Using autils

autils is a collection of POSIX shell scripts for source-based package management on Alice Linux.

For full command details, see the man pages: man apkg, man reposync, etc.

Installation

make install

This installs all scripts to /usr/bin and man pages to /usr/share/man/man8. Override with:

make install DESTDIR=/tmp/root PREFIX=/usr/local

Core concepts

The package manager, apkg, builds packages from source using abuild recipe files and installs them as .spm packages via the spm(8) backend. Package recipes live in git repositories referenced by the APKG_REPO environment variable.

Configuration is done through environment variables: there is no config file.

Basic usage

Building a package

From inside a recipe directory:

cd /path/to/repo/mypkg
apkg

This fetches sources, verifies checksums, builds, and creates a .spm in $APKG_PACKAGE_DIR.

Installing and upgrading

apkg -i mypkg          # build and install
apkg -i                # same, from inside the recipe directory
apkg -I firefox        # install with automatic dependency resolution
apkg -u mypkg          # upgrade (rebuild and reinstall)
apkg -f mypkg          # force rebuild even if .spm already exists
apkg -o mypkg          # download sources only, don't build

Removing packages

apkg -r mypkg          # remove a package
apkg-purge mypkg       # show what would be removed (dry-run)
apkg-purge -p mypkg    # remove package and its unneeded dependencies

Searching and listing

apkg -s icon           # search packages by name pattern
apkg -s -v icon        # search with version info
apkg -a                # list all installed packages
apkg -a -v             # list installed packages with versions
apkg -S libpng.so      # find which package owns a file
apkg -l                # list outdated packages on the system

Dependency queries

apkg -d mypkg          # list direct dependencies of a package
apkg -D mypkg          # list all dependencies recursively, in install order
apkg -j mypkg          # list packages that depend on mypkg

System upgrade

apkg -U

This checks all installed packages for outdated versions, resolves the full dependency tree, installs any new packages, then upgrades existing ones. Set APKG_NOPROMPT=1 to skip the confirmation prompt (useful for scripting). Packages listed in APKG_MASK are skipped.

Checksums and file lists

apkg -g mypkg          # regenerate .shasum file
apkg -k mypkg          # regenerate .files list from the .spm

Triggers

After installing or upgrading packages, apkg can refresh system caches:

apkg -t                # run triggers for all installed packages
apkg -t mypkg          # run only triggers relevant to mypkg

Triggers include: fontconfig cache, GDK-Pixbuf loaders, GIO modules, GSettings schemas, GTK input method modules, icon theme cache, udev hardware database, X font indices, desktop MIME cache, and shared MIME database. Each trigger only fires if the package actually provides files that need it.

Helper scripts

Package inspection

apkg-deps mypkg        # show runtime library dependencies (via ldd)
apkg-foreign           # list installed packages not found in any repo
apkg-orphan            # list packages with no dependents installed

Cleanup

apkg-clean             # list stale .spm and source files
apkg-clean | xargs rm  # actually remove them
apkg-clean -p          # list only stale packages
apkg-clean -s          # list only stale sources

Dependency maintenance

apkg-redundantdeps mypkg       # find transitive deps listed explicitly
apkg-redundantdeps              # check all packages
apkg-redundantdeps -f mypkg     # fix by removing redundant entries

Scaffolding

apkg-genabuild https://example.com/pkg-1.2.3.tar.gz
apkg-genabuild https://github.com/user/repo/archive/v1.0.tar.gz

Derives name and version from the URL and creates a directory with a skeleton abuild. Recognizes GitHub tag archives, PyPI packages (prefixes python-), and CPAN packages (prefixes perl-). An optional second argument overrides the name.

Standalone utilities

revdep: find broken library links

Scans system binaries and libraries for missing shared library dependencies. Run after major upgrades, especially those with library version bumps.

revdep         # plain output
revdep -v      # verbose progress

Note: revdep only reports problems; it does not rebuild anything. Use apkg -f to rebuild affected packages.

updateconf: merge .new config files

When packages are upgraded, new default config files are installed with a .new suffix to avoid overwriting local changes. Run updateconf as root to interactively handle them:

updateconf

For each .new file it shows a diff and prompts:

U: update: replace current with new
D: discard: delete the .new file, keep current
E: edit: open current file in $EDITOR (default: vi)
K: keep: leave both files as-is

reposync: sync git repositories

Syncs git-based package repos using REPOSYNC_* environment variables:

export REPOSYNC_CORE="https://codeberg.org/emmett1/alicelinux.git|main|/var/lib/alicelinux"
export REPOSYNC_EXTRA="https://codeberg.org/emmett1/extra.git|main|/var/lib/alicelinux/extra"
reposync

Options:

-n: dry-run
-l: log to /var/log/reposync.log
-f: force fresh clones
-h: help

Working in a chroot

apkg-chroot /mnt/alice                  # enter interactive shell
apkg-chroot /mnt/alice apkg -i mypkg    # run apkg inside chroot

Mounts /dev, /proc, /sys, /run, copies /etc/resolv.conf, and cleans up on exit. Must be run as root.

Environment variables

Core paths

APKG_REPO (default: $PWD): Space-separated repo directories, searched in order
APKG_PACKAGE_DIR (default: $PWD): Where built .spm files are stored
APKG_SOURCE_DIR (default: $PWD): Source tarball cache
APKG_WORK_DIR (default: $PWD): Build working tree (extraction + fakeroot)
APKG_ROOT (default: /): Alternative install root

Build behavior

APKG_NOPROMPT: Skip confirmation prompt in -I and -U
APKG_KEEP_WORKDIR: Keep build tree on failure (for debugging)
APKG_ALIAS: Dependency substitution: real:alias pairs (e.g. openssl:libressl)
APKG_MASK: Packages to skip during -l and -U

Logging

APKG_LOG: Enable build logging
APKG_LOG_DIR: Directory for log files (filename: $name.log)

Compiler

CFLAGS, CXXFLAGS: Compiler flags (used by cmake builds)
CROSS_COMPILE: Prefix for strip (e.g. x86_64-linux-musl-)

Common workflows

Building and installing a new package

cd $APKG_REPO
apkg-genabuild https://example.com/mypkg-1.0.tar.gz
cd mypkg
# edit abuild as needed, add depends file
apkg -I mypkg

Full system maintenance

reposync                     # sync repos
apkg -U                      # system upgrade
revdep                       # check for broken libraries
updateconf                   # merge config files
apkg-clean | xargs rm        # clean up stale files
apkg-orphan                  # review packages to potentially remove

Debugging a failed build

APKG_KEEP_WORKDIR=1 apkg -f mypkg
# inspect $APKG_WORK_DIR/apkg-src-mypkg and apkg-pkg-mypkg

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