alien pkg convert

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.
alien pkg convert image
conversion linux package-management commandline

Alien Pkg Convert: Command Line Tool for Linux Package Format Conversion

Convert between Linux package formats with Alien Pkg Convert, a command line tool that converts packages made for one distribution to the native format of another distribution.

What is Alien pkg convert?

alien pkg convert is a command line utility included in many Linux distributions that allows converting between different Linux package formats. Some of the package formats it supports converting between include RPM, DEB, TGZ, SLACKWARE PACKAGES, and more.

The main use case for alien pkg convert is when you have a program or package made for one Linux distribution, but you want to install it on a distribution that uses a different format. For example, if you have a .deb file made for Debian or Ubuntu, but you want to install it on a Red Hat based distribution that uses .rpm files. Running "alien -r foo.deb" would convert the foo.deb file into an RPM file that can then be installed.

Some key capabilities and features of alien pkg convert include:

  • Convert between RPM, DEB, Stampede (.slp), Slackware (.tgz), and other formats
  • Option to generate packages or just convert between file formats
  • Works with source code tarballs and binary packages
  • Handles dependencies between packages
  • Supported on most major Linux distributions like Debian, Ubuntu, Red Hat, Fedora, openSUSE, etc

While useful in many cases, it does have some downsides to be aware of. The converted packages don't always install 100% cleanly, and complex packages with extensive dependencies are more likely to have issues. Maintaining the packages over time can also be more difficult since they weren't built for the target distribution originally. So alien conversion should be seen as a convenience, but native packages are preferable when available.

Alien pkg convert Features

Features

  1. Converts between deb, rpm, tgz, txz, apk, pacman and pet package formats
  2. Supports converting dependencies along with packages
  3. Can extract contents of a package
  4. Has options to rebuild or resign packages
  5. Works on Linux and MacOS

Pricing

  • Open Source

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


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