spi
Salix Package Installer: meta package manager wrapping slapt-get and slapt-src
TLDR
SYNOPSIS
spi [OPTIONS] [STRING(S)]
DESCRIPTION
spi (Salix Package Installer) is a command-line meta package manager for Salix Linux that wraps slapt-get and slapt-src. It provides unified access to both binary packages and SlackBuilds through a single interface.When searching, spi queries both the slapt-get binary package cache and the slapt-src SlackBuild cache. When installing, it prefers binary packages: if none is available it falls back to building from source via slapt-src, and when a SlackBuild has dependencies that exist as binary packages it pulls those through slapt-get rather than rebuilding them.Only basic functionality is exposed; for advanced features the underlying slapt-get and slapt-src tools should be used directly.
PARAMETERS
--search STRING(S)
Search both the package and SlackBuild databases. Default action when spi is called with one or more strings and no other options. Regular expressions are supported.--show PACKAGE(S)
Show details for the named packages or SlackBuilds (runs slapt-get --show and slapt-src --show).--clean
Purge cached packages and SlackBuild build directories. Requires root.-u, --update
Update the package and SlackBuild local caches. Requires root.-U, --upgrade
Upgrade all installed packages using slapt-get --upgrade. Requires root.-i, --install PACKAGE(S)
Install the named packages or SlackBuilds. Binary packages are preferred; otherwise the SlackBuild is built and installed. Requires root.-s, --simulate
Used with --install: simulate the operation, listing packages and SlackBuilds (including dependencies) that would be installed.-n, --no-colour
Disable coloured output when searching.-h
Print a brief usage message and exit.
CAVEATS
Requires slapt-get and slapt-src to be installed and configured. SlackBuild installations compile from source and can be considerably slower than binary installs. The tool is specific to Salix and other Slackware-derived distributions that ship the slapt toolchain. Caches must be updated (spi -u) before searching for or installing newly published packages.
HISTORY
spi was created by George Vlahavas (gapan) for the Salix Linux distribution, a Slackware derivative focused on simplicity and ease of use. Salix was founded in 2009, and spi has since provided a user-friendly bridge between Slackware's binary package and SlackBuild source-build worlds.
