pacman

Install Arch-family Linux packages using pacman.

pacman-installed tools are externally managed: pacman owns the files, and .bin() names the executables the package provides so dotfiles can shim them (see .bin() runtime behavior).

Basic Usage

import { defineTool } from "@alexgorbatchev/dotfiles";

export default defineTool((install) =>
  install("pacman", {
    package: "ripgrep",
  })
    .bin("rg")
    .sudo(),
);

Parameters

Parameter	Description
package	pacman package target (defaults to tool name)
version	Exact package version, installed as package=version
sysupgrade	Run pacman -Syu instead of pacman -S (defaults to false)

Examples

Exact Version

install("pacman", {
  package: "ripgrep",
  version: "13.0.0-1",
}).bin("rg");

The version parameter takes precedence over .version(), and dotfiles update refuses a tool it pins (tool update).

Upgrade System Before Syncing Package

install("pacman", {
  package: "ripgrep",
  sysupgrade: true,
}).bin("rg");

Update Checks

An update check runs pacman -Qu <package>, which compares the installed package with the local sync database, so it is only as current as the last pacman -Sy. A listed upgrade means the tool is outdated. pacman exits 1 both when there is no upgrade and when the query fails, so only exit status 1 with no output at all counts as up to date. For a tool dotfiles installed, a package that is no longer installed, or a sync database that was never downloaded, fails the check. A tool dotfiles never installed is not checked; tool check reports it as not installed.

Platform Support

Platform	Support
Linux	Arch-family distributions only
macOS	Not supported
Windows	Not supported