ATHA is a lightweight package manager wrapper for Arch Linux, built on top of pacman. It provides a clean command interface for daily package operations while preserving native Arch behavior.
ATHA positioning:
- Safety and workflow layer for pacman.
- Focused on safety, transparency, and auditability.
- Not a replacement for pacman or yay.
ATHA was created to simplify daily package operations while keeping full control of Arch Linux behavior.
- Reduces command complexity for common workflows.
- Improves readability with consistent output and clear status messages.
- Adds a predictable workflow with planning, validation, and history.
- Package actions often run as black-box operations for everyday users.
- It is difficult to review what will happen before install.
- Native command history is not tailored for package-operation auditing.
- Safety
- Dry-run mode for install, remove, and update.
- Confirmation layer before package-changing operations.
- Transparency
- Decision analysis before execution (
--plan). - Decision transparency with source selection (official, AUR, or skip).
- Plan mode with transaction simulation (requested + dependency packages).
- Auditability
- Structured operation history via
atha history. - Timeline view via
atha history --timeline. - Summary and filters for operational audits.
-
Uses pacman for official repositories.
-
Falls back to AUR build flow when a package is not found in official repos.
- Official repositories via pacman.
- AUR fallback via git clone and makepkg -si.
-
Execution planning before installation (official, AUR, or skip).
-
Plan mode with dependency simulation for official packages.
-
Dry-run mode for install, remove, and update. ATHA is not only a command alias wrapper. It adds workflow-level behavior around pacman.
-
Install planning that previews source and action per package before execution. | Feature | pacman | yay | ATHA | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Dry-run on workflow commands | No | Limited | Yes | | Install planning preview | No | Limited | Yes | | Plan mode with dependency simulation | No | No | Yes | | Plan explanations (decision reasoning) | No | No | Yes | | Operation history timeline | No | No | Yes | | Safety confirmation layer | Limited | Limited | Yes |
- Arch Linux
- bash
- pacman
- sudo
- git (required for AUR fallback installs)
- makepkg (required for AUR fallback builds)
### One-line install (curl)
```bash
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Bangkah/Atha/main/install.sh | bash
wget -qO- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Bangkah/Atha/main/install.sh | bashatha install vim
atha search python
atha list installed
atha info bash
atha doctor
atha history --limit 20
atha updateatha install <pkg> [pkg2 ...]
atha install --plan <pkg> [pkg2 ...]
atha install --dry-run <pkg> [pkg2 ...]
atha remove <pkg> [pkg2 ...]
atha remove --plan <pkg> [pkg2 ...]
atha search <keyword>
atha update [--dry-run|--plan]
atha list [installed|all]
atha info <pkg>
atha doctor
atha history [--limit N] [--full|--timeline]
atha --helpOptions on modifying commands:
- --plan: decision analysis mode (what will happen and why)
- --dry-run: execution simulation mode (what command would run)
- --yes: skip confirmation prompts when supported
- install skips packages that are already installed.
- install automatically tries AUR if package is missing in official repositories.
- install prints an execution plan before running and can simulate dependencies and download sizes.
- remove prompts for confirmation unless --yes is used.
- remove supports plan-mode preview and skips packages that are not installed.
- update supports dry-run and plan-mode with update availability checks.
- list all output is intentionally limited for readability.
- doctor exits with non-zero status when required dependencies are missing.
- history stores operation timeline in user state directory.
ATHA writes logs to:
- /tmp/atha.log when writable
- fallback: $XDG_CACHE_HOME/atha/atha.log or ~/.cache/atha/atha.log
ATHA stores operation history at:
- $XDG_STATE_HOME/atha/history.log or ~/.local/state/atha/history.log
- pacman: command not found
- ATHA must run on Arch Linux.
- Permission denied (publickey) while publishing to AUR
- Add the correct SSH public key in your AUR account settings.
- Frequent sudo prompts
- Expected for privileged operations such as install, remove, and update.
ATHA is maintained with a practical feedback loop so improvements are based on real usage, not assumptions.
- Use ATHA in daily package workflows.
- Report issues with reproducible steps and command output.
- Classify feedback into safety, transparency, or auditability.
- Ship focused fixes in small releases with clear changelog entries.
- Verify improvements with the same user scenarios.
When reporting feedback, include:
- ATHA version (
atha --helpheader) - Command used
- Expected behavior
- Actual behavior
- Relevant output/error message
Feedback channels:
- GitHub Issues: https://github.com/Bangkah/Atha/issues
- AUR package comments: https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/atha
- Wiki Home: wiki/Home.md
- Release Announcement (v2.2.0): wiki/Release-Announcement-v2.2.0.md
- Installation Guide: wiki/Installation.md
- Commands Guide: wiki/Commands.md
- Troubleshooting Guide: wiki/Troubleshooting.md
- Release Notes: wiki/Release-Notes.md
- Brand Guidelines: wiki/Brand-Guidelines.md
- AUR Reviewer Response: wiki/AUR-Reviewer-Response.md
- User Feedback Loop: wiki/User-Feedback-Loop.md
- Full logo (SVG): assets/branding/atha-logo.svg
- Full logo dark (SVG): assets/branding/atha-logo-dark.svg
- Full logo light (SVG): assets/branding/atha-logo-light.svg
- Icon mark (SVG): assets/branding/atha-mark.svg
- Avatar (SVG): assets/branding/atha-avatar.svg
- Favicon (SVG): assets/branding/atha-favicon.svg
- Social banner (SVG): assets/branding/atha-banner.svg
Optional PNG export on Arch Linux:
sudo pacman -S librsvg
rsvg-convert -h 512 -w 512 assets/branding/atha-mark.svg > assets/branding/atha-mark-512.png
rsvg-convert -h 512 -w 512 assets/branding/atha-avatar.svg > assets/branding/atha-avatar-512.png
rsvg-convert -h 630 -w 1200 assets/branding/atha-banner.svg > assets/branding/atha-banner-1200x630.pngMIT License. See LICENSE.