'\" t
.\"     Title: pkgcli
.\"    Author: Matthias Klumpp <matthias@tenstral.net>
.\" Generator: DocBook XSL Stylesheets v1.79.2 <http://docbook.sf.net/>
.\"      Date: 26. November 2025
.\"    Manual: pkgcli
.\"    Source: PackageKit
.\"  Language: English
.\"
.TH "PKGCLI" "1" "26\&. November 2025" "PackageKit" "pkgcli"
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.SH "NAME"
pkgcli \- command\-line client for PackageKit
.SH "SYNOPSIS"
.HP \w'\fBpkgcli\fR\ 'u
\fBpkgcli\fR [\fBGLOBAL\-OPTIONS\fR...] \fICOMMAND\fR [\fBCOMMAND\-OPTIONS\fR...] [\fIARGUMENTS\fR...]
.SH "DESCRIPTION"
.PP
\fBpkgcli\fR
is a command line client for PackageKit, a distribution\-neutral interface to the operating system\*(Aqs package manager\&. It provides a set of subcommands for querying and managing software packages, repositories and transaction history\&.
.PP
Use
\fBpkgcli\fR
\fB\-\-help\fR
to get a list of available commands, and
\fBpkgcli\fR
\fICOMMAND\fR
\fB\-\-help\fR
for command\-specific help\&.
.SH "GLOBAL OPTIONS"
.PP
The following options are parsed before the command name and affect most subcommands:
.PP
\fB\-v\fR, \fB\-\-version\fR
.RS 4
Show the
\fBpkgcli\fR
version and exit\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-h\fR, \fB\-\-help\fR
.RS 4
Show generic help and a list of available commands\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-q\fR, \fB\-\-quiet\fR
.RS 4
Only provide minimal output\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-\-verbose\fR
.RS 4
Show more detailed and debug\-style output\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-\-json\fR
.RS 4
Output results in JSON format suitable for consumption by other tools\&. Output is generated in the JSONL (JSON Lines) format, with one JSON object per line\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-\-no\-color\fR
.RS 4
Disable colored terminal output\&. This is also enabled when the
\fBNO_COLOR\fR
environment variable is set\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-y\fR, \fB\-\-yes\fR
.RS 4
Answer \(lqyes\(rq to all questions and run in non\-interactive mode\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-f\fR, \fB\-\-filter\fR=\fIFILTER\fR
.RS 4
Apply one or more filters when querying packages, such as restricting results to installed or available packages\&. You can view all supported filter options by running
\fBpkgcli organization\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fB\-n\fR, \fB\-\-background\fR
.RS 4
Hint that the command is not urgent and may use idle network bandwidth and power\-saving settings where supported\&.
.RE
.SH "COMMANDS"
.PP
The following commands are available:
.PP
\fBbackend\fR
.RS 4
Display information about the PackageKit backend currently in use, including the backend name, version, and the roles it supports\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBhistory\fR
.RS 4
Show a list of recent package management transactions (like installation, removal, and update operations performed on the system)\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBsearch\fR
.RS 4
Search for packages matching a given pattern\&. The first argument may optionally be one of
name,
details,
file
or
group, to limit the search to the selected domain\&. If only one argument is given, a search across package details (name, summary, and description) is performed\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBlist\fR
.RS 4
List packages, optionally filtered by installation status or name pattern\&. Use with
\fB\-\-filter\fR
to show only installed, available, or other categories of packages\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBshow\fR
.RS 4
Display detailed information about one or more packages, including version, size, description, license, and repository information\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBlist\-depends\fR
.RS 4
List all packages that the specified package depends on\&. Use the
\fB\-\-recursive\fR
flag to list dependencies of the entire chain\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBlist\-required\-by\fR
.RS 4
List packages that depend on or require the specified package\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBwhat\-provides\fR
.RS 4
Find and list packages that provide a given capability, shared library, or file path\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBfiles\fR
.RS 4
Display a list of all files contained in the specified package\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBlist\-updates\fR
.RS 4
List all available package updates for installed software\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBshow\-update\fR
.RS 4
Display detailed information about a specific update, including changelog entries, security advisories, and other update metadata\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBresolve\fR
.RS 4
Resolve package names or identifiers to their package state, showing whether they are installed, available, or unavailable\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBorganization\fR
.RS 4
Display available package filters (such as installed, available, newest), groups (such as system, development, graphics), and categories that can be used to query packages\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBshow\-os\-upgrade\fR
.RS 4
Check for and display information about available operating system or distribution upgrades, such as upgrades to a newer OS release\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBlast\-time\fR
