Add Packages tab, hint view, Run it and signing key unlock

Packages tab over the helper inventory: query bar with cat:/maint:/
req:/status: prefixes, overlay and status chips, check column, and a
detail pane with versions, dependencies after hints and a structured
read-only view of the hint (hints.py mirrors slackrepo's parser).
Actions start slackrepo previews; the Jobs tab offers Run it with a
publish box (default from [builds] publish), asking for the signing
key passphrase first when the key is locked. Status bar shows the key
state; Dashboard tiles open their tabs; inventory reloads after
slackrepo and publish jobs.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

8 files changed, 646 insertions, 16 deletions

diff --git a/sb_builder/__init__.py b/sb_builder/__init__.py
index 6428da7..7c58f9a 100644
--- a/sb_builder/__init__.py
+++ b/sb_builder/__init__.py
@@ -16,4 +16,4 @@
 
 """sb-builder: Qt6 GUI driving the SlackBuild tooling on a build VM."""
 
-VERSION = "0.1.0"  # must match remote/sbb-remote VERSION
+VERSION = "0.2.0"  # must match remote/sbb-remote VERSION
diff --git a/sb_builder/config.py b/sb_builder/config.py
index 4549b66..da1d388 100644
--- a/sb_builder/config.py
+++ b/sb_builder/config.py
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ DEFAULTS = {
     "refresh": {"dashboard": 30, "jobs": 5},
     "notify": {"enabled": True, "events": ["finished", "failed", "killed", "lost", "vm-up"]},
     "vm": {"libvirt_uri": "qemu:///system", "domain": "buildsystem", "autostart": False},
+    "builds": {"publish": True},
 }
 
 
diff --git a/sb_builder/dashboard.py b/sb_builder/dashboard.py
index d4152ae..85c19f4 100644
--- a/sb_builder/dashboard.py
+++ b/sb_builder/dashboard.py
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
 import html
 import time
 
-from PyQt6.QtCore import QEvent, QRectF, Qt
+from PyQt6.QtCore import QEvent, QRectF, Qt, pyqtSignal
 from PyQt6.QtGui import QColor, QFont, QPainter, QPalette
 from PyQt6.QtWidgets import (QFrame, QGridLayout, QHBoxLayout, QLabel, QPushButton,
                              QToolTip, QVBoxLayout, QWidget)
@@ -44,12 +44,24 @@ def muted(label):
 class Card(QFrame):
     """Rounded panel with a muted title; content goes into self.body."""
 
+    clicked = pyqtSignal()
+
     def __init__(self, title):
         super().__init__(objectName="card")
         self.body = QVBoxLayout(self)
         self.body.setContentsMargins(16, 12, 16, 14)
         self.body.addWidget(muted(QLabel(title)))
 
+    def link(self, slot):
+        """Make the whole card open something."""
+        self.clicked.connect(slot)
+        self.setCursor(Qt.CursorShape.PointingHandCursor)
+
+    def mouseReleaseEvent(self, event):
+        if event.button() == Qt.MouseButton.LeftButton:
+            self.clicked.emit()
+        super().mouseReleaseEvent(event)
+
 
