No. 8 of 28 ·Software Packaging Tools

fpm

Mac · Linux · Self-hosted

Freedom report

Two barsScore 6.4

Free tierA free tier is on its own pricing page
Open codeNo open-source code on record
Runs widely2 of 6 device platforms
DocumentedPlans, terms and facts published

fpm is ranked #8 of 28 in software packaging tools on Freedom251. It runs on Linux, macOS, Self-hosted. There is a free plan.

fpm plans and pricing

All plans

fpm Free Command-line package building and conversion; some output formats require optional system tools fpm.readthedocs.io · 4 Oct 2026

Compared on software packaging tools

Target platforms: Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, CentOS, RHEL, Arch Linux, FreeBSD, macOS, Solaris
Output formats: deb, rpm, solaris, freebsd, osxpkg, pacman, puppet, p5p, sh, tar, zip, dir
Command-line packaging: Yes

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The record

Purpose: fpm is a command-line tool for creating packages for existing package systems with less effort.
Package targets: The documentation lists targets including Debian, RPM, FreeBSD, macOS, Arch Linux, Alpine, Solaris, Snap, tar, zip, and shell archive packages.
Package inputs: Examples and documentation cover inputs such as local directories, npm packages, CPAN modules, Python packages, Ruby gems, and existing RPM or Debian packages.
Package conversion: fpm can convert an existing RPM package to a Debian package.
Package modification: The project README says fpm can modify existing packages by removing files or changing metadata and dependencies.
Package scripts: The project README says fpm can strip pre, post, and maintainer scripts from packages.
Installation: fpm is written in Ruby and the installation guide instructs users to install it with `gem install fpm`.
Prerequisites: Ruby must be installed before installing fpm, and some package formats require additional system tools.
macOS limitation: The installation guide says building an osxpkg package requires running macOS.
Docker: The documentation says Docker can avoid installing fpm’s many underlying system tools locally and describes running fpm in a container.
Support: The documentation invites users to report problems through the project issue tracker.
Documentation status: The documentation describes itself as a work in progress and says it is not extensive.
License: The project’s RubyGems listing identifies the license as MIT-like.
Current release: The project documentation lists version 1.18.0 as released on August 26, 2026.
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best Software Packaging Tools in 2026#8 of 28

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Sources

fpm.readthedocs.io/en/v1.18.0/· checked 4 Oct 2026
github.com/jordansissel/fpm· checked 4 Oct 2026
fpm.readthedocs.io/en/latest/installation.html· checked 4 Oct 2026
fpm.readthedocs.io/en/v1.18.0/docker.html· checked 4 Oct 2026
rubygems.org/gems/fpm· checked 4 Oct 2026