# Pkgsrc > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Pkgsrc > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Pkgsrc.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pkgsrc > Source revision: 1314473134 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Package manager for Unix-like operating systems}}{{Primary sources|date=April 2024}} {{Lowercase title}} {{Infobox software | name = pkgsrc | logo = Pkgsrc.svg | logo size = 200px | screenshot = | caption = | author = | developer = Alistair Crooks, Hubert Feyrer and Johnny C. Lam{{cite web|title=10 years of pkgsrc - pkgsrc and the concepts of package management 1997-2007 (part 1)|url=https://www.netbsd.org/gallery/10years.html#alcrooks|work=www.netbsd.org|publisher= The NetBSD Foundation|access-date=14 October 2010}} | released = {{Start date and age|1998|01|04}} | latest release version = {{wikidata|property|reference|P348}} | latest release date = {{start date and age|{{wikidata|qualifier|P348|P577}}}} | latest preview version = | latest preview date = | operating system = [Unix-like](/source/Unix-like) | platform = | programming language = [C](/source/C_(programming_language)), [Unix shell](/source/Unix_shell) | genre = [Package management system](/source/Package_management_system) | license = [BSD License](/source/BSD_License) | website = {{URL|https://www.pkgsrc.org}} }} '''pkgsrc''' (''package source'') is a [package management system](/source/package_management_system) for [Unix-like](/source/Unix-like) [operating system](/source/operating_system)s. It was forked from the [FreeBSD ports](/source/FreeBSD_ports) collection in 1997 as the primary package management system for [NetBSD](/source/NetBSD). Since then it has evolved independently; in 1999, support for [Solaris](/source/Solaris_(operating_system)) was added, followed by support for other operating systems.{{r|informit-2006}} {{Asof|September 2025}}, pkgsrc currently contains over 29,000 packages{{Cite mailing list|url=https://mail-index.netbsd.org/netbsd-announce/2025/09/25/msg000387.html|title=pkgsrc-2025Q3 released|last=Siegert|first=Benn|date=25 September 2025|access-date=1 October 2025}} and includes most popular [open-source software](/source/open-source_software). It is the native package manager on NetBSD, [SmartOS](/source/SmartOS) and [MINIX 3](/source/MINIX_3), and is portable across 23 different [operating system](/source/operating_system)s, including [AIX](/source/AIX_operating_system), various [BSD](/source/BSD) derivatives, [HP-UX](/source/HP-UX), [IRIX](/source/IRIX), [Linux](/source/Linux),{{cite web |url=http://pkgsrc.joyent.com/install-on-linux/ |title=Joyent Packages Documentation - Install On Linux |publisher=[Joyent](/source/Joyent) |access-date=2018-10-10}} [macOS](/source/macOS),{{cite web |url=http://pkgsrc.joyent.com/install-on-osx/ |title=Joyent Packages Documentation - Install On macOS |publisher=[Joyent](/source/Joyent) |access-date=2018-10-10 |archive-date=2018-10-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006125302/http://pkgsrc.joyent.com/install-on-osx/ |url-status=dead }} [Solaris](/source/Solaris_(operating_system)), and [QNX](/source/QNX).{{cite web |url=http://mail-index.netbsd.org/pkgsrc-users/2018/10/05/msg027525.html |title=Announcing the pkgsrc-2018Q3 release |last=Perkin|first=Jonathan |publisher=[NetBSD](/source/NetBSD) |date=2018-10-05 |access-date=2018-10-10}} There are multiple ways to install programs using pkgsrc. The pkgsrc [bootstrap](/source/Bootstrapping) contains a traditional [ports collection](/source/ports_collection) that utilizes a series of [makefiles](/source/Make_(software)) to compile software from source. Another method is to install pre-built binary packages via the {{mono|pkg_add}} and {{mono|pkg_delete}} tools. A high-level utility named {{mono|pkgin}} also exists, and is designed to automate the installation, removal, and update of binary packages in a manner similar to [Debian](/source/Debian)'s [Advanced Packaging Tool](/source/Advanced_Packaging_Tool).{{cite web|url=http://pkgin.net/|title=pkgin, a binary package manager for pkgsrc}} Several vendors, including [https://mnx.io MNX.io], provide binary packages for popular operating systems, including [macOS](/source/macOS) and [Linux](/source/Linux).{{r|pkgsrc-osx|pkgsrc-linux}} == Supported platforms == {| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto; margin:0 0 0 2em; font-size:85%;" |- ! Platform ! Date added |- | [NetBSD](/source/NetBSD) | October 1997 |- | [Solaris](/source/Solaris_(operating_system)) | March 1999 |- | [Linux](/source/Linux) | June 1999 |- | [Darwin](/source/Darwin_(operating_system)) and [macOS](/source/macOS) | October 2001 |- | [FreeBSD](/source/FreeBSD) | November 2002 |- | [OpenBSD](/source/OpenBSD) | November 2002 |- | [IRIX](/source/IRIX) | December 2002 |- | [BSD/OS](/source/BSD%2FOS) | December 2003 |- | [AIX](/source/AIX) | December 2003 |- | [Interix](/source/Interix) (for [Windows NT](/source/Windows_NT)) | March 2004 |- | [DragonFly BSD](/source/DragonFly_BSD) | October 2004 |- | [OSF/1](/source/OSF%2F1) | November 2004 |- | [HP-UX](/source/HP-UX) | April 2007 |- | [QNX](/source/QNX) | October 2007 |- | [Haiku](/source/Haiku_(operating_system)) | January 2010 |- | [MINIX 3](/source/MINIX_3) | August 2010 |- | [MirBSD](/source/MirOS_BSD) | January 2011 |- | [illumos](/source/illumos) and [SmartOS](/source/SmartOS) | February 2011 |- | [Cygwin](/source/Cygwin) | May 2013 |- | [GNU/kFreeBSD](/source/GNU%2FkFreeBSD) | July 2013 |- | [Bitrig](/source/Bitrig) | June 2015 |- |} == History == On October 3, 1997, NetBSD developers Alistair Crooks and Hubert Feyrer created pkgsrc based on the FreeBSD ports system and intended to support the NetBSD packages collection. It was officially released as part of NetBSD 1.3{{cite web|url=//www.netbsd.org/releases/formal-1.3/|title=Information about NetBSD 1.3}} on January 4, 1998. [DragonFly BSD](/source/DragonFly_BSD) used pkgsrc as its official package system from version 1.4 in 2006, to 3.4 in 2013.