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pkg_bundle: Create stand-alone software deployments from packages



Hi all,

I developed a tool called pkg_bundle that essentially grabs a package, grabs its dependent libs, applies some hacks and stores it in a directory, ready for you to be able to move anywhere you like or run directly.
It has the following benefits:

- Avoid spraying dependencies all over your filesystem, especially as software continues to grow and tangle.

- Allow multiple versions of the same software (i.e from PkgSrc Q1-Q4) to exist at once.

- Easy to delete (just delete the directory)

- Offers some of the conveniences of NixOS, AppImage, Snaps, Solaris Freeware, Blastwave, etc but with a vastly simply approach

- Its not very UNIXy but feels a little how Mac OS software used to be deployed back in the day

- No software outside of NetBSD base is needed

Some examples:

-- Create a relocatable qemu install --

  $ pkg_bundle qemu
  $ qemu/bin/qemu-system-x86_64 ...

(I actually brought pkg_bundle to NetBSD specifically for qemu because I disliked how much cruft the package pulls in...)

-- Create a relocatable git install and place in /opt --

  $ pkg_bundle git
  # cp -R git /opt/git
  $ export PATH=/opt/git:$PATH
  $ git clone ...

I originally developed this for OpenBSD and even got complex UI software like gimp, firefox, vlc working using the approach. This has a fairly sophisticated quirks system in place and I do plan to get it to parity in future.

It will work with many packages, for a quick list of things I have tested recently, check out the README.

https://codeberg.org/kpedersen/pkg_bundle

Thanks!


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