Package operations

Use install and remove for installed package state. Use manifests when you also want to record what the machine should have. These workflows share policy checks, but only the declarative commands edit your package choices.

Find a package

pacvamp search helix
pacvamp info helix
pacvamp search --aur google-chrome

Repository search uses local sync databases in pacman.conf order. An explicit repo/name, such as extra/helix, selects a repository. AUR search is separate and fetches metadata; it does not approve a recipe.

Install and remove

pacvamp install helix --dry-run
pacvamp install helix
pacvamp remove helix --dry-run
pacvamp remove helix

Review the affected packages before confirming. Removal also removes unneeded dependencies by default; --keep-deps retains them. Neither command edits the manifest, so apply may later reinstall a package you removed imperatively.

Run as your normal user. Pacvamp elevates the pacman transaction with sudo when needed; -y does not supply sudo credentials. AUR builds must run as a non-root user. See the AUR guide for install --aur.

Inspect installed packages

pacvamp list --explicit
pacvamp list --orphans
pacvamp list --unverified
pacvamp audit
pacvamp pacnew

audit matches installed versions against Arch's security tracker. It is not an AUR malware scan. pacnew lists configuration files that need attention; inspect them with pacvamp pacnew --diff and merge changes manually; pacvamp does not merge these files.

pacvamp present helix exits successfully when a matching package or provider is installed. pacvamp missing helix succeeds when it is absent. With several names, present requires all to be present and missing requires all to be absent.

Previews and automation

Flags are command-specific. --json does not always mean a preview, and not every command supports it.

Command	Effect
install -n / remove -n	Show the package plan and command without installing or removing packages
install --json / remove --json	Return the plan without performing the transaction
update -n / update --json	Preview; may populate recipe and feed caches
plan --json	Report manifest differences without changing declarations or packages
add -n / drop -n	Edit the user manifest, then preview package changes
aur build --json	Build the approved recipe and report artifact paths as JSON

install -y and remove -y refuse plans with warnings. update -y can skip blocked AUR candidates and held packages while other work succeeds; its default signed-custom-repository warning is an explicit exception. Do not interpret a successful update exit as proof that every package was upgraded.

Consult the client reference for each command's flags. For manifest-only previews, use plan; for update results and retry actions, see update policy.