pkgbuild_parser

Documentation in Spanish

Introduction

pkgbuild_parser is a module written in Python (compatible with Python 3.x) designed to extract information from a PKGBUILD. The main purpose of this module is to provide simple and direct access to the most important fields of a PKGBUILD without relying on external tools or additional libraries.

• Version: 1.0.1
• License: MIT 2025 KevinCrrl
• Dependencies: None
• Style: Simplicity, no external dependencies, easy to use

This module allows you to quickly and directly obtain data such as package name, version, description, license, URL, and source file.

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Main functions for the user

Although the module internally has support functions (get_base), the user only needs to use the high-level functions, which are clear and direct:

Function	Description
get_pkgname()	Returns the package name (pkgname) as a string.
get_pkgver()	Returns the package version (pkgver) as a string.
get_pkgrel()	Returns the release number (pkgrel) as a string.
get_pkgdesc()	Returns the package description (pkgdesc) as a string, removing unnecessary comments and parentheses.
get_arch()	Returns the package architecture (arch) as a list of strings.
get_url()	Returns the main project URL (url) as a string.
get_license()	Returns the package license (license) as a list of strings.
get_source()	Returns the package source(s) (source) as a list of strings.
get_dict_base_info()	Returns a dictionary with all the previous fields in the format {'pkgname': ..., 'pkgver': ..., ...}.
base_info_to_json()	Returns the base information in JSON format with indentation and UTF-8 encoding.
write_base_info_to_json(json_name)	Writes the base information to a JSON file named json_name.
get_epoch()	Returns the package epoch.
get_full_package_name()	Returns the full package name, including epoch, version, and pkgrel.
get_depends()	Returns a list of the package's dependencies.
get_makedepends()	Returns a list of the package's build dependencies.
get_optdepends()	Returns a list of the package's optional dependencies.
get_dict_optdepends()	Returns a dictionary of the package's optional dependencies.
optdepends_to_json()	Returns a JSON of the package's optional dependencies.
write_optdepends_to_json()	Writes the package's optional dependencies to a JSON file.
get_options()	Returns a list of the package's options.
get_checkdepends()	Returns a list of the package's check dependencies.
get_sha256sums()	Returns a list of the sha256 checksums.
get_sha512sums()	Returns a list of the sha512 checksums.
get_validpgpkeys()	Returns a list of the valid PGP keys.

Note: The internal functions (get_base and multiline) are intended for module use and do not need to be used by the user.

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Installation and use

Option 1: AUR

The module is available on the AUR as python-pkgbuild-parser.

Option 2: Manual build

If you want to build it manually:

python -m build
pip install .

Basic usage

import pkgbuild_parser
import sys

try:
    my_pkgbuild = pkgbuild_parser.Parser("PKGBUILD")
except pkgbuild_parser.ParserFileError as exc:
    print(exc)
    sys.exit(1)

# Get basic data
try:
    print(my_pkgbuild.get_pkgname())
    print(my_pkgbuild.get_pkgver())
    print(my_pkgbuild.get_pkgrel())
    print(my_pkgbuild.get_pkgdesc())
    print(my_pkgbuild.get_arch())
    print(my_pkgbuild.get_url())
    print(my_pkgbuild.get_license())
    print(my_pkgbuild.get_source())
    print(my_pkgbuild.get_epoch())
    print(my_pkgbuild.get_full_package_name())
    print(my_pkgbuild.get_depends())
    print(my_pkgbuild.get_makedepends())
    print(my_pkgbuild.get_optdepends())
    print(my_pkgbuild.get_dict_optdepends())
    print(my_pkgbuild.optdepends_to_json())
    my_pkgbuild.write_optdepends_to_json()
    print(my_pkgbuild.get_options())
    print(my_pkgbuild.get_checkdepends())
    print(my_pkgbuild.get_sha256sums())
    print(my_pkgbuild.get_sha512sums())
    print(my_pkgbuild.get_validpgpkeys())


    # Get a dictionary of all the info
    info = my_pkgbuild.get_dict_base_info()
    print(info)

    # Show in JSON format
    print(my_pkgbuild.base_info_to_json())

    # Get JSON and write it to a file
    my_pkgbuild.write_base_info_to_json("info.json")
except (pkgbuild_parser.ParserKeyError, pkgbuild_parser.ParserNoneTypeError) as e:
    print(e)

Error handling

If the PKGBUILD file does not exist, a ParserFileError is raised, which must be caught to prevent the program from failing.

A ParserKeyError can also be raised if getting a value from the PKGBUILD fails, for example, if the license is not declared correctly, and get_license() is called, this exception will be raised.

Since version 0.2.0, a ParserNoneTypeError can also be raised if a function returns None when it was not expected.

Limitations and additional notes

• The module's goal is to extract only basic information from standard PKGBUILDs, it cannot replace bash variables inside another variable, for example, if the source is declared with the value "$url/package.zip".
• It works best with PKGBUILDs that follow the Arch Wiki standards.
• Since version 0.4.0, the module can extract information from arrays or lists, such as depends, makedepends, source, optdepends, license, options, and checkdepends.
• Since version 1.0.0, functions that return a string no longer include quotes by default.