.RS 4
Show the elapsed time since the last transaction of a specified role occurred, such as the last package update or cache refresh\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBrefresh\fR
.RS 4
Refresh the local package metadata cache by downloading the latest package information from configured repositories\&. This should be run before checking for updates or searching for new packages\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBinstall\fR
.RS 4
Install one or more packages by name, or install local package files if a path is provided instead of a package name\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBremove\fR
.RS 4
Remove one or more installed packages from the system\&. This may also remove dependent packages if they are no longer needed\&. Use with the
\-\-autoremove
option to clean up unused packages as well\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBupdate\fR
.RS 4
Install available updates for all installed packages on the system, or for specific packages if specified as arguments\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBupgrade\fR
.RS 4
Perform a system upgrade to newer package versions or a new distribution release\&. This may involve major version updates and significant changes\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBdownload\fR
.RS 4
Download package files to the local system without installing them\&. This is useful for offline installation or package inspection\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBoffline\-update\fR
.RS 4
Prepare, trigger, cancel, or inspect offline system updates\&. Offline updates are applied during system boot before the desktop environment starts, allowing critical system packages to be updated safely\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBinstall\-sig\fR
.RS 4
Install a cryptographic signature for a package to verify its authenticity and integrity\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBrepair\fR
.RS 4
Attempt to automatically repair problems with the package management system, such as broken dependencies, corrupted databases, or interrupted transactions\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBquit\fR
.RS 4
Request the PackageKit daemon to terminate gracefully after completing any ongoing operations\&. The daemon will restart automatically when needed\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBrepo\-list\fR
.RS 4
Display a list of all configured software repositories, showing their identifiers, descriptions, and enabled/disabled status\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBrepo\-enable\fR
.RS 4
Enable a previously disabled repository, allowing packages from that repository to be installed and updated\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBrepo\-disable\fR
.RS 4
Disable a repository, preventing packages from that source from being installed or updated while keeping the repository configuration\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBrepo\-remove\fR
.RS 4
Completely remove a repository from the system configuration\&. This is permanent and the repository will need to be re\-added if needed later\&. Takes a repository\-ID as parameter\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBmonitor\fR
.RS 4
Monitor and display real\-time PackageKit transaction events and status changes on the bus\&. This is useful for debugging or observing package management activity\&.
.RE
.PP
Use
\fBpkgcli\fR
\fICOMMAND\fR
\fB\-\-help\fR
for detailed usage information including supported options and arguments for each command\&.
.SH "EXIT STATUS"
.PP
The following exit codes are used by
\fBpkgcli\fR:
.PP
0
.RS 4
The command completed successfully\&.
.RE
.PP
1
.RS 4
A non\-specific error occurred\&.
.RE
.PP
2
.RS 4
Invalid syntax or command\-line options were supplied\&.
.RE
.PP
3
.RS 4
Insufficient permissions to perform the requested operation\&.
.RE
.PP
4
.RS 4
Required information or packages could not be found\&.
.RE
.PP
5
.RS 4
The transaction failed\&.
.RE
.PP
Additional exit codes may be used for more specific failure conditions by individual commands\&.
.SH "ENVIRONMENT"
.PP
\fBNO_COLOR\fR
.RS 4
When set to any non\-empty value, disables colored output, equivalent to passing
\fB\-\-no\-color\fR\&.
.RE
.SH "EXAMPLES"
.PP
Search for packages related to text editors
.RS 4
\fBpkgcli search editor\fR
.RE
.PP
Search only in package names
.RS 4
\fBpkgcli search name python3\fR
.RE
.PP
Show detailed information about a package
.RS 4
\fBpkgcli show nano\fR
.RE
.PP
Install a package non\-interactively
.RS 4
\fBpkgcli \-\-yes install nano\fR
.RE
.PP
List all installed packages
.RS 4
\fBpkgcli \-\-filter=installed list\fR
.RE
.PP
Check for available updates
.RS 4
\fBpkgcli refresh && pkgcli list\-updates\fR
.RE
.PP
List dependencies of a package
.RS 4
\fBpkgcli list\-depends inkscape\fR
.RE
.PP
Find which package provides the AV1 GStreamer codec
.RS 4
\fBpkgcli what\-provides "gstreamer1(decoder\-video/x\-av1)"\fR
.RE
.SH "SEE ALSO"
.PP
\fBappstreamcli\fR(1), and the PackageKit documentation at
\m[blue]\fB\%https://www.freedesktop.org/software/PackageKit/\fR\m[]\&.
.SH "AUTHORS"
.PP
\fBMatthias Klumpp\fR <\&matthias@tenstral\&.net\&>
.RS 4
Developer
.RE
.PP
\fBRichard Hughes\fR <\&richard@hughsie\&.com\&>
.RS 4
Developer
.RE
.SH "COPYRIGHT"
.br
Copyright \(co 2012-2026 Matthias Klumpp
.br