Meet Caerus, a Synaptic-Like GTK4 Package Manager for Void Linux

Source Domain: linuxiac.com

Void Linux users looking for a GUI alternative to command-line package management now have yet another option. Called Caerus, the application is a GTK4 front end for the distribution’s XBPS package system, inspired by the well-known Synaptic Package Manager.

Written mainly in Rust, Caerus exposes both routine and advanced XBPS operations through a desktop interface. Users can search the package collection, sort and filter results, and mark multiple packages for installation, upgrading, removal, or other actions.

The available filters include installed, not installed, upgradable, held, marked, and orphaned packages. Selecting a package opens a detailed information pane containing its description, size, maintainer, tags, dependencies, reverse dependencies, conflicts, replacements, shared-library requirements, and an optional list of installed files.

Caerus is a new GTK4 front end for Void Linux’s XBPS.

Beyond basic installation and removal, Caerus supports package purging, holding and unholding packages, reinstalling, reconfiguring, downloading without installing, locking a package to its current repository, and marking packages as manually or automatically installed.

One of the application’s more valuable features remains its transaction preview. Before applying changes, Caerus asks libxbps to prepare the actual transaction, allowing users to inspect the packages involved, their order, download sizes, dependencies, and possible conflicts. This provides a graphical equivalent of reviewing an XBPS dry run before committing to an operation.

Caerus also warns users when removing a package would affect additional dependencies. Instead of showing only the directly selected packages, it can display the complete removal chain, including packages that would be indirectly affected.

System-wide maintenance is also covered. From the application menu, users can initiate a complete Void Linux upgrade, remove orphaned packages, clear the package…

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