declpac

Declarative package manager for Arch Linux that syncs your system with a declared package list using pacman.

Features

• Declarative state management — define your desired package list in files or stdin
• Smart orphan cleanup — removes packages no longer needed
• Explicit package tracking — marks declared packages as explicit
• AUR support — builds and installs AUR packages automatically
• Machine-readable output — perfect for scripting

Installation

Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/Riyyi/declpac.git
cd declpac
go build -o declpac ./cmd/declpac
sudo mv declpac /usr/local/bin/

Dependencies

• Go 1.21+
• pacman
• makepkg (for AUR support)
• git (for AUR support)
• Root privileges

Usage

# Single state file
sudo declpac --state packages.txt

# Multiple state files
sudo declpac --state base.txt --state apps.txt

# From stdin
cat packages.txt | sudo declpac

# Preview changes without applying
sudo declpac --dry-run --state packages.txt

State File Format

One package name per line, lines beginning with # are comments:

bash
vim
git
docker
# this is a comment

Options

Flag	Alias	Description
--state	-s	State file to read package list from (can be used multiple times)
--dry-run		Preview changes without applying them
--help	-h	Show help message

How It Works

1. Read — Collect packages from all state files and stdin
2. Merge — Combine into single package list
3. Categorize — Check if packages are in official repos or AUR
4. Sync — Install/update packages via pacman
5. Build — Build and install AUR packages via makepkg
6. Mark — Mark declared packages as explicit, all others as dependencies
7. Cleanup — Remove orphaned packages

Database Freshness

If the pacman database is older than 24 hours, it is automatically refreshed.

Logging

Operations are logged to /var/log/declpac.log.

Output

# Packages installed/removed
Installed 5 packages, removed 2 packages

# No changes needed
Installed 0 packages, removed 0 packages

# Dry-run preview
Installed 3 packages, removed 1 packages
Would install: vim, git, docker
Would remove: python2

# Error
error: package not found: <package-name>

Exit Codes

Code	Meaning
0	Success
1	Error

Examples

Minimal System

echo -e "base\nbase-devel\nlinux-headers\nvim\ngit\ncurl" > ~/.config/declpac/minimal.txt
sudo declpac --state ~/.config/declpac/minimal.txt

Development Environment

# development.txt
go
nodejs
python
rust
docker

sudo declpac --state development.txt

Dry-Run

sudo declpac --dry-run --state packages.txt

Troubleshooting

Permission denied

Use sudo:

sudo declpac --state packages.txt

Package not found

Check if the package exists:

pacman -Ss <package>

Database sync fails

sudo pacman -Syy

File Structure

declpac/
├── cmd/declpac/
│   └── main.go         # Entry point
├── pkg/
│   ├── input/          # State file/stdin reading
│   ├── merge/          # Package merging
│   ├── fetch/         # Package resolution (pacman/AUR)
│   ├── pacman/         # Pacman operations
│   ├── validation/    # Database freshness check
│   ├── output/        # Output formatting
│   └── state/         # Logging
└── README.md

License

GPL-3.0