Tool Catalog

The DPM catalog is a curated set of tool definitions embedded directly into the binary at build time. Every tool DPM knows how to install lives here as a YAML file in the repository.

What it is

Each tool in the catalog is a YAML file that describes the tool and all the ways it can be installed, across package managers, platforms, and versions. DPM reads this catalog when you run dpm install or dpm search.

Because the catalog is compiled into the binary, installs work completely offline. No network call is needed to know how to install a tool, only to download it.

Browsing the catalog

The fastest way to browse is from the command line:

        dpm -s nmap
          nmap        7.95   Network mapper — port scanner, service detection, NSE scripts
      

Search matches tool IDs, names, descriptions, and tags. Without a query it lists everything:

        dpm -s
          binwalk     3.1.0  Firmware analysis tool — binary extraction and reverse engineering
          exiftool           Read, write and edit metadata in images, audio and video files
          gdb                GNU debugger — step through and inspect native binaries
          ghidra             NSA reverse engineering framework
          hashcat            GPU-accelerated password and hash recovery
          john               Password cracker — supports many hash and cipher formats
          nmap        7.95   Network mapper — port scanner, service detection, NSE scripts
          pwntools           CTF framework and exploit dev library for Python
          radare2            Reverse engineering framework — disassembler, debugger, hex editor
          tshark             Wireshark's CLI — pcap analysis, packet capture, protocol decoding
      

Tool definitions

Each catalog entry is a YAML file in catalog/ in the DPM repository. Here is a minimal example:

catalog/nmap.yaml

        id: nmap
        name: Nmap
        description: Network mapper, port scanner and service detection
        versions:
          - version: "7.95"
            major_version: 7
            is_latest: true
            release_date: "2024-04-23"
            install_methods:
              - type: apt
                package: nmap
                platforms: [linux-amd64, linux-arm64]
                bubble_compatible: false
              - type: brew
                package: nmap
                platforms: [darwin-arm64, darwin-amd64]
                bubble_compatible: false
      

A tool can have multiple versions with independent install methods. DPM picks the one marked is_latest: true by default. You can pin a specific version with the --version flag.

Multiple versions

Some tools maintain two active versions simultaneously, for example, Binwalk ships a Rust v3 and a legacy Python v2 that can coexist side by side. DPM installs the latest by default and symlinks it accordingly:

        dpm -i binwalk
          ✓  installed binwalk 3.1.0  →  /usr/local/bin/binwalk
        dpm -i binwalk@2
          ✓  installed binwalk 2.4.3  →  /usr/local/bin/binwalk2
      

Contributing tools

The catalog lives at github.com/ilpakka/dpm/tree/main/catalog ↗. To add a tool, open a pull request with a new YAML file following the schema above.

Keep tool IDs lowercase, hyphenated, and unique. The ID is what users type, dpm -i my-tool, so it should be short and obvious.

See Install Methods for a full breakdown of all supported install method types, their required fields, and which platforms each supports.

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