pkgbuild-parser 1.2.0

Simple Python module to extract basic information directly from PKGBUILD files (not .SRCINFO)

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: 1.2.0
• License: MPL-2.0 2026 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	That returns
get_pkgname()	Package name (pkgname) as a string.
get_pkgver()	Package version (pkgver) as a string.
get_pkgrel()	Release number (pkgrel) as a string.
get_pkgdesc()	Package description (pkgdesc) as a string.
get_arch()	Package architecture (arch) as a list of strings.
get_url()	Main project URL (url) as a string.
get_license()	Package license (license) as a list of strings.
get_source()	Package source(s) (source) as a list of strings.
get_dict_base_info()	Dictionary with all the previous fields in the format {'pkgname': ..., 'pkgver': ..., ...}.
base_info_to_json()	Base information inJSON 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()	Package epoch.
get_full_package_name()	Full package name, including epoch, version, and pkgrel.
get_depends()	List of the package's dependencies.
get_makedepends()	List of the package's build dependencies.
get_optdepends()	List of the package's optional dependencies.
get_dict_optdepends()	Dictionary of the package's optional dependencies.
optdepends_to_json()	JSON of the package's optional dependencies.
write_optdepends_to_json(json_name)	Writes the package's optional dependencies to a JSON file.
get_options()	List of the package's options.
get_checkdepends()	List of the package's check dependencies.
get_sha256sums()	List of the sha256 checksums.
get_sha512sums()	List of the sha512 checksums.
get_validpgpkeys()	List of the valid PGP keys.
get_conflicts()	List of conflicting packages.
get_provides()	List of packages provided.
get_replaces()	List of packages it replaces.
get_pkgbase()	Base package (pkgbase) as a string.

Note: The internal functions (get_base and multiline) are intended for module use and do not need to be used by the user, except when you want to create functions that are not in the parser.

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Installation and use

Option 1: AUR

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

Option 2: PyPi

pip install pkgbuild-parser

Basic usage

import pkgbuild_parser
import sys

try:
    my_pkgbuild = pkgbuild_parser.Parser()
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())
    print(my_pkgbuild.get_conflicts())
    print(my_pkgbuild.get_provides())
    print(my_pkgbuild.get_replaces())
    print(my_pkgbuild.get_pkgbase())


    # 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 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.

Limitations and additional notes

• Starting with version 1.2.0, the parser can replace known variables in a Bash string. For example, if you try to fetch a source file and it is declared in the PKGBUILD as "${url}/package-$pkgver.tar.gz", pkgbuild-parser will be able to recognize these variables, retrieve them, and replace them with their values.
• The module's goal is to extract only basic information from standard PKGBUILDs, It cannot replace variables it does not recognize, such as "$my_personal_var", or variations of known variables, such as "$pkgname%suffix".
• 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.