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alien pkg convert vs Makeself

Professional comparison and analysis to help you choose the right software solution for your needs.

alien pkg convert icon
alien pkg convert
Makeself icon
Makeself

alien pkg convert vs Makeself: The Verdict

⚡ Summary:

alien pkg convert: alien pkg convert is a command line tool that converts between Linux package formats. It can take a package made for one distribution and convert it to the native format of another distribution.

Makeself: Makeself is a small shell script that generates a self-extractable tarball for Unix. It packages software into a single executable file for easy distribution and installation.

Both tools serve their respective audiences. Compare the features, pricing, and user ratings above to determine which best fits your needs.

Last updated: May 2026 · Comparison by Sugggest Editorial Team

Feature alien pkg convert Makeself
Sugggest Score
Category Os & Utilities Os & Utilities
Pricing Free Open Source

Product Overview

alien pkg convert
alien pkg convert

Description: alien pkg convert is a command line tool that converts between Linux package formats. It can take a package made for one distribution and convert it to the native format of another distribution.

Type: software

Pricing: Free

Makeself
Makeself

Description: Makeself is a small shell script that generates a self-extractable tarball for Unix. It packages software into a single executable file for easy distribution and installation.

Type: software

Pricing: Open Source

Key Features Comparison

alien pkg convert
alien pkg convert Features
  • Converts between deb, rpm, tgz, txz, apk, pacman and pet package formats
  • Supports converting dependencies along with packages
  • Can extract contents of a package
  • Has options to rebuild or resign packages
  • Works on Linux and MacOS
Makeself
Makeself Features
  • Creates self-extracting shell scripts
  • Packages software into a single executable file
  • Works on Unix-like systems
  • Easy distribution and installation of software
  • Compression using gzip, bzip2, lzma or xz
  • MD5 checksum verification
  • Progress bar during extraction
  • Customizable messages, prompts and license agreement

Pros & Cons Analysis

alien pkg convert
alien pkg convert

Pros

  • Simple and easy to use command line interface
  • Fast conversion of packages between formats
  • Useful for distributing software across different Linux distros
  • Can modify packages by rebuilding or resigning
  • Open source and free

Cons

  • Limited to command line only, no GUI
  • Documentation could be more detailed
  • Does not support converting between all possible package formats
  • Requires some Linux/packaging knowledge to use effectively
Makeself
Makeself

Pros

  • Simple and easy to use
  • Good for distributing software
  • Does not require root access or special permissions
  • Works across different Unix distributions
  • Lightweight and efficient

Cons

  • Limited to Unix-like systems
  • Not as full-featured as other packaging systems
  • No dependency handling
  • No uninstall capability
  • Lacks some advanced features

Pricing Comparison

alien pkg convert
alien pkg convert
  • Free
Makeself
Makeself
  • Open Source

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