# Package Managers > Use when installing, managing, or automating system-level software with OS package managers. Covers Chocolatey, winget, Homebrew, apt, dnf, pacman, snap, Flatpak, and Scoop — the non-language-specific package managers for installing developer tools and system dependencies. USE FOR: Chocolatey, choco, winget, Homebrew, brew, apt, apt-get, dnf, yum, pacman, snap, Flatpak, Scoop, system package management, developer environment setup, automated provisioning DO NOT USE FOR: language-specific package managers (npm, pip, cargo, NuGet, Maven — use language-specific skills), container image management (use docker), application deployment - Skill: `tyler-r-kendrick/package-managers` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 15 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add tyler-r-kendrick/package-managers` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/tyler-r-kendrick/package-managers/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: DevOps & Infra - License: MIT - Author: Tyler-R-Kendrick (https://skillmd.com/u/tyler-r-kendrick) - Updated: 2026-09-10 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tyler-r-kendrick/package-managers --- # Package Managers ## Overview System-level package managers install the tools developers need before they can write code — compilers, runtimes, CLIs, databases, editors, and utilities. Choosing the right one depends on your OS. Unlike language-specific package managers (npm, pip, cargo), these operate at the system level and manage binaries, libraries, and applications across your entire machine. ## Package Manager Landscape | Manager | Platform | Type | Package Count (approx) | Key Strength | |------------|------------------|----------------------|------------------------|---------------------------------------| | Chocolatey | Windows | Community + Commercial | 10,000+ | Windows ecosystem standard | | winget | Windows 10/11 | Microsoft-maintained | 5,000+ | Built into Windows | | Scoop | Windows | Community | 3,000+ | Portable installs, no admin needed | | Homebrew | macOS + Linux | Community | 8,000+ formulae | macOS standard | | apt | Debian/Ubuntu | Official | 60,000+ | Largest Linux ecosystem | | dnf | Fedora/RHEL | Official | 50,000+ | RPM ecosystem | | pacman | Arch | Official | 13,000+ | Bleeding-edge packages | | snap | Ubuntu/cross-Linux | Canonical | 7,000+ | Sandboxed, auto-updating apps | | Flatpak | Cross-Linux | freedesktop.org | 2,000+ | Sandboxed desktop apps | --- ## Windows ### Chocolatey Chocolatey is the most established Windows package manager with the largest repository of Windows-specific packages. **Installation:** ```powershell Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol -bor 3072 iex ((New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://community.chocolatey.org/install.ps1')) ``` **Common Commands:** ```powershell # Install packages (-y auto-confirms prompts) choco install git nodejs python3 vscode docker-desktop -y # Upgrade a package choco upgrade nodejs -y # Upgrade all packages choco upgrade all -y # List installed packages choco list # Uninstall a package choco uninstall nodejs -y # Search for packages choco search terraform ``` **Pinning Versions:** ```powershell # Install a specific version choco install nodejs --version=20.11.0 -y # Pin a package to prevent upgrades choco pin add -n=nodejs # Unpin a package choco pin remove -n=nodejs ``` **packages.config for Reproducible Setups:** Create a `packages.config` file for team-consistent environments: ```xml ``` ```powershell # Install all packages from config choco install packages.config -y ``` ### winget winget is Microsoft's official package manager, built into Windows 10 (1709+) and Windows 11. **Common Commands:** ```powershell # Install packages winget install Git.Git winget install Microsoft.VisualStudioCode winget install Docker.DockerDesktop # Upgrade a package winget upgrade Git.Git # Upgrade all packages winget upgrade --all # List installed packages winget list # Search for packages winget search python # Show package details winget show Python.Python.3.12 ``` **Machine Setup with Export/Import:** ```powershell # Export installed packages to JSON winget export -o packages.json # Import and install on a new machine winget import -i packages.json --accept-package-agreements --accept-source-agreements ``` ### Scoop Scoop installs programs to your user directory by default — no admin rights needed, no PATH pollution, easy cleanup. **Installation:** ```powershell irm get.scoop.sh | iex ``` **Buckets (Repositories):** ```powershell # Add additional buckets scoop bucket add extras # GUI apps, developer tools scoop bucket add versions # Alternative versions of packages scoop bucket add java # JDKs and JREs # List known buckets scoop bucket known ``` **Common Commands:** ```powershell # Install packages scoop install git python nodejs # Update scoop and all packages scoop update * # List installed packages scoop list # Uninstall a package scoop uninstall nodejs # Search for packages scoop search terraform ``` **Why Scoop:** - No administrator privileges required - No PATH pollution (uses shims) - Easy cleanup: `scoop cleanup *` - Portable — all installs go to `~/scoop` - Simple uninstall leaves no registry entries behind --- ## macOS ### Homebrew Homebrew is the de facto standard package manager for macOS and also works on Linux. **Installation:** ```bash /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)" ``` **Formulae vs Casks:** - **Formulae** — command-line tools and libraries (`brew install git`) - **Casks** — GUI applications (`brew install --cask visual-studio-code`) **Common Commands:** ```bash # Install CLI tools and GUI apps brew install git node python docker brew install --cask visual-studio-code iterm2 firefox # Update Homebrew and all formulae definitions brew update # Upgrade installed packages brew upgrade # List installed packages brew list # Search for packages brew search terraform # Show package info brew info node # Remove old versions brew cleanup # Check for issues brew doctor ``` **Taps (Third-Party Repositories):** ```bash # Add a tap brew tap hashicorp/tap brew install hashicorp/tap/terraform # List taps brew tap ``` **Brewfile for Reproducible Setups:** ```ruby # Brewfile tap "hashicorp/tap" brew "git" brew "node" brew "python" brew "docker" brew "jq" brew "terraform" cask "visual-studio-code" cask "iterm2" cask "docker" ``` ```bash # Generate Brewfile from currently installed packages brew bundle dump # Install everything from Brewfile brew bundle install # Check what would be installed brew bundle check ``` --- ## Linux ### apt (Debian/Ubuntu) apt is the standard package manager for Debian-based distributions including Ubuntu, Linux Mint, and Pop!