 class Tile(Card):
     """Stat tile: title, one large value, a muted detail line."""
diff --git a/sb_builder/hints.py b/sb_builder/hints.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..34ef97d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sb_builder/hints.py
@@ -0,0 +1,195 @@
+# sb-builder - slackrepo hint interpretation
+# Copyright (C) 2026 Danilo M. <danix@danix.xyz>
+#
+# This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 as
+# published by the Free Software Foundation.
+#
+# This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+# GNU General Public License for more details.
+#
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
+# with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
+# 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
+
+"""What a slackrepo hint file does, the way slackrepo reads it.
+
+Rules from slackrepo's libexec/functions.d/parsefunctions.sh (hint and fixup
+departments) and slackrepo.hint(5). Pure functions, no Qt.
+"""
+
+import os
+import re
+
+KNOWN = {"SKIP", "VERSION", "OPTIONS", "GROUPADD", "USERADD", "NOWARNING", "NOWARNINGS",
+         "ADDREQUIRES", "DELREQUIRES", "BUILDTIME", "CONFLICTS", "INSTALL", "NUMJOBS",
+         "ANSWER", "CLEANUP", "PRAGMA", "SPECIAL", "ARCH", "DOWNLOAD", "MD5SUM", "SHA256SUM",
+         "NODOWNLOAD"}  # NODOWNLOAD: written by mkhint, shown as DOWNLOAD="no" by user decision
+PER_ARCH = re.compile(r"^(DOWNLOAD|MD5SUM|SHA256SUM)_\w+$")
+SHELLS = {"sh", "bash", "zsh", "ksh", "csh", "tcsh", "false", "nologin", "true"}
+
+PRAGMAS = {
+    "python3": "force python3 support: adds python3 to the deps, sets PYTHON3=yes",
+    "kernelmodule": "rebuild when the host kernel changes; depmod on uninstall",
+    "kernel": "rebuild when the host kernel changes",
+    "kernelversion": "uname reports $KERNEL as the kernel version",
+    "multilib_ldflags": "patch the SlackBuild to set LDFLAGS on a multilib host",
+    "wget": "download with a fake wget user agent",
+    "curl": "download with a fake curl user agent",
+    "download_basename": "symlink downloads to the URL's basename",
+    "download_urldecode": "URL-decode DOWNLOAD values before use",
+    "need_net": "network not blocked during the build",
+    "need_X": "X display not blocked during the build",
+    "noexport_ARCH": "set ARCH by patching the SlackBuild, not via the environment",
+    "noexport_BUILD": "set BUILD by patching the SlackBuild, not via the environment",
+    "noexport_TAG": "set TAG by patching the SlackBuild, not via the environment",
+    "noremove": "do not uninstall packages before building",
+    "nofakeroot": "build as root with sudo instead of fakeroot",
+    "no_make_test": "comment out 'make test' in the SlackBuild",
+    "stubs-32": "provide /usr/include/gnu/stubs-32.h during the build",
+    "abstar": "patch the SlackBuild to use tar --absolute-names",
+}
+
+
+def _raw(v):
+    return v["value"] if isinstance(v, dict) else v
+
+
+def pragma_meaning(p):
+    if p in PRAGMAS:
+        return PRAGMAS[p]
+    if p.startswith("x86arch="):
+        return f"on 32 bit x86, build with ARCH={p[8:]}"
+    if p.startswith("unset_"):
+        return f"unset {p[6:]} for the build"
+    return "unknown pragma"
+
+
+def parse_groupadd(value, pkg):
+    """[(gid, name)] like slackrepo: numeric field is the gid, other the name."""
+    out = []
+    for spec in value.split():
+        gid, name = None, pkg
+        for field in spec.split(":"):
+            if field[:1].isdigit():
+                gid = field
+            elif field:
+                name = field
+        out.append((gid, name))
+    return out
+
+
+def parse_useradd(value, pkg):
+    """[dict(uid, name, group, home, shell, extra)] with slackrepo's defaults."""
+    out = []
+    for spec in value.split():
+        u = {"uid": None, "name": pkg, "group": "", "home": "/dev/null",
+             "shell": "/bin/false", "extra": []}
+        for field in spec.split(":"):
+            if field.startswith("-g"):
+                u["group"] = field[2:]
+            elif field.startswith("-d"):
+                u["home"] = field[2:]
+            elif field.startswith("-s"):
+                u["shell"] = field[2:]
+            elif field.startswith("-"):
+                u["extra"].append(f"{field[:2]} {field[2:]}".strip())
+            elif field.startswith("/"):
+                # ponytail: slackrepo tests -x on the build host; guess by name instead
+                key = "shell" if os.path.basename(field) in SHELLS else "home"
+                u[key] = field
+            elif field[:1].isdigit():
+                u["uid"] = field
+            elif field:
+                u["name"] = field
+        u["group"] = u["group"] or u["name"]
+        out.append(u)
+    return out
+
+
+def dependencies(hints, requires):
+    """[(dep, mark)] as slackrepo computes them; mark in '', del, pragma, add, build."""
+    deleted = set(hints.get("DELREQUIRES", "").split()) | {"%README%"}
+    out = [(r, "del" if r in deleted else "") for r in requires]
+    if "python3" in hints.get("PRAGMA", hints.get("SPECIAL", "")).split():
+        out.append(("python3", "pragma"))
+    out += [(r, "add") for r in hints.get("ADDREQUIRES", "").split()]
+    out += [(r, "build") for r in hints.get("BUILDTIME", "").split()]
+    return out
+
+
+def interpret(hints, pkg, info_version=None, requires=()):
+    """Structured view of one package's hints.
+
+    hints: {key: value or {"value": raw, "shell": True}} from the helper, or None.
+    Returns {"skip", "sections": [(title, [(label, value)])], "deps",
+    "conflicts", "ignored", "shell"}.
+    """
+    raw = hints or {}
+    shell = sorted(k for k, v in raw.items() if isinstance(v, dict))
+    h = {k: _raw(v) for k, v in raw.items()}
+    view = {"skip": None, "sections": [], "deps": dependencies(h, list(requires)),
+            "conflicts": h.get("CONFLICTS", "").split(), "shell": shell,
+            "ignored": sorted(k for k in h if k not in KNOWN and not PER_ARCH.match(k))}
+
+    skip = h.get("SKIP")
+    if skip is not None and skip.lower() != "no":
+        view["skip"] = "always skipped" if skip.lower() == "yes" else skip
+
+    # version, downloads and checksums, resolved together as slackrepo does
+    arch = h.get("ARCH")
+    resolved = {}
+    for var in ("DOWNLOAD", "MD5SUM", "SHA256SUM"):
+        resolved[var] = h.get(f"{var}_{arch}") if arch and h.get(f"{var}_{arch}") else h.get(var)
+    if h.get("VERSION"):
+        resolved["MD5SUM"] = resolved["MD5SUM"] or "no"
+        resolved["SHA256SUM"] = resolved["SHA256SUM"] or "no"
+    rows = []
+    if h.get("VERSION"):
+        rows.append(("version", f"{info_version or '?'} → {h['VERSION']}"))
+    if arch is not None:
+        rows.append(("arch", arch or "(empty)"))
+    if resolved["DOWNLOAD"] == "no" or h.get("NODOWNLOAD", "").lower() == "yes":
+        rows.append(("download", "no download, the source must already be in the cache"))
+    elif resolved["DOWNLOAD"]:
+        rows += [("download", url) for url in resolved["DOWNLOAD"].split()]
+    if resolved["MD5SUM"] == "no":
+        rows.append(("md5sum", "not checked"))
+    elif resolved["MD5SUM"]:
+        rows.append(("md5sum", resolved["MD5SUM"]))
+    if any(k.startswith("SHA256SUM") for k in h):
+        rows.append(("sha256sum", "not checked" if resolved["SHA256SUM"] == "no"
+                     else resolved["SHA256SUM"]))
+    if rows:
+        view["sections"].append(("Version override", rows))
+
+    rows = [("option", o) for o in h.get("OPTIONS", "").split()]
+    if "NUMJOBS" in h:
+        rows.append(("make jobs", h["NUMJOBS"]))
+    if h.get("INSTALL"):
+        rows.append(("install after build", "no" if h["INSTALL"][:1] in "Nn0" else "yes"))
+    if "ANSWER" in h:
+        rows.append(("answers to the build", h["ANSWER"].replace("\\n", " ⏎ ")))
+    nowarning = h.get("NOWARNING") or h.get("NOWARNINGS")
+    if nowarning:
+        rows.append(("hide warnings matching", nowarning))
+    if rows:
+        view["sections"].append(("Build settings", rows))
+
+    pragmas = h.get("PRAGMA") or h.get("SPECIAL") or ""
+    if pragmas:
+        view["sections"].append(("Pragmas", [(p, pragma_meaning(p)) for p in pragmas.split()]))
+
+    rows = [("group", f"{name} (gid {gid or '?'})") for gid, name in parse_groupadd(h.get("GROUPADD", ""), pkg)]
+    for u in parse_useradd(h.get("USERADD", ""), pkg):
+        extra = f", {' '.join(u['extra'])}" if u["extra"] else ""
+        rows.append(("user", f"{u['name']} (uid {u['uid'] or '?'}), group {u['group']}, "
+                             f"home {u['home']}, shell {u['shell']}{extra}"))
+    if rows:
+        view["sections"].append(("Host changes", rows))
+
+    if h.get("CLEANUP"):
+        view["sections"].append(("On uninstall", [("run", h["CLEANUP"])]))
+    return view
diff --git a/sb_builder/jobs.py b/sb_builder/jobs.py
index bcbd812..b413597 100644
--- a/sb_builder/jobs.py
+++ b/sb_builder/jobs.py
@@ -21,9 +21,9 @@ import re
 
