PKG-SET(8)

📦 version 2.7.5, in nixos 26.05, nixpkgs unstable

💅 PKG-SET(8) — like, the system manager's manual, but make it make sense

okay so bestie, you found pkg-set(8), the tool for modifying info in your installed package database. buckle up 🎀

✨ NAME ✨

pkg set — modify information in the installed database

like, you're literally editing the receipts of everything you've installed. no big deal. (it's a big deal.)

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

pkg set [-a] [-A 0|1] [-n oldname:newname] [-o oldorigin:neworigin] [-p]
    [-v 0|1] [-y] [-Cgix] pkg-name
pkg set [--all] [--automatic 0|1] [--change-name oldname:newname]
    [--change-origin oldorigin:neworigin] [--partial] [--yes] [-v 0|1]
    [--{case-sensitive,glob,case-insensitive,regex}] pkg-name

two flavours, short flags or the long ones, both iconic 💅

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

pkg set is the tool for modifying information concerning installed packages.

and yeah — pkg set should always be used with caution. fr fr. it's not a "just vibe and see what happens" command, it's a "know what you're doing" command. 🫶

💅 OPTIONS 💅

here's everything pkg set supports, no gatekeeping:

  • -A 0|1, --automatic 0|1 — set the automatic flag for the package: 0 is not automatic, 1 is automatic. this affects the operation of pkg-autoremove(8). 👀
  • -a, --all — match all installed packages. every single one of them.
  • -C, --case-sensitive — make the standard or the regular expression (-x) matching against pkg-name case sensitive.
  • -g, --glob — match pkg-name as a globbing expression.
  • -i, --case-insensitive — make the standard or regular expression (-x) matching against pkg-name case insensitive. this is the default, unless modified by setting CASE_SENSITIVE_MATCH to true in pkg.conf.
  • -n oldname:newname, --change-name oldname:newname — change the package name of a given dependency from oldname to newname.
  • -o oldorigin:neworigin, --change-origin oldorigin:neworigin — change the port origin of a given dependency from oldorigin to neworigin. this corresponds to the port directory that the package originated from. typically, this is only needed for upgrading a library or package that has MOVED or when the default version of a major port dependency changes.
DEPRECATED bestie, heads up. usually this will be explained in /usr/ports/UPDATING. also see pkg-updating(8) and “EXAMPLES”. 📌
  • -p, --partial — turn the -o or --n options from exact match renames into substring search in replace in all installed packages.
  • -x, --regex — match pkg-name as a regular expression according to the "modern" or "extended" syntax of re_format(7).
  • -v 0|1, --vital 0|1 — set or unset the "vital" flag on the target package(s). set to 0 to disable the "vital" flag, and 1 to enable it.
  • -y, --yes — assume yes rather than asking for confirmation before modifying package information. no take-backs, no pop-up, just send it. 😭

and if neither the -g nor -x options are used, the default is to match pkg-name exactly. no fuzzy vibes, exact only. 🎯

🍓 FILES 🍓

see pkg.conf(5). that's the whole section, she's short and mysterious 💜

🔥 EXAMPLES 🔥

change a package from automatic to non-automatic, which will prevent autoremove from removing it:

% pkg set -A 0 perl-5.14

change a package from non-automatic to automatic, which will make autoremove allow it be removed once nothing depends on it:

% pkg set -A 1 perl-5.14

rename all the php83- packages into php84- packages in order to prepare for an upgrade:

% pkg set -p -n php83:php84

see how the last one used -p? that's the partial matching doing the heavy lifting. slay. ✨

🌈 ENVIRONMENT 🌈

the following environment variables affect the execution of pkg set. see pkg.conf(5) for further description.

  • CASE_SENSITIVE_MATCH

one variable, one queen 👑

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

pkg_create(3), pkg_printf(3), pkg_repo_create(3), pkg_repos(3), pkg-keywords(5), pkg-lua-script(5), pkg-repository(5), pkg-script(5), pkg-triggers(5), pkg.conf(5), pkg(8), pkg-add(8), pkg-alias(8), pkg-annotate(8), pkg-audit(8), pkg-autoremove(8), pkg-check(8), pkg-clean(8), pkg-config(8), pkg-create(8), pkg-delete(8), pkg-fetch(8), pkg-help(8), pkg-info(8), pkg-install(8), pkg-key(8), pkg-lock(8), pkg-plugins(8), pkg-query(8), pkg-register(8), pkg-repo(8), pkg-repositories(8), pkg-rquery(8), pkg-search(8), pkg-shell(8), pkg-shlib(8), pkg-ssh(8), pkg-stats(8), pkg-triggers(8), pkg-unregister(8), pkg-update(8), pkg-updating(8), pkg-upgrade(8), pkg-version(8), pkg-which(8)

like a whole friend group honestly 🫶

that's the page, bestie. go forth and pkg set responsibly 💖

this lil number came from the Debian build of the page — source Debian, dated August 27, 2025 — and yeah, that's the whole sign-off. mwah. 💋

📦 where this page comes from