Zero Layer (ZL)

Universal Linux package manager with native binary translation.

Install packages from any source on any Linux distro. ZL translates binaries at install time — no containers, no VMs, zero runtime overhead.

zl install firefox --from pacman      # Arch package on Ubuntu? No problem.
zl install ripgrep --from github      # GitHub release, patched and ready.
zl search vim                          # Search all sources at once.

Installation

Pre-built binary (recommended)

curl -Lo zl https://github.com/supercosti21/zero_layer/releases/latest/download/zl-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
chmod +x zl
sudo mv zl /usr/local/bin/

Or install without sudo:

mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
curl -Lo ~/.local/bin/zl https://github.com/supercosti21/zero_layer/releases/latest/download/zl-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
chmod +x ~/.local/bin/zl

Build from source

Requires Rust 1.85+.

git clone https://github.com/supercosti21/zero_layer.git
cd zero_layer
cargo build --release
cp target/release/zl ~/.local/bin/

Self-update

zl self-update

Setup

Add ZL to your PATH:

# Bash (~/.bashrc) or Zsh (~/.zshrc)
export PATH="$HOME/.local/share/zl/bin:$PATH"

# Fish
fish_add_path ~/.local/share/zl/bin

Enable shell completions:

# Bash
eval "$(zl completions bash)"

# Zsh
eval "$(zl completions zsh)"

# Fish
zl completions fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/zl.fish

Package Sources

ZL supports 13 package sources out of the box:

Source	Description	Example
pacman	Arch Linux repos	zl install firefox --from pacman
aur	Arch User Repository	zl install yay --from aur
apt	Debian/Ubuntu repos	zl install vim --from apt
dnf	Fedora/RHEL repos	zl install gcc --from dnf
zypper	openSUSE/SLES repos	zl install vim --from zypper
apk	Alpine Linux repos	zl install curl --from apk
xbps	Void Linux repos	zl install curl --from xbps
portage	Gentoo binhost	zl install vim --from portage
nix	Nix packages (nixpkgs)	zl search ripgrep --from nix
github	GitHub Releases	zl install sharkdp/bat --from github
flatpak	Flathub	zl search firefox --from flatpak
snap	Snapcraft Store	zl search firefox --from snap
appimage	AppImageHub	zl search firefox --from appimage

Managing sources

On first run, ZL detects your distro and suggests which sources to enable. You can change this anytime:

zl sources list                     # Show all sources (enabled/disabled)
zl sources enable pacman aur        # Enable specific sources
zl sources disable snap flatpak     # Disable specific sources
zl sources only pacman aur github   # Enable ONLY these, disable all others
zl sources reset                    # Re-enable all sources

You can also filter per-command:

zl search vim --from pacman          # Search one source
zl search vim --from pacman,apt      # Search multiple sources (comma-separated)
zl install vim --from apt            # Install from a specific source

Source configuration

Each source can be configured in ~/.config/zl/config.toml:

[general]
sources = ["pacman", "aur", "github"]   # Only use these sources (optional)

[plugins.pacman]
mirrorlist = "/etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist"
repos = ["core", "extra"]

[plugins.apt]
mirror = "http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu"
suite = "noble"
components = ["main", "universe"]

[plugins.dnf]
mirror = "https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux"
release = "40"

[plugins.github]
token = "ghp_..."   # Optional: avoid rate limiting

Usage

Install

zl install <package>                 # Auto-detect best source
zl install <package> --from pacman   # From a specific source
zl install owner/repo --from github  # From GitHub Releases
zl install <package> --version 1.0   # Specific version
zl -y install <package>              # Skip confirmation
zl --dry-run install <package>       # Preview without changes

Remove

zl remove <package>                  # Remove package
zl remove <package> --cascade        # Also remove unused dependencies
zl --dry-run remove <package>        # Preview

Search

zl search <query>                    # Search all enabled sources
zl search <query> --from pacman      # Search specific source
zl search <query> --exact            # Exact name matches only
zl search <query> --sort name        # Sort by name (default: relevance)

Update & Upgrade

zl update                            # Sync indexes and update packages
zl update --from apt                 # Update only APT packages
zl upgrade                           # Upgrade all packages
zl upgrade --check                   # Preview upgrades without changes

Info & List

zl list                              # All installed packages
zl list --explicit                   # Only explicitly installed
zl list --orphans                    # Unused dependencies
zl info <package>                    # Detailed package info

Run without installing

zl run <package>                     # Download, run, cleanup
zl run <package> -- --help           # Pass args to the binary

Multi-version management

zl install python --version 3.11
zl install python --version 3.12    # Side-by-side
zl switch python 3.12               # Activate 3.12

Ephemeral environments

zl env shell                         # Temporary env (deleted on exit)
zl env shell myproject               # Named env (persists)
zl env list                          # List environments
zl env delete myproject              # Delete an environment

Diagnostics

zl doctor                            # System health check
zl why <package>                     # Why is this installed?
zl size                              # Disk usage per package
zl diff <package>                    # What would change on update?
zl audit                             # Check for known CVEs

History & Rollback

zl history list                      # Show operation history
zl history rollback                  # Undo last operation
zl history rollback 3                # Undo last 3 operations

Cache

zl cache list                        # Show cached downloads
zl cache clean                       # Clear cache
zl cache dedup                       # Deduplicate shared libraries

Other

zl pin <package>                     # Prevent updates
zl unpin <package>                   # Allow updates
zl export                            # Export lockfile (zl-lock.json)
zl import zl-lock.json               # Import lockfile

Global flags

Flag	Description
-v	Verbose output
-vv	Debug output
-y	Auto-confirm prompts
--dry-run	Preview without changes
--skip-verify	Skip checksum/GPG verification
--root <path>	Custom ZL root directory

How It Works

When you run zl install <package>:

1. Resolve — find the package and all its dependencies
2. Check conflicts — file ownership, binary names, library sonames, version constraints
3. Download — parallel downloads (4 threads) with progress bars and retry
4. Verify — SHA256 checksum + GPG signature
5. Extract — unpack the archive (supports deb, rpm, tar, nar, squashfs, zip, AppImage)
6. Patch — set the correct dynamic linker and RUNPATH on all ELF binaries
7. Install — atomic transaction with automatic rollback on failure
8. Track — record files, dependencies, and history in the database

All translation happens at install time. Installed packages run with zero overhead.

Architecture

Directory layout

~/.local/share/zl/
  bin/          # Symlinks to executables (add to PATH)
  lib/          # Shared libraries
  packages/     # Per-package directories
  cache/        # Download cache
  envs/         # Environments
  zl.redb       # Database

Key design choices

• Single binary, pure Rust — no C dependencies
• Auto-detects everything — arch, dynamic linker, libc, library paths, filesystem layout
• Works on any distro — Arch, Ubuntu, Fedora, Alpine, NixOS, Void, Gentoo, Termux...
• Atomic transactions — install fails = full rollback
• Parallel downloads and ELF patching — fast installs
• Cross-source dependency resolution — deps not found in the primary source are searched across all other sources

Development

cargo build              # Build
cargo test               # Run all 264 tests
cargo clippy             # Lint
cargo fmt                # Format

License

GPL v3 — see LICENSE for details.