 from PyQt6.QtCore import Qt, pyqtSignal
 from PyQt6.QtGui import QFontDatabase, QTextCursor
-from PyQt6.QtWidgets import (QHBoxLayout, QListWidget, QListWidgetItem, QMenu,
-                             QMessageBox, QPlainTextEdit, QPushButton, QSplitter,
-                             QToolButton, QVBoxLayout, QWidget)
+from PyQt6.QtWidgets import (QCheckBox, QHBoxLayout, QInputDialog, QLineEdit, QListWidget,
+                             QListWidgetItem, QMenu, QMessageBox, QPlainTextEdit, QPushButton,
+                             QSplitter, QToolButton, QVBoxLayout, QWidget)
 
 from .fmt import describe
 
@@ -36,9 +36,10 @@ BAD = ("failed", "killed", "lost")
 class JobsTab(QWidget):
     refresh_requested = pyqtSignal()
 
-    def __init__(self, remote, parent=None):
+    def __init__(self, remote, publish=True, parent=None):
         super().__init__(parent)
         self.remote = remote
+        self.pending = ()
         self.jobs = {}
         self.current = None
         self.offset = 0
@@ -52,10 +53,15 @@ class JobsTab(QWidget):
         self.apply_btn.clicked.connect(lambda: self.confirm_start(
             "Apply the shadowing plan to the repo (sbshadow --yes)?", "sbshadow", "--yes"))
         self.apply_btn.hide()
+        self.publish_box = QCheckBox("publish", checked=publish)
+        self.publish_box.setToolTip("Push to the mirror when the build ends; "
+                                    "unticked, use Publish later")
+        self.run_btn = QPushButton("Run it")
+        self.run_btn.clicked.connect(self.run_preview)
         self.kill_btn = QPushButton("Kill")
         self.kill_btn.clicked.connect(self.kill)
         bar = QHBoxLayout()
-        for w in (start, self.apply_btn):
+        for w in (start, self.apply_btn, self.run_btn, self.publish_box):
             bar.addWidget(w)
         bar.addStretch()
         bar.addWidget(self.kill_btn)
@@ -131,6 +137,7 @@ class JobsTab(QWidget):
             p.deleteLater()
 
