pkgctl-diff

Compare Arch package file differences

TLDR

Compare package files in tar content list mode (default)

$ pkgctl diff -l path/to/file

Compare package files using diffoscope

$ pkgctl diff -d path/to/file

Compare package .PKGINFO files

$ pkgctl diff -p path/to/file

Compare package .BUILDINFO files

$ pkgctl diff -b path/to/file

SYNOPSIS

pkgctl diff [options] file|pkgname

pkgctl diff compares a locally built .pkg.tar.zst against the same package as currently published in the official Arch repositories (or against another local package file). It is the standard pre-release sanity check for Arch package maintainers, exposing accidental file moves, dropped binaries, soname bumps, or unintended .PKGINFO/.BUILDINFO drift.Without flags it runs in --list mode, which compares the tar manifest. Use --diffoscope for byte-level differences (slow but exhaustive), --pkginfo for runtime metadata, or --buildinfo to verify reproducibility-relevant fields like compiler flags and installed build dependencies.

PARAMETERS

-l, --list

Compare using tar content list mode (default)

-d, --diffoscope

Compare using diffoscope for detailed diff

-p, --pkginfo

Compare .PKGINFO metadata files

-b, --buildinfo

Compare .BUILDINFO files

CAVEATS

--diffoscope requires the diffoscope package and can be very slow on packages with large compiled artifacts. When passed a bare pkgname, pkgctl diff downloads the published package from the mirrors, so a working network and configured Pacman mirrorlist are required.

HISTORY

Part of pkgctl, the Arch Linux package control tool for official repository maintainers.