A Slackware package manager in Rust from sratch, with full slackpkg action parity, plus slackpkg+-style multi-repo priority resolution.
- slackpkg: official mirror, update/install/upgrade/remove/clean-system, file- search, templates, ChangeLog tracking, GPG, .new config handling.
- slackpkg+: many repos in one priority-ordered model; the official mirror is just a repo whose priority you choose, so it can sit in any position.
- Thin layer over the native pkgtools - never reimplements installpkg/upgradepkg/removepkg, just calls them.
- Dependency resolution is the repository's responsibility, not the package
manager's. Official Slackware ships none, so official packages get no
auto-resolved deps - the Slackware tradition, kept on purpose. Where a
third-party repo chooses to declare them (a package's own
.dep, or aPACKAGE REQUIRED:line inPACKAGES.TXT), slacker honours that declaration at the repo's responsibility - it never guesses - and you can switch it off (RESOLVE_DEPS=off, or--no-depsper run). - Synchronous; heavy lifting (bzip2 for MANIFEST, GPG) shells out to the system tools Slackware already ships, so no extra Rust deps.
- Everything a user edits is plain text.
After installing the package, you edit two files and run a few commands:
# 1) find the fastest fresh mirror, then activate exactly one in /etc/slacker/mirrors
slacker find-mirror
$EDITOR /etc/slacker/mirrors
# 2) set your repo priorities
$EDITOR /etc/slacker/repos
# 3) check the setup - works even before update, and lists what to do next
slacker status
# 4) import keys once, then refresh
slacker update gpg
slacker update
slacker install-new
slacker upgrade-all
| Installation | binary package and building from source |
| Quick Start | first-time setup, step by step |
| Configuration | slacker.conf, mirrors, repos, blacklist |
| Repositories and Priority | the priority model, subtree, pins, @ selectors |
| Commands | full reference for all 38 actions |
| Common Workflows | the recipes you will actually use |
| Distribution Upgrade | upgrade-dist - moving to a new Slackware release |
| Package History | the history command |
| Dependencies | .dep resolution |
| Docker | the minimal container image and its resolve-stock bootstrap |
| Security | GPG, key pinning, verification, quarantine |
| Blacklist | freezing and hiding packages |
| Templates | snapshot and replay package sets |
| Comparison | slacker vs slackpkg vs slackpkg+ |
| FAQ | troubleshooting and common questions |
| Contributing | architecture and how to build/test |
| Building and Releasing | freezing dependencies for a distro package |
| Status and Roadmap | what works today, what is planned |
| The Emblem | the labyrinth logo and where it comes from |
slacker-gui is OPTIONAL
It contains no package logic: it runs the slacker binary, reads what slacker prints, and lays it out.
If you run slackware-current (always up to date), you can build slacker from source or install the binary provided in every release, use it, and report what you find:
-
Bug reports / issues are very welcome.
-
Please include your slackware-current state (e.g. the date you last upgraded) and your Rust version (
rustc --version). -
Ideas are welcome too - thanks to the fluid
0.xmodel, a strong idea can genuinely make it into the codebase. -
If you can code PR's are more than welcome. Help from AI assistans are also welcome but a PR direclty from an AI is not.
-
NOTE: That this project it cannot succeed if it remains the work of one person, no matter how well-made it is. So do it, try slacker, and if you like it get involved, take project and make it better...
Note: GitHub repository is a read-only mirror. Development happens upstream at https://forge.slackware.nl/rizitis/slacker. You may open issues there, download releases, but send any patches upstream.
- Patrick Volkerding - For Slackware and for pkgtools that slacker use.
- Eric Hameleers - For hosting and maintain
https://forge.slackware.nl(slacker`s home), slacker use his repos and packages. - Darren Austin - For hosting slackware.uk, slacker use
https://slackware.uk/cumulative/repo. - Nathaniel Russell - For
https://reddoglinux.ddns.net/slacker use his repos and packages. - Jay Lanagan - slacker use his repo and packages for current repo
https://slackware.lngn.net/pub/x86_64/slackware64-current/ - Corrado Franco - For requests and all the bug reports. slacker use his repo and packages for current.
- Willy Sudiarto Raharjo - slacker use his packages for MATE and Cinnamon hosted in
https://slackware.ukfor stable. - Georgi Sotirov - slacker use his slackpack repos and packages for stable.
- Matteo Bernardini - slacker use his repo and packages.
- Danilo Macrì - For Pull Requests (shell-completions for slacker) and bug reports.
- My real friend @gcosbug for the code oversight, the fixes and the endless time he has put in...
slacker is dedicated to the memory of my good friend from France Didier Spaier. Who was the creator and maintainer of Slint Linux.
Καλή ανάπαυση στην ψυχή και καλή ανάσταση φίλε...
SLACKER CODE AND PRECOMPILED BINARIES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL SLACKER DEVELOPERS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) SUSTAINED BY YOU OR A THIRD PARTY, HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SAMPLE CODE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
Code and binaries of slacker are not covered by any slacker Service Level Agreements.
slacker is free software under the Apache License 2.0 LICENSE, by Ioannis Anagnostakis (rizitis) and it is not affiliated with or endorsed by Slackware Linux.
Slackware is a registered trademark of Patrick J. Volkerding and Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.
Use slacker at your own risk