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Leonard Ramminger edited this page May 10, 2026 · 3 revisions

User Guide

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This section is for people who want to use ReqPack effectively. Focus here if your goal is installing packages, managing environments, auditing systems, exporting SBOMs, or automating package work through stdin or remote mode. In user commands, system means target ecosystem or plugin such as apt, dnf, npm, or rqp.

What ReqPack Is Good At

  • One command surface for multiple ecosystems.
  • Manifest-based installs through reqpack.lua.
  • Plugin wrapper refresh through a central registry.
  • Vulnerability audit and SBOM export.
  • Remote command execution through serve and remote.
  • Native rqp packages when you want ReqPack-managed artifacts instead of wrapping another package manager.

Fast Reading Path

  1. Getting Started
  2. Command Reference
  3. Configuration
  4. Configuration Reference
  5. Security, Audit, and SBOM
  6. Output and Report Formats
  7. Remote Mode
  8. Remote Protocol Reference
  9. Using Native rqp Packages
  10. Troubleshooting

CLI Cheat Sheet

Task Command
Install packages rqp install apt curl git
Install from manifest rqp install .
Dry-run changes rqp install npm react --dry-run
Refresh all plugin wrappers rqp update --all
Self-update ReqPack rqp update
Audit manifest rqp audit .
Export SBOM rqp sbom --format cyclonedx-json --output sbom.json
Snapshot installed state rqp snapshot --output reqpack.lua
Use custom config rqp --config ~/.config/reqpack/dev.lua list apt
Remote server rqp serve --remote --token secret

Common Tasks

Task Page Command or file
Install packages Getting Started rqp install apt curl git
Check syntax and flags Command Reference rqp <command> --help
Install from manifest Getting Started rqp install .
Tune config Configuration ~/.config/reqpack/config.lua
Check all config fields and runtime caveats Configuration Reference config.lua
Audit vulnerabilities Security, Audit, and SBOM rqp audit .
Export SBOM Security, Audit, and SBOM rqp sbom --format cyclonedx-json --output sbom.json
Check export schemas Output and Report Formats sbom.json / audit.sarif
Build native package Building rqp Packages and Repositories rqp pack ./my-package
Run server Remote Mode rqp serve --remote --token secret
Connect to server Remote Mode rqp remote dev list apt
Implement custom remote client Remote Protocol Reference remote.lua, text frames, JSON lines
Use native ReqPack packages Using Native rqp Packages rqp install rqp my-tool
Debug common failures Troubleshooting rqp host refresh

Mental Model

ReqPack is not trying to replace every package manager with one storage format. Instead, it does three different jobs:

  1. It gives users a consistent CLI.
  2. It delegates ecosystem-specific work to plugins.
  3. It adds shared capabilities around that work: config, planning, audit, SBOM, snapshots, remote execution, and history.

That means you will often use ReqPack in one of two modes:

  • Wrapper mode: apt, dnf, brew, npm, maven, sys, and similar ecosystems.
  • Native mode: rqp, where packages and repositories are managed directly by ReqPack.

Related Pages

Home | Next: Getting Started

Overview

User Guide

Extending ReqPack

Architecture

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