     def start(self, *args):
+        self.pending = args
         self.remote.call(self._started, "job-start", *args)
 
     def confirm_start(self, question, *args):
@@ -143,7 +150,49 @@ class JobsTab(QWidget):
             self.remote.call(lambda _d, err: err and QMessageBox.warning(self, "Kill failed", err),
                              "job-kill", self.current)
 
+    def run_preview(self):
+        """Start the previewed slackrepo run for real."""
+        args = [a for a in self.jobs[self.current]["args"] if a != "--preview"]
+        if not self.publish_box.isChecked():
+            args.insert(1, "--no-publish")
+        self.start_signed("slackrepo", *args)
+
+    def ask_passphrase(self, retry):
+        text, ok = QInputDialog.getText(
+            self, "Signing key", ("Wrong passphrase, try again." if retry else
+                                  "Passphrase of the package signing key:"),
+            QLineEdit.EchoMode.Password)
+        return text if ok else None
+
+    def start_signed(self, *args, retry=False):
+        """Unlock the signing key first when it is locked, then start the job."""
+        def status(data, err):
+            if err:
+                QMessageBox.warning(self, "Signing key", err)
+            elif data["unlocked"] is False:
+                self._unlock(args, retry)
+            else:
+                self.start(*args)
+        self.remote.call(status, "gpg-status")
+
+    def _unlock(self, args, retry):
+        passphrase = self.ask_passphrase(retry)
+        if passphrase is None:
+            return
+
+        def unlocked(_data, err):
+            if err == "bad passphrase":
+                self._unlock(args, True)
+            elif err:
+                QMessageBox.warning(self, "Signing key", err)
+            else:
+                self.start(*args)
+        self.remote.call(unlocked, "gpg-unlock", stdin=passphrase.encode() + b"\n")
+
     def _started(self, data, err):
+        if err == "signing key locked":
+            self.start_signed(*self.pending)  # locked since the last check: ask again
+            return
         if err:
             QMessageBox.warning(self, "Start failed", err)
             return
@@ -198,3 +247,7 @@ class JobsTab(QWidget):
         self.apply_btn.setVisible(
             bool(j) and j["status"] == "ok" and "--no" in j["args"]
             and bool(SHADOW_PLAN.search(self.log.toPlainText())))
+        preview = bool(j) and j["kind"] == "slackrepo" and j["status"] == "ok" \
+            and "--preview" in j["args"]
+        self.run_btn.setVisible(preview)
+        self.publish_box.setVisible(preview)
diff --git a/sb_builder/mainwindow.py b/sb_builder/mainwindow.py
index 734811b..e84389c 100644
--- a/sb_builder/mainwindow.py
+++ b/sb_builder/mainwindow.py
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ from . import VERSION, config
 from .dashboard import Dashboard
 from .fmt import job_title
 from .jobs import JobsTab
+from .packages import PackagesTab
 from .remote import DOWN, MISSING
 
 NOTIFY = "org.freedesktop.Notifications"
@@ -66,6 +67,7 @@ class MainWindow(QMainWindow):
         self.notifier = notifier or Notifier(self)
         self.notifier.clicked.connect(self.open_job)
         self.jobs_tab = None
+        self.packages_tab = None
         self.seen = None        # job id -> status at the last poll; None before the first
         self.online = None      # None until the first answer
         self.overlays = []
@@ -79,6 +81,8 @@ class MainWindow(QMainWindow):
         self.tabs.currentChanged.connect(lambda _i: self.poll_stats())
         self.dashboard = Dashboard()
         self.dashboard.refresh_btn.clicked.connect(self.poll_stats)
+        self.dashboard.tiles["Packages"].link(self.open_packages)
+        self.dashboard.jobs.link(self.open_jobs)
         self.tabs.addTab(self.dashboard, "Dashboard")
         self.tabs.tabBar().setTabButton(0, QTabBar.ButtonPosition.RightSide, None)
         self.setCentralWidget(self.tabs)
@@ -86,20 +90,24 @@ class MainWindow(QMainWindow):
         file_menu = self.menuBar().addMenu("&File")
         file_menu.addAction("&Reload config", self.reload_config)
         file_menu.addAction("&Quit", self.close).setShortcut("Ctrl+Q")
-        self.menuBar().addMenu("&Open").addAction("&Jobs", self.open_jobs)
+        open_menu = self.menuBar().addMenu("&Open")
+        open_menu.addAction("&Packages", self.open_packages)
+        open_menu.addAction("&Jobs", self.open_jobs)
 
