What is this?

This script - pac.sh - is a simple pacman helper for Arch Linux that provides syntax similar to apt. For example, pac install <package> instead of pacman -S <package>. It can be useful to those who, like me, sometimes forget the proper pacman flags to use.

The script implements a subset of apt commands and translates them to corresponding pacman invocations.

What this is not

This script is not:

• a full-featured pacman wrapper
• a port of apt to Arch
• a replacement for AUR helpers like yay

How to install?

Clone the repo and copy or symlink the script to a directory that's in the $PATH:

$ git clone https://github.com/medicamin/pac
$ ln -s $(realpath pac/pac.sh) ~/.local/bin/pac

If you happen to have a binary called pac already installed (check with which pac), then just use another name for the symlink.

Requirements:

# pacman -S pacman-contrib reflector fzf pkgfile

an AUR Helper and an admin commander such as sudo or doas

How to use?

Run pac with no arguments to get an overview of the supported commands:

$ pac
Usage: pac command

Working with Packages
    -s,  search <string>	Search for packages matching <string>
    -f,  find <file>		Find the package owner of the file (path or name) 
    -sh, show <packages>	Returns information about <packages>
    -i,  install <packages>	Install <packages>
    -r,  remove <packages>	Remove <packages>
    -rd, removedep <packages>	Remove <packages> and all their dependencies
    -ro, removeorphan		Remove all orphan packages and their dependencies
    -u,  update			Perform a full system upgrade
    -m,  mirrors		Generate mirrorlist sorted by 10 fastest servers
    -d,  depends <package>	Shows a list of dependencies for <package>
    -do, dependson <package>	Shows a list of packages that depend on <package>
    -v,  view			Display content of a file inside a tar package
    
Browse packages
    -bd, database	  	Browse all available packages
    -bi, installed	  	Browse all installed packages
    -bf, foreign	  	Browse all manually installed packages
    -bn, nodeps	  		Browse packages with no dependency
    -bo, orphans	  	Browse orphan packages
    -bu, updatable	  	Browse upgradable packages
    -l,  list			Create a list of installed packages in the home directory
    
Pacman Database
    -c,  clean			Clear pacman cache, keeps only latest package
    -p,  purge			Clear pacman cache, keeps nothing   
    -db, unlock			Unlock database by removing /var/lib/pacman/db.lck