A modern dependency manager for your system and your projects. Effortlessly manage development tools, runtime environments, and project dependencies with automatic environment isolation. Think Homebrew meets project-aware dependency management.

pantry is a comprehensive dependency management solution that bridges the gap between system-wide package management and project-specific environments. Whether you're setting up a new development machine, managing system tools, or working on projects with specific dependency requirements, pantry provides a unified interface for all your dependency needs.

System Management:

• Install and manage development tools system-wide
• Automatic PATH configuration and shell integration
• Cross-platform compatibility (macOS, Linux, Windows)
• Smart permission handling and installation paths

Project Management:

• Automatic project environment detection and activation
• Isolated dependency environments per project
• Version-specific tool installation
• Seamless switching between project contexts

At its core, pantry hosts its own package registry with 1700+ system packages, 50+ desktop apps, and pre-built binaries — all served from CDN. No external dependency managers required.

Learn more in the docs: Why pantry, Quick Start.

pantry transforms how you manage dependencies across your entire development workflow:

• 📦 Global Tool Installation — Install development tools and runtimes system-wide with automatic PATH management
• 🔧 Smart Installation Paths — Automatically chooses /usr/local for system-wide access or ~/.local for user-specific installs (pkgm compatible)
• 🔌 Shell Integration — Seamless integration with your shell for immediate tool availability
• 🪟 Cross-Platform Support — Consistent experience across macOS, Linux, and Windows

• ⚡ 68 Pre-configured Services — PostgreSQL, Redis, Kafka, Prometheus, Grafana, Vault, and more
• 🚀 One-Command Service Control — Start, stop, restart services with automatic configuration
• 🏥 Health Monitoring — Built-in health checks with automatic status detection
• 🔧 Auto-Configuration — Default configuration files generated for each service
• 🔐 Configurable Database Credentials — Customize database usernames, passwords, and authentication methods
• 🖥️ Cross-Platform Service Management — Uses launchd on macOS, systemd on Linux

• 🌍 Automatic Environment Isolation — Project-specific environments that activate when you enter a project directory
• 🎯 Dependency Detection — Automatically reads deps.yaml, dependencies.yaml, package.json, pyproject.toml, and other project files
• 🔄 Context Switching — Seamlessly switch between different project environments
• 📋 Version Management — Install and manage specific versions of tools per project
• 🗂️ Environment Management — List, inspect, clean, and remove project environments with readable identifiers

• 🚀 Publish from Any Commit — Publish packages directly from git commits without version bumps
• 📦 Monorepo Support — Automatically discovers and publishes all packages in a monorepo
• 🔗 Instant Install URLs — Get shareable install URLs for every published commit
• 🤖 CI/CD Ready — Drop-in replacement for pkg-pr-new in GitHub Actions

• 🖥️ 50+ Desktop Apps — Install VS Code, Discord, Obsidian, Spotify, and more via pantry install
• 📦 Same Pipeline — Apps go through the same registry as system packages (S3 + metadata)
• 🔄 Daily Updates — Desktop apps checked and rebuilt daily via GitHub Actions
• 🌐 Browse All — curl https://registry.pantry.dev/desktop-apps | jq

• ⚡ Fast Operations — Native Zig CLI with pre-built binaries from CDN
• 🗑️ Clean Removal — Remove packages or completely uninstall with proper cleanup
• ⬆️ Self-Update — pantry upgrade to get the latest version, --canary for pre-releases
• 🎛️ Flexible Configuration — Customize behavior through config files or command-line options

Modern development requires managing dependencies at multiple levels - from system tools to project-specific requirements. Traditional approaches fall short:

Traditional Package Managers (Homebrew, apt, etc.):

• ❌ Global conflicts — Different projects need different versions
• ❌ Slow operations — Installing or updating can take minutes
• ❌ Manual environment management — Switching between project contexts is manual
• ❌ PATH pollution — All tools are globally available, causing conflicts

Manual Dependency Management:

• ❌ Inconsistent setups — Different team members have different environments
• ❌ Complex PATH management — Manual shell configuration is error-prone
• ❌ Version drift — Hard to maintain consistent tool versions
• ❌ Platform differences — Different setup procedures for each OS

pantry's Solution:

• ✅ Unified Management — Single tool for both system and project dependencies
• ✅ Automatic Isolation — Project environments activate automatically
• ✅ Fast Operations — Efficient package management with intelligent caching
• ✅ Consistent Experience — Same commands and behavior across all platforms
• ✅ Smart Defaults — Sensible installation paths and configuration out of the box

Read more about why we created pantry

curl -fsSL https://pantry.dev | bash

That's it. This downloads the latest pre-built binary for your platform, installs it to ~/.local/bin, and configures your PATH.

