pkgtar
Pkgtar is a packaging format and accompanying command-line tool used to create, inspect, and distribute software packages that are stored as tar-based archives. It appears in several Unix-like packaging ecosystems as a standard means of bundling a package’s file payload together with its installation metadata and, optionally, installation scripts. The exact specifications of pkgtar can vary between implementations, but the general model centers on tar archives with embedded or accompanying metadata.
A pkgtar package typically uses a name such as name-version.pkg.tar.{gz,bz2,xz} and consists of two main parts:
Pkgtar implementations define how metadata is structured and how dependencies are expressed. While end users rarely
Security and integrity considerations are central. Packages are often signed and accompanied by checksums in a
See also: tar, gzip, bzip2, xz, package manager, manifest file.