# bpkg [](https://travis-ci.org/bpkg/bpkg) [](#backers) [](#sponsors)
`bpkg` is a lightweight bash package manager. It takes care of fetching the shell scripts, installing them appropriately, setting the execution permission and more.
You can install shell scripts globally (on `${PREFIX:-/usr/local/bin}`) or use them on a _per-project basis_ (on `${BPKG_DEPS:-./deps/}`), as a lazy-man "copy and paste".
As long as there is a `Makefile` in the repository it will try to invoke `make install` as long as the `-g` or `--global` flags are set when invoking `bpkg install`.
For example you could install [git-standup](https://github.com/stephenmathieson/git-standup) with an omitted `bpkg.json` (or `package.json`) because of the `Makefile` and the `install` target found in it.
You can install a packages dependencies with the `bpkg getdeps` command. These will recursively install in `deps/` sub-folders to resolve all dependencies.
_Note: There is no protection against circular dependencies, so be careful!_
Shell script used to invoke in the install script. This is required if the `global` attribute is set to `true` or if the `-g` or `--global` flags are provided.
This is a hash of dependencies. The keys are the package names, and the values are the version specifiers. If you want the latest code use `'master'` in the version specifier. Otherwise, use a tagged release identifier. This works the same as `bpkg install`'s package/version specifiers.
This is a hash of dependencies only needed during development. Like the `dependencies` array, the keys are the package names, and the values are the version specifiers; `'master'` or a tagged release can be used as the identifier. These development dependencies are installed by adding the `-d` or `--dev` flags to the `bpkg install` command.
This is a hash of commands. The keys are the names of the commands and the values are the commands to execute in a shell. The commands can be called from the command line with `bpkg run` followed by the command name.
```json
"commands": {
"say-hello": "echo \"Hello $1\""
}
```
The commands are run with `eval`, which runs the command as if on the command line. Commands can contain environment variables, and supports [shell features] (including *[special parameters]* and *[shell expansions]*). Passed parameters (on the command line after the command name) can be accessed in the command by using `$@` or `$1`.
This is a hash of descriptions for configured commands. The keys are the names of the commands and the values are the descriptions for the specified commands. The command descriptions can be listed on the command line by providing the `-l` or `--list` flags after the `bpkg run` command.
```json
"commands-description": {
"say-hello": "Output hello to provided name (ex: bpkg run say-hello John)"
It's nice to have a bash package that can be used in the terminal and also be invoked as a command line function. To achieve this the exporting of your functionality *should* follow this pattern:
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