cpanm

cpanm, short for cpanminus, is a command-line client for the Comprehensive Perl Archive Network (CPAN). It provides a lightweight, dependency-aware way to download, build, and install Perl modules from CPAN and its mirrors. The project is maintained as App::cpanminus and was created by Tatsuhiko Miyagawa. It is widely used as a simpler alternative to the traditional CPAN shell.

Design and features: cpanm emphasizes simplicity and portability. It avoids the larger overhead of the classic CPAN shell by focusing on automated installation of distributions. It handles dependency resolution, compiles and tests modules when requested, and supports installation into system-wide or user-local library trees, depending on the environment and privileges. It relies on the host Perl toolchain and common building tools, and can work behind mirrors and proxies.

Usage: The basic form is "cpanm Module::Name". To install as the superuser, use "cpanm --sudo Module::Name". Users can pass options to skip tests, choose a CPAN mirror, or customize installation locations. cpanm is typically installed by bootstrap scripts or through CPAN/CPAN.pm, and is available on CPAN as App::cpanminus.

Impact and ecosystem: cpanm is widely used in Perl development and deployment pipelines for its speed and simplicity. It complements other Perl environment tools such as perlbrew and local::lib, which help manage multiple Perl versions and local module directories.