Interactive Software Installer

An interactive terminal-based software installer for Linux. Supports apt, dnf, and pacman — works on Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, RHEL, Arch, Manjaro, and more.

---

Features

• Interactive TUI - Navigate, search, and select packages from a clean terminal interface
• Search & Filter - Press / to filter packages in real-time
• Package Info - View description, version, and update status for any package
• Smart Selection - Only shows relevant actions per package (install/update/uninstall)
• Collapsible Groups - Software organized by category, expand/collapse with Space
• One-liner Install - curl | bash to get started
• Auto Configuration - Sets up aliases and settings automatically
• Multi-Distro - Auto-detects apt, dnf, or pacman
• Safety Checks - Won't run as root, validates system compatibility

Quick Start

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/bhagyajitjagdev/software-installer/main/install.sh | bash

Alternative methods

# Using process substitution
bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/bhagyajitjagdev/software-installer/main/install.sh)

# Download and run locally
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/bhagyajitjagdev/software-installer/main/install.sh
chmod +x install.sh
./install.sh

Interface Preview

╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║         Interactive Software Installer v2                    ║
║         bhagyajitjagdev/software-installer  (apt)            ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
↑↓ Navigate | Space Select | / Search | i Info | R Run | q Quit
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
   ▼ System Tools
 ▶ [+] htop - Interactive Process Viewer ✓
   [ ] nmap - Network Discovery Tool
   [-] curl - Command Line HTTP Client ✓
   [ ] tmux - Terminal Multiplexer ✓

   ▶ Productivity Tools
   ▶ Development Tools
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 htop  Interactive process viewer and system monitor
 Installed  3.3.0-4  (latest)
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 2 install  1 remove │ 26/26 shown

Controls

Key	Action
↑↓ / j/k	Navigate up/down through software list
Space	Cycle state (context-sensitive per package)
/	Enter search mode (filter packages in real-time)
i	Toggle package info panel
R / Enter	Execute all selected actions
g / G	Jump to top / bottom of list
PgUp / PgDn	Page navigation
q	Quit the installer

Selection States

States adapt to each package's current status:

Package Status	Available States
Not installed	[ ] → [+] Install → [ ]
Installed (up to date)	[ ] → [-] Uninstall → [ ]
Installed (update available)	[ ] → [↑] Update → [-] Uninstall → [ ]

Available Software

System Tools

Package	Description
htop	Interactive process viewer
curl	Command line HTTP client
nmap	Network discovery and security auditing tool
tmux	Terminal multiplexer
tree	Directory tree viewer
wget	Network file downloader
netbird	WireGuard-based VPN

Productivity Tools

Package	Description	Auto-configured
bat	Cat clone with syntax highlighting	bat="batcat --paging=never" (apt)
gdu	Fast disk usage analyzer
fzf	Command-line fuzzy finder
ripgrep	Fast regex search tool (rg)
fd	Fast file finder (alt. to find)	fd="fdfind" (apt)
eza	Modern ls replacement	ll="eza -la --git"
zoxide	Smarter cd that learns habits	eval "$(zoxide init bash)"
jq	JSON processor
tldr	Simplified man pages

Development Tools

Package	Description	Install method
Docker	Container runtime engine	Official repo (apt/dnf), official pkg (pacman)
fnm	Fast Node Manager	Official install script
uv	Python package manager (Astral)	Official install script
lazygit	Terminal UI for git	GitHub releases (apt/dnf), official pkg (pacman)
gh	GitHub CLI	Official repo (apt/dnf), official pkg (pacman)
neovim	Hyperextensible text editor	Package manager

25 packages across 3 categories — and adding more is just one line.

Supported Distributions

Package Manager	Distributions	Status
apt	Ubuntu 18.04+, Debian 10+, Linux Mint 19+	Tested
dnf	Fedora 33+, RHEL 8+, Rocky Linux 8+, AlmaLinux 8+	Supported
pacman	Arch Linux, Manjaro, EndeavourOS	Supported

Packages that aren't available on a given distro are automatically greyed out with (N/A).

How It Works

1. Navigate through the software list using arrow keys or j/k
2. Press Space to cycle through context-sensitive states:
   • [+] Install (green) — for packages not yet installed
   • [↑] Update (yellow) — for installed packages with available updates
   • [-] Uninstall (red) — for installed packages
3. Press / to search and filter the package list
4. Press i to toggle the info panel showing package details
5. Press R to execute all selected actions as a batch
6. Automatic configuration - Aliases and settings are added to ~/.bashrc

Requirements

• OS: Any Linux distribution with apt, dnf, or pacman
• Privileges: Regular user account (script will request sudo when needed)
• Dependencies: bash, curl

Security

• No root execution - Script refuses to run as root
• Sudo when needed - Only requests elevated privileges for package operations
• Source verification - Uses official package repositories
• No permanent modifications - Only installs requested software and adds aliases
• Open source - Full source code available for inspection

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md for the full guide.

Adding New Software

Just add one line to SOFTWARE_LIST:

"group_name:software_name:Display Name:software"

That's it! Install, uninstall, and detection are handled automatically across all supported package managers. For packages with special behavior, add an override function or PM mapping entry — see CONTRIBUTING.md.

Reporting Issues

• Bug reports - Open an issue
• Feature requests - Start a discussion
• Documentation - PRs welcome

Troubleshooting

Arrow keys not working

• Try using j/k keys for navigation instead
• Ensure your terminal supports ANSI escape sequences

Permission denied

# Make sure you're not running as root
whoami  # Should not return 'root'

# If downloaded locally, ensure executable permissions
chmod +x install.sh

Package not found

• Run your package manager's update command first (sudo apt-get update, sudo dnf check-update, sudo pacman -Sy)
• Check if the package name is correct for your distribution
• Some packages may show as (N/A) if unavailable on your distro

Unsupported package manager

• The script requires apt, dnf, or pacman
• If you're on a different distro, contributions to add more PMs are welcome

Changelog

v2.1.0

• Multi-distro support: apt, dnf, pacman
• Package name mapping per distro
• Unavailable packages greyed out with (N/A)
• Detected package manager shown in header
• Added 18 new packages: tmux, tree, wget, ripgrep, fd, eza, zoxide, jq, tldr, Docker, fnm, uv, lazygit, gh, neovim

v2.0.0

• Real-time search and filter
• Package info panel with description and versions
• Auto-update detection on startup
• Collapsible groups
• Smart state cycling (only relevant actions per package)
• Extended navigation: PgUp/PgDn, g/G, Home/End
• Batch update (runs once, not per-package)

v1.0.0

• Initial release
• Interactive navigation with arrow keys
• Grouped software organization
• Colorful terminal interface
• One-liner installation
• Auto-configuration of aliases

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

---

If you found this useful, give it a ⭐

Report Bug · Request Feature · Contributing Guide

Made by Bhagyajit Jagdev