fza - Fuzzy APT Package Manager

A beautiful, interactive terminal package manager powered by nala, fzf, and bat

Features • Installation • Usage • Keybinds • Screenshots

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🌟 Features

• 🔍 Fuzzy Search - Lightning-fast package search with fuzzy finding
• 🎨 Syntax Highlighting - Beautiful syntax highlighting for package info with bat
• 🖼️ Interactive Previews - Real-time package information in preview panes
• ⚡ Fast Operations - Powered by nala for faster package management
• 🎯 Multi-Select - Select multiple packages at once with Tab
• 📊 Statistics - View detailed package statistics
• 📜 History Tracking - All operations logged for reference
• 🌐 Mirror Management - Benchmark and configure mirrors with nala fetch
• ⌨️ Rich Keybinds - Extensive keyboard shortcuts for efficient navigation
• 🎭 Hidden Previews - Preview windows hidden by default, toggle with Ctrl+/

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📋 Requirements

• Debian-based distribution (Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Pop!_OS, etc.)
• fzf - Fuzzy finder
• bat or batcat - Syntax highlighter
• nala (optional, falls back to apt) - Fast package manager
• sudo privileges for package operations

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🚀 Installation

Quick Install (Recommended)

# Download the script
curl -o fza https://raw.githubusercontent.com/stefan-hacks/fza/main/fza.sh

# Make it executable
chmod +x fza

# Move to system path
sudo mv fza /usr/local/bin/

# Install dependencies
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y nala fzf bat

# Optional: Install nala for better performance
echo "deb https://deb.volian.org/volian/ scar main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/volian-archive-scar-unstable.list
wget -qO - https://deb.volian.org/volian/scar.key | sudo tee /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/volian-archive-scar-unstable.gpg > /dev/null
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y nala

Manual Installation

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/stefan-hacks/fza.git
cd fza

2. Install dependencies:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y nala fzf bat

3. Install nala (optional but recommended):

echo "deb https://deb.volian.org/volian/ scar main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/volian-archive-scar-unstable.list
wget -qO - https://deb.volian.org/volian/scar.key | sudo tee /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/volian-archive-scar-unstable.gpg > /dev/null
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y nala

4. Make executable and install:

chmod +x fza.sh
sudo cp fza.sh /usr/local/bin/fza

5. Verify installation:

fza --help

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💻 Usage

Interactive Mode (Recommended)

Simply run fza with sudo to open the interactive menu:

sudo fza

Navigate through the beautiful menu to:

• Search and install packages
• Remove packages
• List installed packages
• Update package lists
• Upgrade all packages
• View package information
• And more!

Command Line Mode

fza also supports direct command-line operations:

# Search for packages (interactive)
fza search

# Search for specific package
fza search firefox

# Install packages (interactive)
sudo fza install

# Install specific packages
sudo fza install firefox vlc

# Remove packages (interactive)
sudo fza remove

# Remove specific packages
sudo fza remove firefox

# Update package lists
sudo fza update

# Upgrade all packages
sudo fza upgrade

# List installed packages
fza list

# Show package information
fza info firefox

# View operation history
fza history

# Show package statistics
fza stats

# Benchmark and configure mirrors (nala only)
sudo fza fetch

Command Aliases

Short forms are also supported:

sudo fza i          # install
sudo fza r          # remove
fza s               # search
sudo fza u          # update
sudo fza U          # upgrade
fza l               # list
fza h               # history
fza t               # stats

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⌨️ Keybinds

Main Navigation

Key	Action
↑/↓, j/k	Navigate up/down
Ctrl+p/n	Navigate up/down (alternative)
Ctrl+g	Jump to top
Alt+g	Jump to bottom
Page Up/Down	Scroll page

Preview Window

Key	Action
Ctrl+/	Toggle preview on/off
Alt+p	Toggle preview on/off
Ctrl+u/d	Scroll preview page up/down
Ctrl+y/e	Scroll preview line up/down
Alt+↑/↓	Scroll preview line up/down
Shift+↑/↓	Scroll preview page up/down
Alt+w	Toggle text wrapping
Alt+1/2/3	Resize preview right (40%/50%/60%)
Alt+4/5	Resize preview down (40%/50%)
Alt+0	Maximize preview (99%)

Selection

Key	Action
Tab	Select/deselect current item
Shift+Tab	Select/deselect + move up
Ctrl+Space	Select + move down
Alt+a	Select all items
Alt+d	Deselect all items
Alt+t	Toggle all selections

Actions

Key	Action
Enter	Confirm selection
Esc	Return to main menu
q	Quit fza completely
Ctrl+c	Quit fza completely
?	Show full keybinds help
Alt+i	View full package details with bat
Alt+f	View package files
Ctrl+s	Toggle sort

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🎨 Screenshots

Main Menu

╔═══════════════════════════════════════════╗
║   FZA - Fuzzy APT Package Manager         ║
║   Powered by nala + fzf + bat             ║
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════╝

🔍  Search & Install Packages
🗑️  Remove Packages
📋  List Installed Packages
🔄  Update Package Lists
⬆️  Upgrade All Packages
ℹ️  Show Package Info
🧹  Autoremove Unused Packages
🔧  Fix Broken Dependencies
📊  Show Package Statistics
🚀  History & Rollback
🌐  Nala Fetch Mirrors
❓  Show Keybinds Help
❌  Exit

Package Search with Preview

Search & Install Packages
Keybinds: Ctrl+/=preview Alt+1/2/3=resize Tab=select Esc=menu q=quit ?=help

> firefox
  firefox              Mozilla Firefox web browser
  firefox-esr          Mozilla Firefox ESR web browser
  firefox-locale-en    Firefox English language pack

Preview (Ctrl+/ to toggle):
╔══════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Package: firefox                         ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════╝

Package: firefox
Version: 120.0+build1-0ubuntu1
Architecture: amd64
Description: Mozilla Firefox web browser
 Firefox is a powerful, extensible web browser...

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🔧 Configuration

fza stores its cache and history in ~/.cache/fza/:

• package_descriptions.cache - Package list cache (refreshed every hour)
• history - Operation history log

To clear the cache:

rm -rf ~/.cache/fza/

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🐛 Troubleshooting

"Missing dependencies" error

Make sure all dependencies are installed:

sudo apt install fzf bat

"This operation requires root privileges" error

Most package operations require sudo:

sudo fza

bat command not found

On some systems, bat is installed as batcat. fza automatically detects this.

Preview window not showing

Press Ctrl+/ or Alt+p to toggle the preview window (hidden by default).

Nala not available

fza automatically falls back to apt if nala is not installed. For better performance, install nala:

sudo apt install nala

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🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
5. Open a Pull Request