pkgx Management

Launchpad provides dedicated commands for installing and managing pkgx itself, which is the underlying engine that powers package installation.

Installing pkgx

If you don't have pkgx installed, Launchpad can install it for you:

launchpad pkgx

This will:

1. Check if pkgx is already installed
2. Download and install the latest version of pkgx if needed
3. Set it up in a location that's accessible in your PATH

Installation Location

By default, pkgx is installed to:

• /usr/local if it's writable by the current user
• ~/.local as a fallback location

You can specify a different installation location:

launchpad pkgx --path ~/apps

Force Reinstallation

To reinstall or update pkgx even if it's already installed:

launchpad pkgx --force

Auto-update Configuration

pkgx has its own auto-update mechanism. Launchpad provides commands to manage this feature:

Check current auto-update status:

launchpad autoupdate

Enable automatic updates:

launchpad autoupdate:enable

Disable automatic updates:

launchpad autoupdate:disable

Handling Permissions

When installing to system directories like /usr/local, you might need elevated permissions:

# With auto-sudo enabled (default)
launchpad pkgx

# If auto-sudo is disabled
sudo launchpad pkgx

# Or explicitly use sudo
launchpad pkgx --sudo

How pkgx Installation Works

When you run the pkgx installation command, Launchpad:

1. Checks if pkgx is already installed and not forced to reinstall
2. Creates the necessary installation directories
3. Downloads the pkgx installation script from https://pkgx.sh
4. Runs the installation script with the specified installation path
5. Verifies the installation

Automatic Installation

You don't need to explicitly install pkgx before using other Launchpad commands. If pkgx is required for an operation but not found, Launchpad will install it automatically.

pkgx Configuration

pkgx stores its configuration in ~/.config/pkgx/config.json. Launchpad can modify this configuration through commands like autoupdate:enable and autoupdate:disable.

The configuration might look like:

{
  "auto_update": true
}

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues with pkgx installation:

1. Try running with verbose logging:

   launchpad pkgx --verbose

2. Check if pkgx is properly installed:

   which pkgx
   pkgx --version

3. Reinstall pkgx:

   launchpad pkgx --force