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Is there some place which has the collection of all the latest Linux utilities (something like filehippo.com for Windows utilities)?

I know I can use various download utilities similar to yum, each of which would have their own repositories.

I am wondering if there is any repository for Linux maintained anywhere that lets me download these utilities right from the browser?

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3 Answers

up vote 7 down vote accepted

It would vary by distro. For example:

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don't forget the main package repo's have links on Arch's main page, AUR is just the user repository and not the canonical one. – xenoterracide♦ Sep 8 '10 at 21:44
@xeno Oh, thanks, I misunderstood what AUR is (I don't use Arch) – Michael Mrozek♦ Sep 8 '10 at 22:00
anyone for Fedora? – Lazer Sep 9 '10 at 21:14
@Lazer Added what looks like the equivalent thing for Fedora – Michael Mrozek♦ Sep 9 '10 at 21:28
up vote 5 down vote

All package management systems such as apt, yum, etc. download the packages from the Internet (usually from the web, sometimes via FTP). You can find out where your system's package manager looks for its downloads and go there.

Many distributions have a web interface where you can find information about packages (search, browse changelogs, see bug reports, etc). For example http://packages.debian.org/ for Debian, http://www.freebsd.org/ports/index.html for FreeBSD, etc.

Note that since there are many variants of unix, a single binary won't work on all of them. So usually you need to find a binary that's compiled for your distribution and architecture. Most places that collect such binaries are specific to one distribution.

There are a few distribution-independent places with collections of free software for unix, but they tend to have only sources. The biggest one I'm aware of is Freshmeat.

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up vote 0 down vote

Many software projects have their hosting and packages for various distributions at Sourceforge or Google Code. Also Freshmeat could be considered as a directory for free software. The most of them let you download packages for your distribution or checkout/clone their repository.

But I see no reason why somebody should maintain such a site. There is no advantage in using your browser for download some utilities if you want to install them in your system afterwards.

This is exactly the job of the packet management of your distribution and most of them do a good job at this :) In most cases there exist various wrapper tools for package management in all flavors.

For example in Arch there is the basic package management tool called pacman. If I want to install utility foo, I simply have to type pacman -S foo and everything is installed. If tehre are not enough packages provided I can search in the AUR (Arch User Repository). I can use yaourt which is a wrapper for pacman or simply browse the AUR Homepage. On Debian you use apt-get or aptitude, etc.

The FreeBSD packages are accessible also via the system tools or via the Ports Homepage.

So why should I want to browse any other homepage to download any utilities? If my package repository doesn't have it, its most of the time a small and unpopular project which I most likely won't find at any other "repository" on the net.

Addition after short Discussion with Warren Young (see comments): My point is not, that every tool/software/utility has to exist as a package and if not, that it is not "useful". The point is, that if you are missing a tool, you know what you want and can get it directly from the project page. The most project pages are hosted on the named services (sf,gc,fm) which provide you with a basic directory, so in combination with your package management and the project pages there should be no need for such a repository.

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Sorry, I don't agree with you and I have no idea why you see this as an offense. 1) So you go to the project page and download the source. Fine. Where do you find it? A short google search, sf or freshmeat. Why should I want to use any mirrored repository? This would be inefficient. Btw. I did talk about the pkg mngt, not the stock repository. 2) Where did I assume using "small and unpopular" pkgs makes you a fool? You are IMHO if you install them regulary by hand and don't create a buildscript/pkg for your system. Other users could benefit and beside that its a common practice. – echox Sep 9 '10 at 8:05
If you edit your answer to make your position more clear and to take into account the fact that packages aren't suitable for every situation, I'll remove my downvote. I can't do that until the answer's edited. (StackExchange rule.) – Warren Young Sep 10 '10 at 2:52
The downvote is not the point, I'm just interested if we had a missunderstanding or a total different POV. I added an addition which will hopefully clearify my point. – echox Sep 10 '10 at 9:35

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