Pikman Guide - ryzendew/Linux-Tips-and-Tricks GitHub Wiki

pikman v1.23.6.5.2 — One package manager to rule them all

Source: https://git.pika-os.com/general-packages/pikman

Table of Contents

Overview

pikman is a unified CLI wrapper around apx containers, apt, and flatpak. It maps commands across five backends:

Backend Flag Default Underlying tool
Debian Sid (none / default) Yes sudo -S apt
Arch Linux --arch / --aur apx (subsystem: pikman-arch-linux)
Fedora --fedora / --dnf apx (subsystem: pikman-fedora-workstation)
Alpine --alpine / --apk apx (subsystem: pikman-alpine)
Flatpak --flatpak / --fl flatpak

Important: The default backend is Debian Sid (sudo -S apt), not auto-detected. pikman does NOT auto-detect your distribution — it defaults to Debian Sid unless you pass a backend flag.

pikman refuses to run as root. You must run it as a normal user.

Installation

pikman is pre-installed at /usr/bin/pikman. It's packaged as a .deb for PikaOS / Debian Sid-based systems.

Usage

pikman [global options] command [command options] [arguments...]

Global Options

Flag Description
--arch, --aur Use Arch Linux backend (apx subsystem)
--fedora, --dnf Use Fedora backend (apx subsystem)
--alpine, --apk Use Alpine backend (apx subsystem)
--flatpak, --fl Use Flatpak backend
--name <value> Target a specific managed container name
--help, -h Show help
--version, -v Show version

Commands per Backend

Not all commands are available on every backend.

Command Alias Debian Sid Arch Fedora Alpine Flatpak
install i ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
remove r ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
purge ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ❌
autoremove ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ❌
search s ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
show ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
list l ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
update ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
upgrade ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ❌
upgrades ✅* ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅*
clean cl ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ❌
log ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅
enter ❌ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
init ❌ ✅ ✅ ✅ ❌
export ❌ ✅ ✅ ✅ ❌
unexport ❌ ✅ ✅ ✅ ❌
run ❌ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅

* upgrades is handled via a separate code path (updates/updates.go) — runs apt list --upgradable on Debian Sid and flatpak remote-ls --updates on Flatpak.

Container Management

Container isolation (via apx subsystems) is available for Arch, Fedora, and Alpine backends. Debian Sid and Flatpak do not use containers.

The default container subsystem names are:

Backend Container name Apx subsystem
Arch pikman-arch-linux arch-linux
Fedora pikman-fedora-workstation fedora-workstation
Alpine pikman-alpine alpine

Auto-init

When you run any non-init command on Arch, Fedora, or Alpine, pikman automatically checks if the container subsystem exists. If not, it creates it using:

apx subsystems new -n <name> -s <subsystem>

init

Initialize a managed container subsystem explicitly.

pikman --arch init

(Internally: apx subsystems new -n pikman-arch-linux -s arch-linux)

enter

Open an interactive shell inside a container.

pikman --arch enter

run

Run a command inside a container without entering interactively.

pikman --arch run -- neofetch

export

Export or recreate a desktop entry from a containerized application.

pikman --arch export firefox

unexport

Remove a previously exported desktop entry.

pikman --arch unexport firefox

Backend Details

Debian Sid (default)

Uses sudo -S apt under the hood. The password prompt is handled via sudo -S (reads from stdin).

pikman install firefox
pikman update
pikman upgrade            # runs: apt update && sudo -S apt dist-upgrade
pikman upgrades           # runs: apt list --upgradable
pikman upgrades --json    # JSON output: {Name, Version, Architecture}

No container support. enter, init, export, unexport, run, log are unavailable.

Arch Linux (--arch / --aur)

Uses apx pikman-arch-linux which internally runs pacman (and yay/paru for AUR).

pikman --aur install yay-bin
pikman --arch install neovim
pikman --arch update
pikman --arch upgrades    # NOT available — only Debian Sid and Flatpak support upgrades

Fedora (--fedora / --dnf)

Uses apx pikman-fedora-workstation which internally runs dnf.

pikman --fedora install httpd

Alpine (--alpine / --apk)

Uses apx pikman-alpine which internally runs apk.

pikman --alpine install nginx

Flatpak (--flatpak / --fl)

Uses flatpak directly. No container, no sudo.

pikman --flatpak install org.gimp.GIMP
pikman --flatpak update
pikman --flatpak upgrades           # runs: flatpak remote-ls --updates
pikman --flatpak upgrades --json    # JSON output: {Name, ApplicationID, Branch, Arch}
pikman --flatpak log                # runs: flatpak history
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