         self.conn = QLabel("● connecting")
+        self.key = QLabel()
+        self.key.hide()
         self.vm_btn = QPushButton()
         self.vm_btn.clicked.connect(lambda: self._vm_do(self.vm_action))
         self.vm_btn.hide()
         self.job_btn = QPushButton(flat=True)
         self.job_btn.clicked.connect(lambda: self.open_job(self.running_id))
         self.job_btn.hide()
-        for w in (self.job_btn, self.vm_btn, self.conn):
+        for w in (self.job_btn, self.key, self.vm_btn, self.conn):
             self.statusBar().addPermanentWidget(w)
 
         self.jobs_timer = QTimer(self, timeout=self.poll_jobs)
-        self.stats_timer = QTimer(self, timeout=self.poll_stats)
+        self.stats_timer = QTimer(self, timeout=self.poll_slow)
         self._start_timers()
         QTimer.singleShot(0, self.poll_jobs)
 
@@ -112,6 +120,18 @@ class MainWindow(QMainWindow):
     def poll_jobs(self):
         self.remote.call(self._got_jobs, "jobs")
 
+    def poll_slow(self):
+        self.poll_stats()
+        if self.online:
+            self.remote.call(self._got_key, "gpg-status")
+
+    def _got_key(self, data, err):
+        if err:
+            return self._failed(err)
+        self.key.setVisible(data["unlocked"] is not None)
+        self.key.setText("🔓 key unlocked" if data["unlocked"] else "🔒 key locked")
+        self.key.setToolTip(f"package signing key {data['key']}")
+
     def poll_stats(self):
         if self.online and self.tabs.currentWidget() is self.dashboard:
             self.remote.call(self._got_stats, "stats")
@@ -154,7 +174,7 @@ class MainWindow(QMainWindow):
         self.dashboard.set_stale(None)
         self.jobs_timer.setInterval(self.cfg["refresh"]["jobs"] * 1000)
         self.remote.call(self._got_version, "version")
-        self.poll_stats()
+        self.poll_slow()
         if self.vm_woken:
             self.vm_woken = False
             self.notify("vm-up", f"{self.cfg['vm']['domain']} is up")
@@ -229,12 +249,14 @@ class MainWindow(QMainWindow):
             event = END_EVENT.get(j["status"])
             if event and prev.get(j["id"], "running") != j["status"]:
                 self.notify(event, job_title(j), j["id"])
+                if j["kind"] in ("slackrepo", "publish") and self.packages_tab:
+                    self.packages_tab.reload()  # build state changed
 
     # ── tabs ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
     def open_jobs(self):
         if self.jobs_tab is None:
-            self.jobs_tab = JobsTab(self.remote)
+            self.jobs_tab = JobsTab(self.remote, self.cfg["builds"]["publish"])
             self.jobs_tab.refresh_requested.connect(self.poll_jobs)
             self.jobs_tab.set_overlays(self.overlays)
             self.tabs.addTab(self.jobs_tab, "Jobs")
@@ -242,6 +264,15 @@ class MainWindow(QMainWindow):
         self.tabs.setCurrentWidget(self.jobs_tab)
         return self.jobs_tab
 
+    def open_packages(self):
+        if self.packages_tab is None:
+            self.packages_tab = PackagesTab(self.remote)
+            self.packages_tab.start_requested.connect(lambda args: self.open_jobs().start(*args))
+            self.tabs.addTab(self.packages_tab, "Packages")
+            self.packages_tab.reload()
+        self.tabs.setCurrentWidget(self.packages_tab)
+        return self.packages_tab
+
     def open_job(self, jid):
         self.show()
         self.raise_()
@@ -257,6 +288,8 @@ class MainWindow(QMainWindow):
         if w is self.jobs_tab:
             self.jobs_tab = None
             w.stop()
+        if w is self.packages_tab:
+            self.packages_tab = None
         w.deleteLater()
 
