Package format
A package format is a type of archive containing computer programs and additional metadata needed by package managers.[1] While the archive file format itself may be unchanged, package formats bear additional metadata, such as a manifest file or certain directory layouts. Packages may contain either source code or executable files.
Packages may be converted from one type to another with software such as Alien.
Common formats[]
Specialized formats[]
| Format | Consumed by |
|---|---|
| APK (Alpine) | Alpine Linux[2] |
| APK (Android) | Android |
| AppImage | Linux distribution-agnostic. (Self-contained binary) |
| APPX and APPXBundle | Windows 8 and later, Windows Phone[3] |
| Deb | Debian and its derivatives, such as Ubuntu, Xubuntu, and Linux Mint[4] |
| ebuild | Gentoo Linux[5] |
| Flatpak | All Linux systems |
| eopkg | Solus[6] |
| PISI | Pardus |
| PKG | OS X, iOS, PlayStation 3, Solaris, SunOS, UNIX System V, Symbian, BeOS, Apple Newton |
| .pkg.tar.zst | Arch Linux |
| PUP and PET | Puppy Linux (PUP format is deprecated since version 3.0) |
| RPM | Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Fedora, derivatives such as CentOS,[7] and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, openSUSE |
| SNAP | Compatible with most Linux distros as well as macOS, but mainly developed for Ubuntu |
| Windows Installer package / MSI | Windows Installer on Microsoft Windows |
Generic formats[]
Arch Linux's Pacman[8] and Slackware[9] use Tar archives with generic naming but specific internal structures.
References[]
- ^ Justin Angelo Cappos, Stork: Secure Package Management for VM Environments, ProQuest, 2008, p. 128 ;
- ^ "Alpine package format - Alpine Linux". wiki.alpinelinux.org. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
- ^ "App packaging". Retrieved 29 September 2014.
- ^ "InstallingSoftware - Community Ubuntu Documentation". Help.ubuntu.com. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
- ^ "ebuild". Retrieved 29 July 2015.
- ^ "Basics to Package Management". Retrieved 1 May 2020.
- ^ "rpm - Trac". Retrieved 29 September 2014.
- ^ "makepkg.conf(5) Manual Page".
- ^ "The Slackware Linux Project: Configuration Help". Retrieved 29 September 2014.
Archive formats | |
|---|---|
| Archiving only | |
| Compression only | |
| Archiving and compression | |
| Software packaging and distribution | |
| Document packaging and distribution | |
| |
| dpkg | |
|---|---|
| RPM | |
| Embedded systems | |
| Distribution-agnostic | |
| Others (binary) | |
| Others (source) |
|
| Front-ends | |
| Related topics |
|
| Linux kernel | |
|---|---|
| Controversies | |
| Distributions | |
| Organizations | |
| Adoption |
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| Media | |
| |
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Categories:
- Linux package management-related software
- Package management systems
- Installation software stubs
- Linux stubs