APT Parser

This library is capable of parsing files used within the APT Package Manager. A typical APT repository advertises a release file and packages file, utilizing a key-value organization system. This library is able to parse the data and return it as type-safe objects for usage in JavaScript and TypeScript projects.

Installation

npm install --save apt-parser

Release Parsing

Here's an example for getting the information out of a Release file:

import axios from 'axios';
import { Release } from 'apt-parser';

const { data } = await axios.get('http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/jammy/Release');
const release = new Release(data);

console.log(release.origin); // => Ubuntu
console.log(release.version); // => 22.04
console.log(release.get('InvalidKey')); // => null

A full Release object has the following properties attached on it, all of which map to documented APT fields. For more information on the Debian Repository Format, see <https://wiki.debian.org/DebianRepository/Format.>

interface IRelease {
 architectures: string[]               // => Architectures
 noSupportForArchitectureAll?: boolean // => No-Support-For-Architecture-All
 description?: string                  // => Description
 origin?: string                       // => Origin
 label?: string                        // => Label
 suite: string                         // => Suite
 codename: string                      // => Codename
 version?: string                      // => Version
 date?: Date                           // => Date
 validUntil?: Date                     // => Valid-Until
 components: string[]                  // => Components
 md5?: ReleaseHash[]                   // => MD5Sum
 sha1?: ReleaseHash[]                  // => SHA1
 sha256?: ReleaseHash[]                // => SHA256
 sha512?: ReleaseHash[]                // => SHA512
 notAutomatic?: boolean                // => NotAutomatic
 butAutomaticUpgrades?: boolean        // => ButAutomaticUpgrades
 acquireByHash?: boolean               // => Acquire-By-Hash
 signedBy?: string[]                   // => Signed-By
 packagesRequireAuthorization: boolean // => Packages-Require-Authorization

 get(key: string): string | undefined  // => Retrieve a raw field value not assigned a strict type
 get fieldCount(): number              // => Get total number of fields in the Release contents
}

type ReleaseHash = {
 filename: string
 hash: string
 size: number
}

Binary Control Parsing

Here's an example for getting the information out of a binary control file:

import { Release } from 'apt-parser';

const data =
`
Package: com.amywhile.signalreborn
Architecture: iphoneos-arm
Description: Visualise your nearby cell towers
Depends: firmware (>= 12.2) | org.swift.libswift
Maintainer: Amy While <[email protected]>
Section: Applications
Version: 2.2.1-2
Installed-Size: 1536
Custom-Key: cool-value
`;

const control = new BinaryControl(data);

console.log(control.version); // => 2.2.1-2
console.log(control.package); // => com.amywhile.signalreborn
console.log(control.get('Custom-Key')); // => cool-value
console.log(control.get('Invalid-Key')); // => null

A full BinaryControl object has the following properties attached on it, all of which map to documented APT fields. For more information on the Debian Control Format, see <https://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/ch-controlfields.html.>

interface IBinaryControl {
 package: string                       // => Package
 source?: string                       // => Source
 version: string                       // => Version
 section?: string                      // => Section
 priority?: PriorityLevel              // => Priority
 architecture: string                  // => Architecture
 essential?: boolean                   // => Essential

 depends?: string[]                    // => Depends
 preDepends?: string[]                 // => Pre-Depends
 recommends?: string[]                 // => Recommends
 suggests?: string[]                   // => Suggests
 replaces?: string[]                   // => Replaces
 enhances?: string[]                   // => Enhances
 breaks?: string[]                     // => Breaks
 conflicts?: string[]                  // => Conflicts

 installedSize?: number               // => Installed-Size
 maintainer: string                    // => Maintainer
 description: string                   // => Description
 homepage?: string                     // => Homepage
 builtUsing?: string                   // => Built-Using
 packageType?: PackageType             // => Package-Type

 get(key: string): string | undefined  // => Retrieve a raw field value not assigned a strict type
 get fieldCount(): number              // => Get total number of fields in the control contents
}

Packages Parsing

Here's an example for getting the information out of a Packages file:

import axios from 'axios';
import { Packages } from 'apt-parser';

const { data } = await axios.get('https://repo.chariz.com/Packages');
const packages = new Packages(data);

for (const pkg of packages) {
 console.log(pkg.package); // Package Identifier
 console.log(pkg.get('InvalidKey')); // => null
}

A full Packages object has the following properties attached on it, all of which map to documented APT fields. For more information on the Debian Repository Format, see <https://wiki.debian.org/DebianRepository/Format.>

interface IPackage extends IBinaryControl {
 filename: string                      // => Filename
 size: number                          // => Size
 md5?: string                          // => MD5sum
 sha1?: string                         // => SHA1
 sha256?: string                       // => SHA256
 sha512?: string                       // => SHA512
 descriptionMd5?: string               // => Description-md5

 get(key: string): string | undefined  // => Retrieve a raw field value not assigned a strict type
 get fieldCount(): number              // => Get total number of fields in the package contents
}

interface IPackages extends Array<IPackage> {
 constructor(rawData: string) // Pass in the raw contents of the file
}

Skipping Validation

The parser validates required fields based on the parameters defined by the Debian Team on their documentation pages. Disabling this validation is possible, but it is not recommended if you are parsing valid repositories.

Disabling this validation will stop the APT parser from throwing any MissingRequiredKeyErrors. It is disabled through an option when constructing your parser.

import axios from 'axios';
import { Packages } from 'apt-parser';

const { data } = await axios.get('https://repo.chariz.com/Packages');
const packages = new Packages(data, {
 skipValidation: true
});