py-trkpac

A global Python package manager for linux that wraps pip with SQLite tracking. Install packages into a single shared directory, accessible from any terminal without activating a venv.

Why

Python's default tooling pushes you toward virtual environments for everything. That's fine for project-specific dependencies, but for packages you use everywhere (pytest, requests, httpx, etc.), you end up with dozens of venvs all containing the same libraries.

py-trkpac gives you a single managed directory for globally available Python packages. It:

• Installs packages via pip into one target directory
• Tracks every package and its dependencies in SQLite
• Enforces one version per package (no silent duplicates)
• Detects dependency conflicts before they happen
• Manages your shell config (PATH/PYTHONPATH) automatically
• Works on Ubuntu without fighting PEP 668 (externally-managed-environment)

You still use venvs for project-specific needs. py-trkpac handles the rest.

Install

Requires Python 3.13+. No external dependencies — uses only Python stdlib.

From PyPI

pip install py-trkpac
py-trkpac init

From PyPI (venv bootstrap)

On systems with PEP 668 (externally-managed-environment), use a temporary venv to bootstrap py-trkpac into its own managed directory:

# Create a temporary venv and install py-trkpac
python3 -m venv /tmp/trkpac-bootstrap
/tmp/trkpac-bootstrap/bin/pip install py-trkpac

# Initialize (sets up target directory, DB, and shell config)
/tmp/trkpac-bootstrap/bin/py-trkpac init

# Install py-trkpac into its own managed directory
/tmp/trkpac-bootstrap/bin/py-trkpac install py-trkpac

# Open a new terminal — py-trkpac is now on your PATH via the managed directory
# You can safely remove the bootstrap venv
rm -rf /tmp/trkpac-bootstrap

From source (development)

git clone https://github.com/aryanduntley/py-trkpac.git
ln -s /path/to/py-trkpac/py-trkpac ~/.local/bin/py-trkpac
py-trkpac init

Usage

Initialize

py-trkpac init
py-trkpac init --target ~/my-python-libs
py-trkpac init --shell-config ~/.zshrc

Sets the target directory where packages will be installed. Creates the SQLite database and adds PATH/PYTHONPATH entries to your shell config using managed marker comments.

Install packages

py-trkpac install requests httpx pytest

• Checks the database for existing packages before installing
• Warns if a package is already installed in system Python (/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/) and asks before shadowing it
• Prompts on version conflicts or when a package is already installed as a dependency
• Runs pip with --target and --upgrade
• Records all installed packages and auto-detected dependencies in the database
• Only updates the database after pip reports success

Install local projects

py-trkpac install /path/to/downloaded-project
py-trkpac install ~/Desktop/Projects/my-mcp-server

• Detects local directories with pyproject.toml or setup.py
• Installs via pip into the same target directory as PyPI packages
• Parses pyproject.toml to identify the package name and track it in the database
• Tracks the source path so you know where each local package came from
• Shows as "local" type in py-trkpac list
• To update after source changes, just re-run the install command

Remove packages

py-trkpac remove selenium

• Warns if other packages depend on the one being removed
• Cleans up files using pip's RECORD manifest
• Prompts to remove orphaned dependencies that nothing else needs, recursively through the full dependency tree

List packages

py-trkpac list

Package          Version      Type        Installed
---------------  -----------  ----------  ----------
aifp             0.1.0        local       2026-02-07
click            8.3.1        explicit    2026-02-07
cryptography     46.0.4       explicit    2026-02-07
certifi          2026.1.4     dependency  2026-02-07
cffi             2.0.0        dependency  2026-02-07
...

63 package(s): 17 explicit, 1 local, 45 dependencies

List dependencies

py-trkpac list-deps pytest

pytest==9.0.2 depends on:
  packaging==26.0
  iniconfig==2.3.0
  pluggy==1.6.0

Required by:
  pytest-cov==7.0.0

Update packages

py-trkpac update           # update all explicit packages
py-trkpac update requests  # update a specific package

View/change config

py-trkpac config
py-trkpac config set target_path /new/path

How it works

Architecture

py-trkpac is a policy layer on top of pip. pip does all the real work (dependency resolution, downloading, building, installing). py-trkpac decides:

• Whether to install (conflict detection)
• Where to install (target directory)
• What to record (database tracking)
• When to prompt (user-facing decisions)

Database

SQLite database stored at <target_path>/.py-trkpac.db with three tables:

• config — key/value settings (target path, shell config path)
• packages — every installed package (name, version, explicit vs dependency, dates)
• package_dependencies — many-to-many join table tracking which packages depend on which

Dependencies are packages too. numpy as a dependency of torch is a row in packages with is_explicit=0, linked via package_dependencies.

Shell config management

py-trkpac manages a block in your shell config using marker comments:

# >>> py-trkpac managed >>>
export PATH="$HOME/python-libraries/bin:$PATH"
export PYTHONPATH="$HOME/python-libraries${PYTHONPATH:+:$PYTHONPATH}"
# <<< py-trkpac managed <<<

This block is added, updated, or removed idempotently. A backup of your shell config is created before the first modification.

Package removal

Since pip uninstall doesn't work with --target installs, py-trkpac handles removal directly by parsing the RECORD file in each package's .dist-info directory and deleting the listed files.

Project structure

py-trkpac/
├── py-trkpac                 # shell script entry point
├── src/
│   └── py_trkpac/
│       ├── __init__.py       # version
│       ├── __main__.py       # python -m py_trkpac
│       ├── cli.py            # argparse, command dispatch
│       ├── db.py             # SQLite schema and operations
│       ├── installer.py      # pip wrapper, metadata parsing
│       ├── shell.py          # .bashrc management
│       └── utils.py          # name normalization, prompts
├── shell_configs/            # future OS support stubs
│   ├── bashrc.py
│   ├── zshrc.py
│   └── fish.py
├── pyproject.toml
└── .gitignore

License

MIT