Package Manager Cheatsheet (pkgcheat)

Interactive bash tool that detects installed package managers on macOS and provides quick command references, side-by-side comparisons, and search functionality.

New: Project artifact discovery - find all node_modules, .venv, and other dependency directories across your filesystem!

Bonus: scripts/list-all-packages.sh - list all installed packages from all managers in one command!

Quick Start

git clone [email protected]:RamonLiao/package-cheat.git
cd package-cheat
./install.sh

Then run pkgcheat to launch, or ./scripts/list-all-packages.sh for a quick package list.

Features

• Package Manager Cheatsheets - Quick command reference for all detected managers
• Side-by-Side Comparison - Compare equivalent commands across managers
• Search Functionality - Find commands by keyword
• Global Package Lists - View all installed packages system-wide
• Project Artifact Discovery - Find node_modules, .venv, and other project dependencies
• Export to Markdown - Save cheatsheets for offline reference

Supported Package Managers

• JavaScript: npm, pnpm, yarn, bun
• macOS: brew, port
• Python: pip, uv, poetry
• Other: cargo (Rust), go (Go), gem (Ruby)

Usage

Interactive Mode

pkgcheat

Opens a menu where you can:

• View cheatsheets for any detected manager
• Compare equivalent commands across managers
• Search for commands by keyword
• List all globally installed packages
• Export cheatsheets to markdown

Command Line

Format: pkgcheat [OPTIONS] [MANAGER]

pkgcheat npm                # Show npm cheatsheet
pkgcheat -l                 # List detected managers
pkgcheat -s cache           # Search for "cache" commands
pkgcheat -c                 # Compare managers
pkgcheat -e npm             # Export npm cheatsheet
pkgcheat -a ~/Projects      # Find all artifacts in ~/Projects
pkgcheat -a-node .          # Find node_modules only
pkgcheat -a-python .        # Find Python venvs only
pkgcheat --help             # Show all options

Artifact Discovery

Find project dependencies and virtual environments across your filesystem.

New in v2.0: Smart artifact search with project-aware detection and monorepo grouping!

Interactive Mode:

pkgcheat
# Select "Show project artifacts (node_modules, .venv, etc.)"

Command Line:

pkgcheat -a [path]           # List all artifacts (smart mode)
pkgcheat -a-node [path]      # List node_modules only
pkgcheat -a-python [path]    # List Python venvs only

Standalone Scripts:

./scripts/list-all-artifacts.sh ~/Projects                  # Smart search with monorepo detection
./scripts/list-all-artifacts.sh ~/Projects --legacy-mode    # v1.0 behavior
./scripts/list-all-artifacts.sh ~/Projects --verbose        # Show detailed progress
./scripts/list-node-modules.sh ~/Projects
./scripts/list-python-venvs.sh ~/Projects

V2.0 Features:

Smart Search (default):

• Project-aware: Only shows artifacts that match their project type (e.g., node_modules only in JavaScript projects)
• Monorepo detection: Automatically detects and groups artifacts by monorepo workspace
• Intelligent pruning: Stops searching at artifact boundaries for better performance

Monorepo Support: Automatically detects and groups artifacts in monorepos:

• npm workspaces
• pnpm workspaces
• lerna
• nx
• turborepo

Example output for monorepos:

Monorepo: /path/to/monorepo (5 artifacts, 2.3GB)
  ├─ /path/to/monorepo/node_modules (1.2GB)
  ├─ /path/to/monorepo/packages/app1/node_modules (500MB)
  └─ /path/to/monorepo/packages/app2/node_modules (600MB)

CLI Flags:

--legacy-mode           # Use v1.0 behavior (no project detection or monorepo grouping)
--verbose, -v           # Show detailed search progress and diagnostics
--follow-symlinks       # Follow symbolic links during search
--sort=METHOD           # Sort by: size, path, or date

Configuration:

Customize which artifacts to search for:

pkgcheat
# Navigate to: Show project artifacts → Configure artifact types

Or edit ~/.pkgcheat/artifacts.conf directly.

Examples:

Find all artifacts in your projects directory:

pkgcheat -a ~/Projects

Find large node_modules directories:

pkgcheat -a-node ~ --sort=size

Find recently modified Python virtual environments:

pkgcheat -a-python ~/Projects --sort=date

Quick inventory of current project:

cd my-project
pkgcheat -a .

Use legacy mode for simple flat list:

./scripts/list-all-artifacts.sh ~/Projects --legacy-mode

Export results to Excel:

./scripts/list-all-artifacts.sh ~/Projects
# Prompts: "Export results to Excel? [y/N]:"
# Creates: ./artifacts-2026-01-19.xlsx

scripts/list-all-packages.sh

Standalone script to quickly list all installed packages from all detected managers.

# Run directly (no installation needed)
./scripts/list-all-packages.sh

# Or make it globally available
sudo ln -s "$(pwd)/scripts/list-all-packages.sh" /usr/local/bin/list-all-packages
list-all-packages

Features:

• Zero configuration
• Auto-detects installed managers
• Auto-skips missing managers (e.g., if you don't have cargo, it's automatically skipped)
• Clean, color-coded output

Common Commands Quick Reference

Task	npm	pnpm	yarn	brew
Install	npm install <pkg>	pnpm add <pkg>	yarn add <pkg>	brew install <pkg>
Install globally	npm install -g <pkg>	pnpm add -g <pkg>	yarn global add <pkg>	N/A
Update all	npm update	pnpm update	yarn upgrade	brew upgrade
Remove	npm uninstall <pkg>	pnpm remove <pkg>	yarn remove <pkg>	brew uninstall <pkg>
List global	npm list -g --depth=0	pnpm list -g	yarn global list	brew list
Clear cache	npm cache clean --force	pnpm store prune	yarn cache clean	brew cleanup

Use pkgcheat to explore more commands!

Manual Installation

If the installer doesn't work, manually add to PATH:

# Clone and enter directory
git clone [email protected]:RamonLiao/package-cheat.git
cd package-cheat

# Make executable
chmod +x bin/pkgcheat

# Option 1: Symlink to /usr/local/bin (requires sudo)
sudo ln -s "$(pwd)/bin/pkgcheat" /usr/local/bin/pkgcheat

# Option 2: Add to PATH in shell config
echo "export PATH=\"$(pwd)/bin:\$PATH\"" >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

# Verify
pkgcheat --version

Troubleshooting

Command not found:

# Check if executable
ls -la bin/pkgcheat

# Re-source shell config
source ~/.zshrc  # or ~/.bash_profile for Bash

# Or run directly
./bin/pkgcheat

Permission denied:

chmod +x bin/pkgcheat

No managers detected:

# Verify you have at least one installed
which npm pnpm yarn brew pip

No artifacts found:

• Check search path is correct
• Enable more artifact types in configuration
• Verify you have projects with dependencies in the search location

Permission denied warnings (artifacts):

• Normal when searching system directories
• Results show accessible artifacts only
• Use specific project paths to avoid system directories

Slow artifact searches:

• Searching home directory can take time with many projects
• Use more specific paths (e.g., ~/Projects instead of ~)
• Progress indicator shows search is working

Config file issues:

• Delete ~/.pkgcheat/artifacts.conf to reset
• Or use the "Reset to defaults" option in configuration menu

License

MIT License

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Need help? Run pkgcheat --help or open an issue on GitHub.