’s files
--allow-scripts Copy vendor scripts into a pacman .install (pacman runs them on -U; it never runs them during convert)
--yes / -y Skip the confirm prompt after preview; also allows pacman --noconfirm on the action you asked for
--workdir DIR Where to put the PKGBUILD and built package (default: ~/.cache/packager/<pkg>-<ver>/)

Script policy

Vendor postinst / %post scripts are never executed during convert. By default they are left out of the package. Only with --allow-scripts are they packaged as .install so pacman can run them on -U. It does not rewrite update-alternatives, update-rc.d, debconf, or RPM scriptlet helpers into Arch.

Policies

  • Native extra/AUR match → hard stop unless --force
  • Offline / failed lookup → hard stop unless --force (it never claims “no native package” when lookup failed)
  • Unmapped depends are omitted from the PKGBUILD (not invented)
  • makepkg -s is not used
  • Lib path oddities (/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu, /usr/lib64, …) are detected and warned; paths are not rewritten
  • State: ~/.local/share/packager/installed/<pkgname>.json (original user when invoked via sudo)

Build

make build      # cargo build --release
make release    # locked release binary (same profile as GitHub tag artifacts)
make install    # copy target/release/packager to $(PREFIX)/bin (default /usr/local)

Binary: target/release/packager. Release profile: fat LTO, one codegen unit, stripped, panic = abort.

Tests

make test                    # unit + library tests; no root, no pacman -U
sudo -E make test-system     # opt-in @system tests (feature "system"); needs root and SUDO_USER

make test sets RUST_TEST_THREADS=1 and runs cargo test --lib. It does not compile or run the system integration tests.

make test-system must be run as sudo -E make test-system. Root is required (pacman -U / -R), and SUDO_USER must be set so makepkg can drop privileges and state is written under the original user. A plain sudo make test-system (without -E) can drop SUDO_USER. Those tests panic if not root.

Do not commit vendor .deb / .rpm blobs.

How it works

flowchart TD
    A["Local .deb or .rpm"] --> B["Read metadata and file list"]
    B --> C["Look up extra and AUR"]
    C --> D["Print preview"]
    D --> E{"Blocked?"}
    E -->|"native match, lookup failed, or file conflict"| F["Hard stop"]
    E -->|"ok, or --force"| G{"Confirm?"}
    G -->|no| F
    G -->|"yes, or -y"| H["Extract payload with bsdtar"]
    H --> I{"Command"}
    I -->|scaffold| J["Write PKGBUILD"]
    J --> K["Done"]
    I -->|convert / install| L["Map depends: declared + readelf NEEDED + pkgfile"]
    L --> M["Write PKGBUILD"]
    M --> N["makepkg without -s"]
    N --> O{"Command"}
    O -->|convert| P["Done: .pkg.tar.zst"]
    O -->|install| Q["pacman -U"]
    Q --> R["Record state JSON"]
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After a successful install, status checks whether extra or the AUR now has a native package, and forget drops tracking (optionally pacman -R):

flowchart LR
    R["Tracked package"] --> S["packager status"]
    S --> T{"Native extra or AUR?"}
    T -->|yes| U["Install native, then forget"]
    T -->|no| V["Keep the converted package"]
    R --> W["packager forget"]
    W --> X{"Also pacman -R?"}
    X -->|no| Y["Drop tracking only"]
    X -->|yes| Z["Uninstall, then drop tracking"]
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