     def reload_config(self):
diff --git a/sb_builder/packages.py b/sb_builder/packages.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..34ce7f5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sb_builder/packages.py
@@ -0,0 +1,332 @@
+# sb-builder - Packages tab
+# Copyright (C) 2026 Danilo M. <danix@danix.xyz>
+#
+# This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 as
+# published by the Free Software Foundation.
+#
+# This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+# GNU General Public License for more details.
+#
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
+# with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
+# 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
+
+"""Packages tab: search the inventory, read a package's hints, start slackrepo previews."""
+
+import html
+
+from PyQt6.QtCore import QAbstractTableModel, QModelIndex, QSortFilterProxyModel, Qt, pyqtSignal
+from PyQt6.QtGui import QColor
+from PyQt6.QtWidgets import (QHBoxLayout, QLabel, QLineEdit, QMessageBox, QPushButton,
+                             QScrollArea, QSplitter, QTableView, QVBoxLayout, QWidget)
+
+from . import hints as hintlib
+from .dashboard import STATUS
+from .fmt import NA, fmt_time
+
+OVERLAYS = ("personal", "pentesting")
+STATUSES = ("ok", "failed", "never", "outdated")
+COLUMNS = ("", "name", "category", "version", "built", "status", "maintainer")
+STATUS_COLOR = {"ok": STATUS["ok"], "failed": STATUS["failed"], "outdated": STATUS["aborted"]}
+FIELDS = {"cat": "category", "maint": "maintainer", "req": "requires", "status": "status"}
+
+
+def status(row):
+    # ponytail: outdated compares versions only; slackrepo also rebuilds on
+    # SlackBuild or dependency changes, which its preview shows
+    if not row["built_version"] and not row["result"]:
+        return "never"
+    if row["result"] in ("failed", "bad", "aborted"):
+        return "failed"
+    if row["built_version"] != row["version"]:
+        return "outdated"
+    return "ok"
+
+
+def overlay(row):
+    cat = row["path"].split("/", 1)[0]
+    return cat if cat in OVERLAYS else "upstream"
+
+
+def parse_query(text):
+    """[(field or None, term)], lower-cased; unknown prefixes count as plain text."""
+    terms = []
+    for word in text.lower().split():
+        field, sep, term = word.partition(":")
+        if sep and field in FIELDS and term:
+            terms.append((FIELDS[field], term))
+        else:
+            terms.append((None, word))
+    return terms
+
+
+def matches(row, terms, overlays=(), statuses=()):
+    """All terms match, and the row is in a toggled chip of each non-empty group."""
+    if overlays and overlay(row) not in overlays:
+        return False
+    if statuses and row["status"] not in statuses:
+        return False
+    for field, term in terms:
+        if field is None:
+            hay = f"{row['name']} {row['summary'] or ''}"
+        elif field == "requires":
+            hay = " ".join(row["requires"])
+        else:
+            hay = row[field] or ""
+        if term not in hay.lower():
+            return False
+    return True
+
+
+def load_rows(inventory):
+    rows = []
+    for values in inventory["rows"]:
+        row = dict(zip(inventory["columns"], values))
+        row["category"], row["name"] = row["path"].split("/", 1)
+        row["status"] = status(row)
+        rows.append(row)
+    return rows
+
+
+class Model(QAbstractTableModel):
+    def __init__(self):
+        super().__init__()
+        self.rows = []
+        self.checked = set()  # package names
+
+    def set_rows(self, rows):
+        self.beginResetModel()
+        self.rows = rows
+        names = {r["name"] for r in rows}
+        self.checked &= names
+        self.endResetModel()
+
+    def rowCount(self, parent=QModelIndex()):
+        return 0 if parent.isValid() else len(self.rows)
+
+    def columnCount(self, parent=QModelIndex()):
+        return len(COLUMNS)
+
+    def headerData(self, section, orientation, role=Qt.ItemDataRole.DisplayRole):
+        if orientation == Qt.Orientation.Horizontal and role == Qt.ItemDataRole.DisplayRole:
+            return COLUMNS[section]
+        return None
+
+    def flags(self, index):
+        f = Qt.ItemFlag.ItemIsEnabled | Qt.ItemFlag.ItemIsSelectable
+        return f | Qt.ItemFlag.ItemIsUserCheckable if index.column() == 0 else f
+
+    def data(self, index, role=Qt.ItemDataRole.DisplayRole):
+        row, col = self.rows[index.row()], index.column()
+        if role == Qt.ItemDataRole.CheckStateRole and col == 0:
+            return Qt.CheckState.Checked if row["name"] in self.checked else Qt.CheckState.Unchecked
+        if role == Qt.ItemDataRole.DisplayRole:
+            return (None, row["name"], row["category"], row["version"],
+                    row["built_version"] or "", row["status"], row["maintainer"] or "")[col]
+        if role == Qt.ItemDataRole.ForegroundRole and col == 5 and row["status"] in STATUS_COLOR:
+            return QColor(STATUS_COLOR[row["status"]])
+        if role == Qt.ItemDataRole.UserRole:
