Pacman is the package manager used by Arch Linux, which is responsible for installing, upgrading, and removing software packages on the system. The repo-add command is a utility provided by Pacman that is used for package database maintenance.
When a new package is created, it needs to be added to a repository in order for it to be installed via Pacman. The repo-add command allows you to add new packages to a repository database, or to update an existing package in the database.
The repo-add command takes two arguments: the first is the name of the repository database file to be updated, and the second is the package file to be added to the repository. The package file must be in a specific format, which varies depending on the package format used by the package manager.
If you encounter the below error while running the command repo-add:
repo-add: command not found
you may try installing the below package as per your choice of distribution:
| Distribution | Command |
|---|---|
| Debian | apt-get install pacman |
| Ubuntu | apt-get install pacman |
| Alpine | apk add pacman |
| Arch Linux | pacman -S pacman |
| Kali Linux | apt-get install pacman |
| Fedora | dnf install pacman |
| Raspbian | apt-get install pacman |
repo-add Command Examples
1. Add all package binaries in the current directory and remove the old database file:
# repo-add --remove path/to/database.db.tar.gz *.pkg.tar.zst
2. Add all package binaries in the current directory in silent mode except for warning and error messages:
# repo-add --quiet path/to/database.db.tar.gz *.pkg.tar.zst
3. Add all package binaries in the current directory without showing color:
# repo-add --nocolor path/to/database.db.tar.gz *.pkg.tar.zst
Summary
Overall, repo-add is a useful utility for maintaining Arch Linux package repositories, making it easy to add and update packages, and allowing users to easily install and manage software on their systems.