Installing Packages

Basic install

stamp install htop

Stamp auto-detects the best package manager for your system.

▪ installing htop via apt...
✓ installed htop via apt

Specify a manager

stamp install spotify --manager flatpak
stamp install lazygit -m brew

Add a note

stamp install lazygit -m brew --note "better git TUI than default"

▪ installing lazygit via brew...
✓ installed lazygit via brew (note: better git TUI than default)

Notes are saved to your manifest so you remember why you installed something.

Using aliases

stamp add htop                 # alias for install
stamp reinstall htop           # reinstall and re-track
stamp reinstall -m brew htop   # reinstall with specific manager

DNF package groups

Install a DNF package group with the --group / -g flag:

stamp install "Development Tools" -m dnf --group

▪ installing group Development Tools via dnf...
✓ installed Development Tools via dnf

Group names like “Development Tools” may contain spaces — use quotes.

Homebrew casks

Stamp auto-detects Homebrew casks (GUI applications) and passes --cask automatically:

stamp install firefox -m brew

▪ installing firefox via brew...
✓ installed firefox via brew (cask: true)

Casks are recorded in the manifest and restored correctly with stamp restore.

Using show/view aliases

stamp show htop      # alias for stamp info htop
stamp view htop      # alias for stamp info htop

Reinstall

The reinstall command works for both manifest-tracked and pre-existing packages:

stamp reinstall htop

▪ reinstalling htop via apt...
✓ reinstalled htop via apt

For pre-existing packages (installed before stamp init), reinstall resolves the manager automatically and records the package in the manifest.

Package name validation

Stamp validates package names to prevent shell injection. Names must start with a letter, number, or underscore, and contain only safe characters (a-zA-Z0-9_-.+). Names starting with - are rejected.

Python tools (pipx)

stamp install black -m pipx

Installs Python CLI tools via pipx install --yes <pkg>. Requires pipx on PATH.

stamp install ruff -m uv

Alternatively, use uv (faster) via uv tool install <pkg>. Both adapters are independent — you can have both installed on the same system.

Go tools

stamp install github.com/golangci/golangci-lint -m go

Go tools require a full module path (e.g., github.com/example/tool) and the -m go flag. The go adapter is not in the default precedence, so -m go is always required. Short names like golangci-lint are rejected — Stamp cannot derive the module path from a binary name.

Go tools are installed via go install <module>@latest. Search, doctor, and repo management are not supported for the go adapter.

Error handling

If a package is not found, Stamp prints a clear error:

✕ failed to install nonexistent-pkg: exit status 100
Error: install failed