pkgcli: A command-line interface for PackageKit

# A nicer command-line interface for PackageKit – Ximions Blog Source: [https://blog.tenstral.net/2026/06/introducing-pkgcli-a-nicer-command-line-interface-for-packagekit.html](https://blog.tenstral.net/2026/06/introducing-pkgcli-a-nicer-command-line-interface-for-packagekit.html) For almost two decades, the[PackageKit](https://github.com/PackageKit/PackageKit)package management abstraction layer has shipped with`pkcon`as its command\-line client\.`pkcon`does its job, but it was always kind of a “testing” front\-end for the PackageKit daemon rather than a tool designed for everyday use\. The focus has instead been on the GUI tools, automatic system updates, GUI application managers and other front\-ends\. Its command names mirror the D\-Bus API almost one\-to\-one \(`get\-details`,`get\-updates`,`get\-depends`\), output is very plain, and there is no machine\-readable mode for scripting\. Most importantly though, there has been no development on it at all for almost a decade, so`pkcon`was stuck in its rudimentary state from that era\. Since a lot of changes will be coming to PackageKit, and testing the daemon and working with it from the command\-line was not very pleasant anymore in 2025/2026, I decided to modernize the tool as part of my work as fellow for the[Sovereign Tech Agency](https://www.sovereign.tech/)last year\.`pkgcli`is the new command\-line client for PackageKit\. It is built from the ground up to be pleasant to use interactively*and*easy to drive from scripts\. ## Why a new tool? Of course, instead of introducing a new tool, I could have just expanded`pkcon`instead\. The problem with that approach is that the`pkcon`utility has been around for so long and its command\-line API had ossified so much, that rather than changing it and potentially breaking a lot of scripts relying on its quirks, I decided to introduce a new tool instead\.`pkcon`can still be optionally compiled for people who need it in their scripts and workflows\. The goals for`pkgcli`, and the features it now has are: - **Human\-friendly command names\.**Verbs that read the way you’d describe the task, instead of mirroring the D\-Bus API 1:1:`show`,`search`,`list\-updates`,`what\-provides`, instead of`get\-details`and friends\. - **Readable,coloredoutput**by default \(still respecting[`NO\_COLOR`](https://no-color.org/)and degrading gracefully\)\. - **A real scripting mode\.**A global`\-\-json`flag emits[JSONL](https://jsonlines.org/)instead of fully human\-readable output when possible, to make it easier to use the tool for scripting purposes\. - **Sensible defaults\.**A few defaults have been changed, such as the metadata cache\-age, or automatic cleanup of unused dependencies being enabled by default\. This is more in line with current defaults by other tools and frontends\. We also print package information in a slightly different, more readable way\. - **Better handling of internationalized text**\. Text should now align properly in the terminal window, and we should no longer have completely chaotic text output on non\-English locales \(especially Chinese/Japanese\)\. ## Why not`pkgctl`? Originally, this tool was called`pkgctl`, to match other common cross\-distro tool names\. However, that name was already taken by an[Arch\-specific distro development tool](https://man.archlinux.org/man/pkgctl.1)\. When this issue was raised, we decided to just rename our tool to`pkgcli`with the next release, to avoid the name clash on Arch Linux\. ## Examples\! Here are some examples on how to use the new tool \(some of which include the abridged output`pkgcli`prints\)\. Search for anything containing the string “editor” in name or description, then look at the details of one result: ``` $ pkgcli search editor Querying [████████████████████████████████████████] 100% ▣ ace-of-penguins 1.5~rc2-7.amd64 [debian-testing-main] ▣ acorn-fdisk 3.0.6-14.amd64 [debian-testing-main] ▣ ardour 1:9.2.0+ds-1.amd64 [debian-testing-main] ✔ audacity 3.7.7+dfsg-1.amd64 [manual:debian-testing-main] ✔ audacity-data 3.7.7+dfsg-1.all [auto:debian-testing-main] ▣ augeas-tools 1.14.1-1.1.amd64 [debian-testing-main] ▣ emacs 1:30.2+1-3.all [debian-testing-main] ▣ gedit 48.1-9+b1.amd64 [debian-testing-main] ▣ gedit-common 48.1-9.all [debian-testing-main] ▣ gedit-dev 48.1-9+b1.amd64 [debian-testing-main] [...] $ pkgcli show nano Package: nano Version: 9.0-1 Summary: small, friendly text editor inspired by Pico Description: GNU nano is an easy-to-use text editor originally designed as a replacement for Pico, the ncurses-based editor from the non-free mailer package Pine. [...] URL: https://www.nano-editor.org/ Group: publishing Installed Size: 2.9 MB Download Size: 646.0 KB ``` Search only within package*names*rather than descriptions: ``` $ pkgcli search name python3 ``` Check for updates\.`refresh`updates the metadata, then`list\-updates`reports what’s available: ``` $ pkgcli refresh && pkgcli list-updates Loading cache [████████████████████████████████████████] 100% ▲ cme 1.048-1.all [debian-testing-main] ▲ gir1.2-gdm-1.0 50.1-2.amd64 [debian-testing-main] ▲ imagemagick 8:7.1.2.24+dfsg1-1.amd64 [debian-testing-main] ▲ imagemagick-7-common 8:7.1.2.24+dfsg1-1.all [debian-testing-main] ▲ imagemagick-7.q16 8:7.1.2.24+dfsg1-1.amd64 [debian-testing-main] ▲ libdlrestrictions1 0.22.0.amd64 [debian-testing-main] ▲ libfftw3-bin 3.3.11-1.amd64 [debian-testing-main] ▲ libfftw3-dev 3.3.11-1.amd64 [debian-testing-main] ``` Explore relationships between packages: ``` $ pkgcli list-depends inkscape # list what inkscape depends on $ pkgcli list-requiring libappstream5 # list what requires libappstream5 ``` Find the package that provides a capability, here the AV1 GStreamer decoder: ``` $ pkgcli what-provides "gstreamer1(decoder-video/x-av1)" ✔ gstreamer1.0-plugins-bad 1.28.3-1.amd64 [auto:debian-testing-main] ``` You can also have JSON output for most commands\! Attach`\-\-json`to any query and pipe the result straight into[`jq`](https://jqlang.github.io/jq/)\. Each line is a self\-contained JSON object: ``` $ pkgcli --json list-updates | jq -r '.name' cme gir1.2-gdm-1.0 imagemagick imagemagick-7-common imagemagick-7.q16 libdlrestrictions1 libfftw3-bin libfftw3-dev libfftw3-double3 ``` ## Try it `pkgcli`is built by default alongside the rest of PackageKit since PackageKit 1\.3\.4\. If your distribution ships a recent enough PackageKit, it should already be on your`PATH`\. You can read its man page`man pkgcli`for more information\. Feedback, bug reports, and patches are[very welcome](https://github.com/PackageKit/PackageKit/pulls)\.