this post was submitted on 10 Feb 2026
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Linux

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Decman Is a Declarative Package and Configuration Manager for Arch Linux (linuxiac.com)
submitted 2 weeks ago by cm0002@europe.pub to c/linux@programming.dev
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Here’s a new tool with strong potential that will appeal to advanced Arch users, especially those who miss a NixOS-style approach to system management (or who are DevOps-oriented). I’m talking about Decman, which has reached its first stable 1.0 release.

Here’s what you can do with it. Decman manages an Arch Linux installation by enforcing a declared system state (written directly in Python) instead of applying changes imperatively.

In a simple configuration, you specify which packages must be installed, which configuration files must exist and their contents, which systemd services must be enabled, and which tools, such as Flatpak or AUR helpers, are in use. This definition is the source of truth.

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[–] zstg@programming.dev 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

So, something very roughly like NixOS?

[–] Fijxu@programming.dev 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Mhmm, better than nothing, NixOs does this job but is an entirely different ecosystem that has their own problems even if its so good.

[–] Skullgrid@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I'm dying for this sort of thing to be on debian.

[–] NostraDavid@programming.dev 1 points 1 week ago

It's the reason I switched to NixOS - I can't pin for shit in Debian, and I'm stuck at whatever version they want things to be (like ye olde git). Some programs I just want to be bleeding edge, the rest I don't care much about (unless it breaks).

Meanwhile, I can pin things in Cargo (Rust), and uv (Python) just fine, which is why it stings so hard that Debian doesn't have it :(

[–] anhydrous@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

FYI there is also DCLI (https://gitlab.com/theblackdon/dcli), though I haven't tried either, so I'm not sure how they compare