+            return row
+        return None
+
+    def setData(self, index, value, role=Qt.ItemDataRole.EditRole):
+        if role != Qt.ItemDataRole.CheckStateRole or index.column() != 0:
+            return False
+        name = self.rows[index.row()]["name"]
+        if Qt.CheckState(value) == Qt.CheckState.Checked:
+            self.checked.add(name)
+        else:
+            self.checked.discard(name)
+        self.dataChanged.emit(index, index)
+        return True
+
+
+class Filter(QSortFilterProxyModel):
+    def __init__(self):
+        super().__init__()
+        self.terms, self.overlays, self.statuses = [], set(), set()
+
+    def update(self, text, overlays, statuses):
+        self.terms, self.overlays, self.statuses = parse_query(text), overlays, statuses
+        self.invalidateFilter()
+
+    def filterAcceptsRow(self, source_row, _parent):
+        row = self.sourceModel().rows[source_row]
+        return matches(row, self.terms, self.overlays, self.statuses)
+
+
+def chip(text):
+    b = QPushButton(text, checkable=True)
+    b.setStyleSheet("QPushButton { border: 1px solid palette(mid); border-radius: 10px;"
+                    " padding: 2px 10px; }"
+                    "QPushButton:checked { background: palette(highlight);"
+                    " color: palette(highlighted-text); }")
+    return b
+
+
+def detail_html(row):
+    """The detail pane for one package: facts, dependencies, then its hints."""
+    view = hintlib.interpret(row["hints"], row["name"], row["info_version"], row["requires"])
+    e = html.escape
+    out = [f"<h3>{e(row['name'])}</h3><p>{e(row['path'])}"
+           f"{' · ' + e(row['summary']) if row['summary'] else ''}</p>"]
+    if view["skip"]:
+        out.append(f'<p style="color:{STATUS["aborted"]}"><b>&#9888; Skipped by slackrepo:</b> '
+                   f"{e(view['skip'])}</p>")
+    facts = [(".info version", row["info_version"]), ("hint version", row["hint_version"]),
+             ("built version", row["built_version"]),
+             ("built", fmt_time(row["built_time"]) if row["built_time"] else None),
+             ("last result", row["result"]), ("maintainer", row["maintainer"])]
+    out.append(table([(k, v or NA) for k, v in facts]))
+    marks = {"": "", "del": "<s>{}</s> <small>(DELREQUIRES)</small>",
+             "add": "+{} <small>(ADDREQUIRES)</small>", "build": "+{} <small>(build time only)</small>",
+             "pragma": "+{} <small>(pragma)</small>"}
+    deps = [(marks[m] or "{}").format(e(d)) for d, m in view["deps"]]
+    out.append(f"<h4>Dependencies</h4><p>{' &nbsp; '.join(deps) or 'none'}</p>")
+    if view["conflicts"]:
+        out.append(f"<p>Conflicts: {e(' '.join(view['conflicts']))}</p>")
+    for title, rows in view["sections"]:
+        out.append(f"<h4>{e(title)}</h4>" + table(rows))
+    if view["shell"]:
+        out.append(f"<p><small>Expanded by the shell at build time, shown as written: "
+                   f"{e(', '.join(view['shell']))}</small></p>")
+    if view["ignored"]:
+        out.append(f'<p style="color:{STATUS["aborted"]}">Not read by slackrepo: '
+                   f"{e(', '.join(view['ignored']))}</p>")
+    if row["hint_path"]:
+        out.append(f"<p><small>hint: {e(row['hint_path'])}</small></p>")
+    return "".join(out)
+
+
+def table(rows):
+    cells = "".join(f"<tr><td style='padding-right:12px'><i>{html.escape(str(k))}</i></td>"
+                    f"<td>{html.escape(str(v))}</td></tr>" for k, v in rows)
+    return f"<table>{cells}</table>"
+
+
+class PackagesTab(QWidget):
+    start_requested = pyqtSignal(list)  # job-start arguments
+
+    def __init__(self, remote, parent=None):
+        super().__init__(parent)
+        self.remote = remote
+        self.model = Model()
+        self.proxy = Filter()
+        self.proxy.setSourceModel(self.model)
+
+        self.query = QLineEdit(placeholderText="search  (cat:  maint:  req:  status:)")
+        self.query.textChanged.connect(self.refilter)
+        self.chips = {}
+        chips = QHBoxLayout()
+        for group in (("personal", "pentesting", "upstream"), STATUSES):
+            for name in group:
+                self.chips[name] = chip(name)
+                self.chips[name].toggled.connect(self.refilter)
+                chips.addWidget(self.chips[name])
+            chips.addSpacing(16)
+        chips.addStretch()
+        self.refresh_btn = QPushButton("Refresh")
+        self.refresh_btn.clicked.connect(self.reload)
+        chips.addWidget(self.refresh_btn)
+
+        self.table = QTableView(sortingEnabled=True)
+        self.table.setModel(self.proxy)
+        self.table.setSelectionBehavior(QTableView.SelectionBehavior.SelectRows)
+        self.table.setSelectionMode(QTableView.SelectionMode.SingleSelection)
+        self.table.verticalHeader().hide()
+        self.table.horizontalHeader().setStretchLastSection(True)
+        for col, width in enumerate((28, 220, 110, 120, 120, 80)):
+            self.table.setColumnWidth(col, width)
+        self.table.selectionModel().currentRowChanged.connect(self.show_detail)