_OS. ```bash # Update package index (always do this first) sudo apt update # Install packages sudo apt install git nodejs python3 curl wget -y # Upgrade all installed packages sudo apt upgrade -y # Full distribution upgrade sudo apt full-upgrade -y # Remove a package sudo apt remove nodejs # Remove a package and its config files sudo apt purge nodejs # Search for packages apt search terraform # Show package info apt show nodejs # Clean up unused packages sudo apt autoremove -y ``` **Adding PPAs (Personal Package Archives):** ```bash # Add a PPA for newer package versions sudo add-apt-repository ppa:deadsnakes/ppa sudo apt update sudo apt install python3.12 ``` **Pinning Packages:** ```bash # Hold a package at its current version sudo apt-mark hold nodejs # Unhold a package sudo apt-mark unhold nodejs # List held packages apt-mark showhold ``` ### dnf (Fedora/RHEL) dnf is the package manager for Fedora, RHEL 8+, CentOS Stream, and Rocky Linux. ```bash # Install packages sudo dnf install git nodejs python3 -y # Upgrade all packages sudo dnf upgrade -y # Search for packages dnf search terraform # Remove a package sudo dnf remove nodejs # Show package info dnf info nodejs # List installed packages dnf list installed # Clean cache sudo dnf clean all ``` **Enabling Repositories:** ```bash # Enable EPEL (Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux) sudo dnf install epel-release -y # Enable a specific repo sudo dnf config-manager --set-enabled crb # List repos dnf repolist ``` ### pacman (Arch) pacman is the package manager for Arch Linux and its derivatives (Manjaro, EndeavourOS). ```bash # Sync database and install a package sudo pacman -S git nodejs python # Full system upgrade sudo pacman -Syu # Search for packages pacman -Ss terraform # Remove a package sudo pacman -R nodejs # Remove a package and its unused dependencies sudo pacman -Rs nodejs # List installed packages pacman -Q # Show package info pacman -Si nodejs ``` **AUR Helpers (yay, paru):** The Arch User Repository (AUR) contains community-maintained packages not in the official repos. ```bash # Install yay (AUR helper) sudo pacman -S --needed git base-devel git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/yay.git cd yay && makepkg -si # Use yay like pacman (searches AUR too) yay -S visual-studio-code-bin yay -Syu # upgrade everything including AUR packages # paru is another popular AUR helper ``` ### snap snap is a universal package format developed by Canonical, primarily used on Ubuntu but available on most Linux distributions. ```bash # Install a snap sudo snap install code --classic sudo snap install firefox # Refresh (update) snaps sudo snap refresh # List installed snaps snap list # Remove a snap sudo snap remove firefox # Show snap info snap info code ``` **Confinement Levels:** - **strict** — fully sandboxed, limited system access (default) - **classic** — full system access, like traditional packages (e.g., IDEs, compilers) - **devmode** — developer mode, warnings instead of denials **When to Use snap vs apt:** - Use snap for: sandboxed applications, apps that need auto-updates, cross-distro installs - Use apt for: system libraries, CLI tools, packages that need deep system integration --- ## Reproducible Environment Setup ### Shell Script Bootstrap Create a bootstrap script that detects the OS and installs packages accordingly: ```bash #!/usr/bin/env bash set -euo pipefail install_macos() { command -v brew &>/dev/null || /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)" brew bundle install --file=Brewfile } install_ubuntu() { sudo apt update sudo apt install -y git curl wget build-essential # Add more packages as needed } install_fedora() { sudo dnf install -y git curl wget } case "$(uname -s)" in Darwin) install_macos ;; Linux) if command -v apt &>/dev/null; then install_ubuntu elif command -v dnf &>/dev/null; then install_fedora fi ;; esac ``` ### Export/Import Features | Manager | Export Command | Import Command | |------------|--------------------------------|-----------------------------------| | Chocolatey | (use packages.config manually) | `choco install packages.config` | | winget | `winget export -o pkgs.json` | `winget import -i pkgs.json` | | Homebrew | `brew bundle dump` | `brew bundle install` | | apt | `dpkg --get-selections` | `dpkg --set-selections && apt dselect-upgrade` | --- ## Best Practices 1. **Automate your dev setup** — Script your environment setup so you can rebuild your machine in minutes, not hours. 2. **Pin critical tool versions** — Use version pinning for tools where version consistency matters across the team (e.g., Terraform, Node.js). 3. **Keep package managers updated** — Run update commands regularly to get security patches and new packages. 4. **Prefer official repositories** — Only add third-party repos (PPAs, taps) when necessary; they may lag on security updates. 5. **Use Brewfile/packages.config for team consistency** — Check your package manifest into version control so every team member gets the same toolset. 6. **Don't mix system and language package managers** — Install Python with apt/brew, but install Python packages with pip/pipx. Install Node with brew/apt, but install Node packages with npm. 7. **Use `--cask` for GUI apps on macOS** — Homebrew casks manage GUI applications separately from CLI formulae and handle updates cleanly. 8. **Prefer user-level installs when possible** — Tools like Scoop and Homebrew avoid requiring admin/root privileges, reducing risk and simplifying management.