Open Source — MIT License

One command.
Any package. Any distro.

Zero Layer is a universal Linux package manager that translates binaries natively at install time. No containers, no VMs, zero runtime overhead. Written in Rust.

$ zl install firefox --from pacman
# Arch package on Ubuntu? No problem.
$ zl install sharkdp/bat --from github
✓ Downloaded bat-v0.24.0-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz
✓ Patched 1 ELF binary (interpreter + RUNPATH)
✓ Installed bat 0.24.0 [3 files, 2.1 MB]
$ zl search vim --from pacman,apt,nix
# Search across 13 sources simultaneously

Everything you need

A single binary that replaces the need for containers, VMs, or compatibility layers. Install anything, anywhere.

Native Binary Translation

ELF binaries are analyzed with goblin and patched with elb at install time. Dynamic linker and RUNPATH are set to match your system. Packages run at full native speed with zero overhead.

13 Package Sources

pacman, apt, dnf, AUR, Nix, Flatpak, Snap, AppImage, GitHub Releases, and more. All queried in parallel.

🔎

Smart Search

Relevance-scored results across all sources. Exact matches highlighted. AUR binary variants auto-discovered.

🔒

Atomic Transactions

Every install is wrapped in a transaction. If anything fails, everything rolls back. No half-installed packages.

🔍

Cross-Source Deps

Dependencies not found in the primary source are automatically searched across all other enabled sources.

🛠

Full Diagnostics

doctor, audit, diff, size, history, rollback, why — everything you need to understand and manage your packages.

13 sources, one interface

Install from any Linux package repository or release platform. ZL handles the translation.

pacman AUR apt dnf zypper apk xbps portage nix flatpak snap appimage github

Install in 4 steps

All translation happens at install time. After that, binaries run at full native speed.

Download

Parallel downloads (4 threads) with progress bars, retries, and SHA256 verification. Packages are fetched directly from their native repositories.

Verify

SHA256 checksums and GPG signatures are checked. The archive format is detected and extracted — deb, rpm, tar, nar, squashfs, zip, or AppImage.

Patch

Every ELF binary is analyzed with goblin. The dynamic linker (PT_INTERP) and library search path (RUNPATH) are patched to match your system using elb. Parallel patching for multi-binary packages.

Install

Files are placed atomically inside a transaction. If anything fails, everything rolls back. Dependencies, files, and history are tracked in a redb database.

Built with Rust

Single binary, zero C dependencies. Pure Rust from ELF parsing to database storage.

🦀

Rust

Memory-safe, fast, single binary. Edition 2024 with zero unsafe code in the main crate.

👁

goblin + elb

Pure Rust ELF analysis and binary patching. Read metadata, set interpreter and RUNPATH.

🗃

redb

Embedded key-value database. ACID transactions, pure Rust. No SQLite, no C dependencies.

📈

petgraph

Dependency graph with topological sort, cycle detection, and orphan analysis.

💻

clap

CLI parsing with derive macros. Shell completions for bash, zsh, and fish.

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264 Tests

Comprehensive unit tests across all core modules. CI runs fmt, clippy, and tests on every push.

Ready to try Zero Layer?

One curl command and you're up and running. Works on any Linux distro.