Can APT and dpkg be normally used on Arch? I just found out they're in the official repos now.
from user224@lemmy.sdf.org to linux@lemmy.ml on 22 Aug 00:09
https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/40866304 

$ pacman -Si apt
Repository      : extra
Name            : apt
Version         : 3.1.4-1
Description     : Command-line package manager used on Debian-based systems
Architecture    : x86_64
URL             : https://salsa.debian.org/apt-team/apt
Licenses        : BSD-3-Clause  GPL-2.0-only  GPL-2.0-or-later  MIT
Groups          : None
Provides        : None
Depends On      : systemd-libs  libseccomp  perl  xxhash  dpkg  gnutls  bzip2  sequoia-sqv  xz  gcc-libs  lz4  bash  zlib  zstd  db  libgcrypt  glibc
Optional Deps   : None
Conflicts With  : None
Replaces        : None
Download Size   : 2.63 MiB
Installed Size  : 8.24 MiB
Packager        : Alexander Epaneshnikov <alex19ep@archlinux.org>
Build Date      : Mon 11 Aug 2025 08:52:43 PM CEST
Validated By    : SHA-256 Sum  Signature

archlinux.org/packages/extra/x86_64/apt/

#linux

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just_another_person@lemmy.world on 22 Aug 00:25 next collapse

I believe those are used for the package build toolchain, not for actually managing the packages on your system.

thenextguy@lemmy.world on 22 Aug 00:35 next collapse

I would guess they’re there mainly for developers on arch cross developing for those distros. Not managing packages on arch.

e.g. I install rpm on arch but only use it to build rpms.

D_Air1@lemmy.ml on 22 Aug 01:02 next collapse

You aren’t meant to use them for managing your system. They are mainly there for development. For example, I often use them for a debian chroot on arch.

Ephera@lemmy.ml on 22 Aug 01:25 next collapse

If you actually need to run some DEB or RPM or such, people seem to be recommending Distrobox a lot these days.

RavuAlHemio@lemmy.world on 22 Aug 02:49 collapse

Sure, but the newest version of each package is four years old and riddled with dozens of Debian-specific patches that somehow only make it run worse.