To install a specific version:

export PANTRY_VERSION=0.8.7 && curl -fsSL https://pantry.dev | bash

To install to a custom location:

export PANTRY_INSTALL_DIR=/usr/local/bin && curl -fsSL https://pantry.dev | bash

After installing, bootstrap your shell integration:

pantry bootstrap

This sets up:

• Shell integration for automatic project environment activation
• PATH configuration
• Global tool management

Install and manage development tools across your entire system:

# Install essential development tools system-wide pantry install node python go rust # Install specific versions pantry install node@22 python@3.12 # Install to /usr/local (default system-wide location) pantry install typescript --system # Or specify any custom path pantry install docker --path /opt/tools # Use shorthand for quick installs pantry i node@22 typescript@5.7

Smart Installation Behavior:

• Default: Installs to /usr/local if writable, otherwise ~/.local
• System-wide: Use --system for explicit system installation (same as default)
• Custom paths: Use --path <directory> for any location
• Automatic PATH: Tools are immediately available in new shells

pantry automatically manages project-specific dependencies:

# Create a project with dependencies echo "dependencies:   - node@22  - typescript@5.7  - bun@1.2" > dependencies.yaml # Environment activates automatically when you enter the directory cd my-project # → ✅ Environment activated for /path/to/my-project # Tools are available in project context node --version # Uses project-specific Node.js tsc --version # Uses project-specific TypeScript # Leave project - environment deactivates automatically cd .. # → 🔄 Environment deactivated

Learn more: Environment Management, Package Management, Configuration, FAQ.

Supported Project Files:

• deps.yaml / deps.yml
• dependencies.yaml / dependencies.yml
• pantry.yaml / pantry.yml
• pkgx.yaml / pkgx.yml
• package.json (Node.js projects)
• pyproject.toml (Python projects)
• Cargo.toml (Rust projects)
• And more...

Manage your project environments with human-readable identifiers:

# List all development environments pantry env:list # Inspect a specific environment pantry env:inspect my-project_1a2b3c4d-d89abc12 # Clean up old or failed environments pantry env:clean --dry-run # Remove a specific environment pantry env:remove old-project_5e6f7g8h --force

Environment Hash Format: {project-name}_{8-char-hex}-d{8-char-dep-hash}

• final-project_7db6cf06-d89abc12 - Project path hash plus dependency fingerprint
• working-test_208a31ec-d1029a7b - Human-readable with version-aware suffix
• my-app_1a2b3c4d-deadbeef - Collision-resistant, version-switching on cd

Remove packages and manage your installation:

# Remove specific system tools pantry remove node python # Remove project-specific versions (using uninstall command) pantry uninstall node@22 # See what would be removed pantry uninstall python --dry-run # Complete system cleanup pantry clean --force

Manage development services with ease:

# Start essential development services pantry start postgres redis # Start multiple services at once pantry start postgres redis nginx prometheus # Check service status pantry status postgres pantry services # Stop services when done pantry stop postgres redis # Enable auto-start for essential services pantry enable postgres redis

Available Services (68):

• Databases: PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, MongoDB, Redis, Valkey, InfluxDB, CockroachDB, Neo4j, ClickHouse, CouchDB, Cassandra, SurrealDB, DragonflyDB, FerretDB, TiDB, ScyllaDB, KeyDB, PocketBase
• Search: Elasticsearch, OpenSearch, Meilisearch, Typesense, Solr
• Web Servers: Nginx, Caddy, Apache (httpd), HAProxy, Traefik, Varnish, Envoy
• Message Queues: Kafka, RabbitMQ, Apache Pulsar, NATS, Mosquitto, Redpanda
• Monitoring: Prometheus, Grafana, Jaeger, Loki, Alertmanager, VictoriaMetrics
• Infrastructure: Vault, Consul, etcd, MinIO, SonarQube, Temporal, Nomad, Zookeeper
• Development & CI/CD: Jenkins, LocalStack, Verdaccio, Gitea, Mailpit
• API & Backend: Hasura, Keycloak
• AI/ML: Ollama
• DNS: CoreDNS, Unbound, dnsmasq
• Networking: Cloudflared, Tor, Syncthing, Doppler
• PHP: PHP-FPM
• Caching: Memcached

Add services to your dependency file to auto-start when the project environment activates:

# deps.yaml dependencies: - node@22 - postgresql@15 services: enabled: true autoStart: - postgres - redis 

Customize database credentials for all database services:

# Configure database credentials globally export pantry_DB_USERNAME="myuser" export pantry_DB_PASSWORD="mypassword" export pantry_DB_AUTH_METHOD="md5" # PostgreSQL: trust|md5|scram-sha-256 # Start databases with custom credentials pantry start postgres mysql # Creates project-specific databases with your configured credentials

Default Credentials (secure for development):

• Username: root
• Password: password
• Auth Method: trust (PostgreSQL)

Configuration Options:

• Environment variables: pantry_DB_USERNAME, pantry_DB_PASSWORD, pantry_DB_AUTH_METHOD
• Config file: pantry.config.ts → services.database
• Per-project databases automatically created with your credentials

Publish packages directly from git commits — a built-in replacement for pkg-pr-new:

