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| pkgsrc | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developers | Alistair Crooks, Hubert Feyrer and Johnny C. Lam[1] |
| Initial release | January 4, 1998; 28 years ago (1998-01-04) |
| Stable release | |
| Written in | C,Unix shell |
| Operating system | Unix-like |
| Type | Package management system |
| License | BSD License |
| Website | www |
| Repository | |
pkgsrc (package source) is apackage management system forUnix-likeoperating systems. It was forked from theFreeBSD ports collection in 1997 as the primary package management system forNetBSD. Since then it has evolved independently; in 1999, support forSolaris was added, followed by support for other operating systems.[3]
As of September 2025[update], pkgsrc currently contains over 29,000 packages[4] and includes most popularopen-source software. It is the native package manager on NetBSD,SmartOS andMINIX 3, and is portable across 23 differentoperating systems, includingAIX, variousBSD derivatives,HP-UX,IRIX,Linux,[5]macOS,[6]Solaris, andQNX.[7]
There are multiple ways to install programs using pkgsrc. The pkgsrcbootstrap contains a traditionalports collection that utilizes a series ofmakefiles to compile software from source. Another method is to install pre-built binary packages via thepkg_add andpkg_delete tools. A high-level utility namedpkgin also exists, and is designed to automate the installation, removal, and update of binary packages in a manner similar toDebian'sAdvanced Packaging Tool.[8]
Several vendors, includingMNX.io, providebinary packages for popular operating systems, includingmacOS andLinux.[6][5]
| Platform | Date added |
|---|---|
| NetBSD | October 1997 |
| Solaris | March 1999 |
| Linux | June 1999 |
| Darwin andmacOS | October 2001 |
| FreeBSD | November 2002 |
| OpenBSD | November 2002 |
| IRIX | December 2002 |
| BSD/OS | December 2003 |
| AIX | December 2003 |
| Interix (forWindows NT) | March 2004 |
| DragonFly BSD | October 2004 |
| OSF/1 | November 2004 |
| HP-UX | April 2007 |
| QNX | October 2007 |
| Haiku | January 2010 |
| MINIX 3 | August 2010 |
| MirBSD | January 2011 |
| illumos andSmartOS | February 2011 |
| Cygwin | May 2013 |
| GNU/kFreeBSD | July 2013 |
| Bitrig | June 2015 |
On October 3, 1997, NetBSD developers Alistair Crooks and Hubert Feyrer created pkgsrc[1] based on the FreeBSD ports system and intended to support the NetBSD packages collection. It was officially released as part of NetBSD 1.3[9] on January 4, 1998.DragonFly BSD used pkgsrc as its official package system from version 1.4 in 2006, to 3.4 in 2013.[10][3]
On 2017-09-12, a commit message policy that accommodatesDVCS was established by the project.[11]
The NetBSD Foundation provides official, pre-built binary packages for multiple combinations of NetBSD and pkgsrc releases, and occasionally for certain other operating systems as well.[12]
As of 2018, several vendors provide pre-built binary packages for several platforms:
