.\" compat32ctl.8 - manual page for compat32ctl
.\" Copyright (C) 2026 Danilo M. <danix@danix.xyz>
.\" SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-only
.TH COMPAT32CTL 8 "2026-09-19" "compat32ctl" "System Administration"
.SH NAME
compat32ctl \- manage AlienBOB's compat32 packages on Slackware64 \-current
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B compat32ctl
.I command
.RI [ options ]
.SH DESCRIPTION
.B compat32ctl
installs, updates and removes AlienBOB's collection of 32\-bit
compatibility packages (the
.B \-compat32
packages) on a Slackware64
.B \-current
system.
.PP
On
.B \-current
the multilib capability is provided by Slackware's own
.BR gcc (1)
and
.BR glibc ,
so no third\-party toolchain replacement is required; only the 32\-bit
compatibility library layer is managed.  Packages are sourced from
.IR https://slackware.nl/people/alien/multilib/current .
.PP
The package tree is mirrored into a local cache, verified against the
repository's
.B CHECKSUMS.md5
file, and installed with
.BR upgradepkg (8).
.SH COMMANDS
.TP
.B sync
Mirror the remote package tree into
.I MIRROR_DIR
using
.BR lftp (1)
with
.BR "mirror \-c \-e" ,
then verify every downloaded file against
.BR CHECKSUMS.md5 .
.TP
.B install
Run
.B sync
and then install or upgrade
.B compat32\-tools
and every
.B \-compat32
package with
.BR "upgradepkg \-\-install\-new" .
.TP
.B update
Identical to
.BR install .
Provided as a distinct verb for intent; the underlying command is
idempotent, upgrading packages that are already installed and adding new
ones.
.TP
.B remove
Remove every installed package whose name contains
.BR compat32 ,
covering both the
.B \-compat32
libraries and
.BR compat32\-tools .
Does not touch the network and does not roll back
.BR gcc / glibc ,
which are Slackware's own packages on
.BR \-current .
.TP
.BR help ", " \-h ", " \-\-help
Show the usage message.
.SH OPTIONS
.TP
.BR \-n ", " \-\-dry\-run
Print the commands that would be executed without running them.  With
this option the root and dependency checks are skipped, so the preview
can be run as an unprivileged user.
.TP
.BR \-h ", " \-\-help
Show the usage message.
.SH ENVIRONMENT
.TP
.B REPO_URL
Remote package tree to mirror.  Default:
.IR https://slackware.nl/people/alien/multilib/current .
.TP
.B MIRROR_DIR
Local package cache.  Default:
.IR /var/cache/compat32 .
.TP
.B PKGDIR
Directory holding installed\-package metadata, used by
.BR remove .
Default:
.IR /var/log/packages .
.SH FILES
.TP
.I /var/cache/compat32
Default local mirror (see
.BR MIRROR_DIR ).
.TP
.I /var/log/packages
Installed\-package database (see
.BR PKGDIR ).
.TP
.I /etc/slackpkg/blacklist
When
.BR slackpkg (8)
is used, the entries
.B [0\-9]+alien
and
.B [0\-9]+compat32
should be present so slackpkg does not remove or replace the multilib
packages.
.SH EXIT STATUS
.TP
.B 0
Success.
.TP
.B 1
A usage error, a missing dependency, insufficient privileges, or a
failing
.BR upgradepkg (8)
or
.BR removepkg (8)
invocation.  The script runs with
.BR "set \-e" ,
so any failing step aborts the run.
.SH NOTES
.SS Progress
When run on a terminal,
.BR lftp (1)
displays a live status line for the file being transferred, including
bytes transferred, percentage, transfer rate and estimated time.  The
.B \-v
option passed to
.B mirror
also prints a
.B "Transferring file"
line for each file.  When the output is not a terminal (for example under
cron), no progress is shown.
.SS Requirements
.BR lftp (1)
and
.B md5sum
are required for
.BR sync ;
.BR upgradepkg (8)
and
.BR removepkg (8)
are required for the respective commands.  Root is required for any
command that modifies the system.
.SH EXAMPLES
Preview a sync without changing anything:
.PP
.RS 4
compat32ctl sync \-n
.RE
.PP
Install or update the compat32 layer:
.PP
.RS 4
compat32ctl install
.RE
.PP
Remove the compat32 layer:
.PP
.RS 4
compat32ctl remove
.RE
.PP
Mirror into a staging directory instead of the system cache:
.PP
.RS 4
MIRROR_DIR=/srv/compat32 compat32ctl sync
.RE
.SH SEE ALSO
.BR lftp (1),
.BR upgradepkg (8),
.BR removepkg (8),
.BR installpkg (8),
.BR slackpkg (8)
.SH LICENSE
GNU General Public License, version 2 only.
.SH AUTHOR
Written by Danilo M. <danix@danix.xyz>.