# Publish all packages in a monorepo from the current commit pantry publish:commit './packages/*' # Publish a single package pantry publish:commit ./my-package # Dry run to see what would be published pantry publish:commit './packages/*' --dry-run # Use a custom registry pantry publish:commit './packages/*' --registry https://registry.example.com

Each published package gets an install URL tied to the commit SHA:

# Install a specific commit's package npm install https://registry.pantry.dev/commits/abc1234/@scope/my-package/tarball

GitHub Actions integration — replace pkg-pr-new in your CI:

# Before (pkg-pr-new) - run: bunx pkg-pr-new publish './packages/*' # After (pantry) - run: pantry publish:commit './packages/*'

# Install desktop apps (same as system packages) pantry install discord pantry install obsidian pantry install code.visualstudio.com # Browse available apps curl https://registry.pantry.dev/desktop-apps | jq curl https://registry.pantry.dev/desktop-apps?category=Development | jq

# Upgrade pantry to the latest stable release pantry upgrade # Upgrade to the latest canary (pre-release) build pantry upgrade --canary # Check what would be upgraded without making changes pantry upgrade --dry-run

# Create executable shims pantry shim node@22 typescript@5.7 # List all installed packages pantry list # Update packages pantry update node python --latest # Cache management pantry cache:stats # Show cache statistics pantry cache:clean # Clean old cached packages pantry cache:clear # Clear all cache # Install additional tools pantry bootstrap # Bootstrap essential tools pantry bun # Install Bun runtime

Customize pantry's behavior for your system and projects:

import type { PantryConfig } from 'ts-pantry' const config: PantryConfig = { // System-wide installation preferences installationPath: '/usr/local', // Default system location sudoPassword: '', // Password for sudo operations, can be loaded from `SUDO_PASSWORD` environment variable // Development environment settings devAware: true, // Enable dev-aware installations symlinkVersions: true, // Create version-specific symlinks forceReinstall: false, // Force reinstall if already installed // Operation settings verbose: true, // Detailed logging maxRetries: 3, // Retry failed operations timeout: 60000, // Operation timeout in milliseconds // PATH and shell integration shimPath: '~/.local/bin', // Custom shim location autoAddToPath: true, // Automatic PATH management // Shell message configuration showShellMessages: true, shellActivationMessage: '✅ Environment activated for {path}', shellDeactivationMessage: 'Environment deactivated', // Service management configuration services: { enabled: true, // Enable service management dataDir: '~/.local/share/pantry/services', // Services data directory logDir: '~/.local/share/pantry/logs', // Services log directory autoRestart: true, // Auto-restart failed services startupTimeout: 30, // Service startup timeout shutdownTimeout: 10, // Service shutdown timeout }, // Registry and installation method useRegistry: true, // Use package registry installMethod: 'curl', // Installation method installPath: '/usr/local', // Installation path (same as installationPath) } export default config

See Configuration Guide for all options.

Integrate pantry into your CI/CD workflows:

- name: Setup Development Environment uses: home-lang/pantry-installer@v1 with: packages: node@22 typescript@5.7 bun@1.2.14

See GitHub Action Documentation for details.

Explore advanced dependency management topics:

• Commit Publishing (pkg-pr-new alternative)
• Service Management
• Project Environment Configuration
• Custom Shims and Tool Management
• Cross-platform Compatibility
• Performance Optimization
• API Reference

• 🎯 Project Awareness: Automatic project environment management vs manual setup
• ⚡ Speed: Faster installations with intelligent caching
• 🔒 Isolation: Project-specific versions vs global conflicts
• 🌍 Cross-Platform: Consistent experience across all operating systems
• ⚙️ Service Management: Built-in service management vs manual configuration

• 🔄 Unified Interface: Single tool for all languages vs multiple managers
• 🤖 Automatic Switching: Context-aware environment activation
• 📦 Broader Scope: Manages system tools beyond just language runtimes
• 🛠️ Integrated Workflow: Seamless integration between system and project dependencies

• 🚀 Lightweight: Native performance without virtualization overhead
• 💻 System Integration: Tools available in your native shell and IDE
• 🔧 Flexible: Mix system-wide and project-specific tools as needed
• ⚡ Instant: No container startup time or resource overhead
• 🎛️ Service Management: Native service management without containers

Please see our releases page for information on changes.

Please see CONTRIBUTING for details.

For help or discussion:

• Discussions on GitHub
• Join the Stacks Discord Server

"Software that is free, but hopes for a postcard." We love receiving postcards from around the world showing where Stacks is being used! We showcase them on our website too.

Our address: Stacks.js, 12665 Village Ln #2306, Playa Vista, CA 90094, United States 🌎

• Max Howell - for creating pkgx and Homebrew
• pkgm & dev - thanks for the inspiration
• Chris Breuer
• All Contributors

We would like to extend our thanks to the following sponsors for funding Stacks development. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, please reach out to us.

• JetBrains
• The Solana Foundation

The MIT License (MIT). Please see LICENSE for more information.

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