{{cite web |url=https://leaf.dragonflybsd.org/mailarchive/users/2005-08/msg00347.html |first=Matthew |last=Dillon |title=PKGSRC will be officially supported as of the next release |publisher=DragonFly users mailing list |date=2005-08-31}}{{r|informit-2006}} On 2017-09-12, a commit message policy that accommodates [DVCS](/source/Distributed_version_control) was established by the project.{{r|dvcs}} == Packages == [The NetBSD Foundation](/source/NetBSD) provides official, pre-built binary packages for multiple combinations of NetBSD and pkgsrc releases, and occasionally for certain other operating systems as well.{{Cite web|url=http://ftp.netbsd.org/pub/pkgsrc/packages/|title=Index of pub/PKGSRC/Packages/}} As of 2018, several vendors provide pre-built binary packages for several platforms: * Since at least 2014, [Joyent](/source/Joyent) has provided binary packages for [SmartOS](/source/SmartOS)/[illumos](/source/illumos), [macOS](/source/macOS), and Enterprise Linux ([CentOS](/source/CentOS)/[Oracle](/source/Oracle_Linux)/[Red Hat](/source/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux)/[Scientific](/source/Scientific_Linux)).{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715002720/http://pkgsrc.joyent.com/ |title=Joyent's packages, available for SmartOS/illumos, Linux, and OSX |archive-date=2014-07-15 |access-date=2018-10-11 |url=http://pkgsrc.joyent.com/ |url-status=live }} Packages are provided on a [rolling release](/source/rolling_release) basis from the [trunk](/source/trunk_(software)) (HEAD, in [CVS](/source/Concurrent_Versions_System) terminology) of pkgsrc, with updates every few days; additionally, quarterly stable releases of pkgsrc for Joyent's own SmartOS are also provided (dating back to 2012Q4).{{Cite web|url=http://pkgsrc.joyent.com/packages/|title = Index of /Packages/}} * Since 2017, [University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee](/source/University_of_Wisconsin%E2%80%93Milwaukee) has provided binary packages for NetBSD, [RHEL](/source/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux)/[CentOS](/source/CentOS), and [Darwin](/source/Darwin_(operating_system))/[macOS](/source/macOS).{{cite web |url=http://mirror1.hpc.uwm.edu/pkgsrc/packages/sharedapps/ |title=mirror1.hpc.uwm.edu/pkgsrc/ |access-date=2018-10-11 }}{{cite web |url=https://uwm.edu/hpc/software-management/ |title=Software Management |publisher=[University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee](/source/University_of_Wisconsin%E2%80%93Milwaukee), [High Performance Computing](/source/High_Performance_Computing) dept |access-date=2018-10-11 }} Packages are only built from the quarterly releases of pkgsrc, aiding use in [long-term experiment](/source/long-term_experiment)s, where stability and [reproducibility](/source/reproducibility) of the [findings](/source/scientific_method) is of the essence.{{cite mailing list |url=http://mail-index.netbsd.org/pkgsrc-users/2017/08/01/msg025383.html |title=Re: Pkgsrc binary packages now available for scientific computing |mailing-list=pkgsrc-users |publisher=[NetBSD](/source/NetBSD) |date=2017-08-01 |access-date=2018-10-13 }} ==References== {{Reflist |refs= {{cite web |author= David Chisnall |date= 2006-10-06 |url= http://www.informit.com/articles/printerfriendly/655422 |title= NetBSD: Not Just for Toasters |publisher= [Prentice Hall Professional](/source/Prentice_Hall_Professional) |website= [InformIT](/source/InformIT_(publisher)) |access-date= 2019-07-25 }} {{cite mailing list |author= Thomas Klausner |date= 2017-09-12 |url= http://mail-index.netbsd.org/pkgsrc-users/2017/09/12/msg025574.html |title= pkgsrc Commit Message Policy |mailing-list= pkgsrc-users@ |publisher= [NetBSD](/source/NetBSD) |access-date= 2019-05-09 }} }} ==External links== {{Portal | Computer programming | Free and open-source software | Linux }} * {{Official website}} * [https://pkgsrc.se/ A web interface for pkgsrc] * [https://pkgsrc.org/wip pkgsrc-wip] – a project to get more people actively involved with pkgsrc * [https://pkgsrc.org/pkgsrcCon pkgsrcCon: An annual conference focusing on pkgsrc] * [https://old.reddit.com/r/pkgsrc /r/pkgsrc] on [Reddit](/source/Reddit) {{NetBSD}} {{Package management systems}} Category:Console applications Category:Free package management systems Category:Linux package management-related software Category:NetBSD Category:Software using the BSD license Category:Unix package management-related software Category:Utility software for Linux Category:Utility software for macOS --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Pkgsrc](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pkgsrc) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pkgsrc?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.