+        self.detail = QLabel(textFormat=Qt.TextFormat.RichText, wordWrap=True,
+                             alignment=Qt.AlignmentFlag.AlignTop)
+        self.detail.setTextInteractionFlags(Qt.TextInteractionFlag.TextSelectableByMouse)
+        self.detail.setContentsMargins(12, 8, 12, 8)
+        scroll = QScrollArea(widgetResizable=True)
+        scroll.setWidget(self.detail)
+        split = QSplitter()
+        split.addWidget(self.table)
+        split.addWidget(scroll)
+        split.setSizes([700, 400])
+
+        self.count = QLabel()
+        bar = QHBoxLayout()
+        bar.addWidget(self.count)
+        for label, slot in (("Select visible", self.select_visible), ("Clear", self.clear)):
+            b = QPushButton(label)
+            b.clicked.connect(slot)
+            bar.addWidget(b)
+        bar.addStretch()
+        for action in ("build", "update", "rebuild", "remove"):
+            b = QPushButton(action.capitalize())
+            b.clicked.connect(lambda _c, a=action: self.act(a))
+            bar.addWidget(b)
+        for label, slot in (("Update all", self.update_all), ("Publish", self.publish)):
+            b = QPushButton(label)
+            b.clicked.connect(slot)
+            bar.addWidget(b)
+
+        layout = QVBoxLayout(self)
+        layout.addWidget(self.query)
+        layout.addLayout(chips)
+        layout.addWidget(split)
+        layout.addLayout(bar)
+        self.model.dataChanged.connect(lambda *_: self.update_count())
+        self.update_count()
+
+    def reload(self):
+        self.count.setText("loading…")
+        self.remote.call(self._loaded, "inventory")
+
+    def _loaded(self, data, err):
+        if err:
+            self.count.setText(f"inventory failed: {err}")
+            return
+        self.model.set_rows(load_rows(data))
+        self.update_count()
+
+    def refilter(self):
+        on = {n for n, b in self.chips.items() if b.isChecked()}
+        self.proxy.update(self.query.text(), on - set(STATUSES), on & set(STATUSES))
+        self.update_count()
+
+    def update_count(self):
+        self.count.setText(f"{self.proxy.rowCount():,} shown · {len(self.model.checked)} selected")
+
+    def select_visible(self):
+        for i in range(self.proxy.rowCount()):
+            self.model.checked.add(self.proxy.index(i, 0).data(Qt.ItemDataRole.UserRole)["name"])
+        self.model.layoutChanged.emit()
+        self.update_count()
+
+    def clear(self):
+        self.model.checked.clear()
+        self.model.layoutChanged.emit()
+        self.update_count()
+
+    def targets(self):
+        """Checked packages, else the current row; sorted names."""
+        if self.model.checked:
+            return sorted(self.model.checked)
+        current = self.table.currentIndex()
+        return [current.data(Qt.ItemDataRole.UserRole)["name"]] if current.isValid() else []
+
+    def act(self, action):
+        names = self.targets()
+        if names:
+            self.start_requested.emit(["slackrepo", action, "--preview", *names])
+
+    def update_all(self):
+        self.start_requested.emit(["slackrepo", "update", "--preview"])
+
+    def publish(self):
+        if QMessageBox.question(self, "Publish", "Push the package repository to the mirror now?") \
+                == QMessageBox.StandardButton.Yes:
+            self.start_requested.emit(["publish"])
+
+    def show_detail(self, current, _previous):
+        row = current.data(Qt.ItemDataRole.UserRole) if current.isValid() else None
+        self.detail.setText(detail_html(row) if row else "")
diff --git a/sb_builder/remote.py b/sb_builder/remote.py
index 5340f6c..f87ef66 100644
--- a/sb_builder/remote.py
+++ b/sb_builder/remote.py
@@ -55,9 +55,10 @@ class Remote(QObject):
                 "-o", "ControlPersist=10m", "-o", "BatchMode=yes", "-o", "ConnectTimeout=5",
                 *r["ssh_options"], r["target"], "sbb-remote", *map(shlex.quote, args)]
 
-    def call(self, cb, *args):
-        """Run sbb-remote <args>, then cb(data, error)."""
-        self._run("ssh", self.ssh_args(*args), lambda rc, out, err: cb(*parse(rc, out, err)))
+    def call(self, cb, *args, stdin=None):
+        """Run sbb-remote <args>, then cb(data, error). stdin: bytes for the helper."""
+        self._run("ssh", self.ssh_args(*args), lambda rc, out, err: cb(*parse(rc, out, err)),
+                  stdin)
 
     def virsh(self, cb, *args):
         """Run local virsh against the configured libvirt URI, then cb(rc, text)."""
@@ -71,7 +72,7 @@ class Remote(QObject):
         p.start("ssh", self.ssh_args("job-follow", jid, str(offset)))
         return p
 
-    def _run(self, prog, argv, cb):
+    def _run(self, prog, argv, cb, stdin=None):
         p = QProcess(self)
 
         def done(rc, _status=None):
@@ -82,3 +83,6 @@ class Remote(QObject):
         p.errorOccurred.connect(
             lambda e: e == QProcess.ProcessError.FailedToStart and done(-1))
         p.start(prog, argv)
+        if stdin is not None:
+            p.write(stdin)
+            p.closeWriteChannel()