labeled lets you group package installations under a custom label and safely remove them later using your system's native package manager. Instead of manually remembering every package you installed during troubleshooting, testing, or development, you can track them as a temporary session and clean them up in one command.
Package managers like APT, DNF, and Pacman track dependencies well, but they don't help when you're experimenting.
A typical workflow looks like:
sudo apt install pavucontrol alsa-utils
sudo apt install pulseaudio-utils
sudo apt install jackd2A few hours later:
- You no longer need most of those packages.
- You don't remember what you installed.
autoremovewon't remove them because they're marked as explicitly installed.
Over time, temporary experiments become permanent system clutter.
labeled solves this by tracking those installations under a named session.
See labeled in action as it bundles packages under a clean tracking session,
monitors the environment, and safely offloads them when no longer needed:
Can't use the interactive demo? Jump straight to the Usage Reference below.
npm install -g labeled-clilabeled --help-
Troubleshooting Sessions — Test potential fixes from forum threads or issue trackers safely. If it doesn't work, wipe it out completely.
labeled install wifi-fix wireless-tools firmware-iwlwifi labeled remove wifi-fix
-
Temporary Build Tools — Pull down heavy compilers or development assets (
gcc,cmake) just long enough to compile a project from source, then instantly free up your disk space.labeled install build-env gcc make cmake automake labeled remove build-env
-
Dependency Experiments — Audit alternative runtimes or evaluate libraries locally without permanently cluttering your baseline system environment.
labeled install node-test nodejs npm labeled remove node-test
USAGE:
labeled <command> [options]
COMMANDS:
install <label> <pkgs...> Install packages and index them under a label
untrack <label> <pkgs...> Remove packages from tracking of labels
remove <label> Purge system packages associated with a label
list Display all active labeled environments
ARGUMENTS:
<label> The target tracking identifier group
<pkgs...> Space-separated list of distro system packages
# Group and track a set of packages
labeled install audio-fix alsa-utils pavucontrol
# See your active tracking sessions
labeled list
# Safely purge the label and unneeded dependencies
labeled remove audio-fixlabeled acts as a thin wrapper around your system package manager.
When packages are installed under a label:
- The package manager performs the installation.
labeledrecords the package list and metadata.- Packages remain fully managed by the native package manager.
When a label is removed:
labeledloads the recorded package set.- Packages are returned to automatic dependency status.
- The package manager performs an autoremove operation.
- Shared dependencies required by other software are preserved.
This approach minimizes the risk of accidentally removing packages still needed elsewhere on the system.
| Package Manager | Distribution |
|---|---|
| APT | Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Pop!_OS |
| DNF / DNF5 | Fedora, RHEL |
| Pacman | Arch Linux, Manjaro |
Package manager detection is automatic.
- Node.js 18 or newer
- Linux
- A supported package manager
We welcome community contributions! Please read our Contributing Guide to learn how to set up your local development environment, follow our coding standards, and submit pull requests.
Custom License. See the LICENSE file for the full terms and usage conditions.