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SOW

Paid LinuxMacSelf-hosted

What SOW is

SOW is a free, Apache-2.0 licensed package repository manager for Linux and macOS that runs self-hosted. It creates RPM/YUM and DEB/APT repositories in plain or managed mode. Plain mode builds indexes from package files in a directory. Managed workspaces add package membership, policies, signing, immutable generations, audit history, retention rules and publication targets for curated repositories. Package payloads are stored once in a shared pool while metadata views can be rendered for distributions and architectures. SOW publishes incrementally to configured filesystem or Cloudflare R2 targets and reports changed objects. It supports RPM and DEB metadata signing, operation recovery and audit records. Credentials for R2 must come through an environment variable or file reference. SOW writes static files rather than serving HTTP, so a separate maintained server is needed. Managed workspaces require local POSIX storage with locks, fsync and atomic rename semantics.

Who it suits

SOW suits administrators indexing package directories or maintaining long-lived curated repositories. It fits self-hosted Linux and macOS environments using filesystem or Cloudflare R2 publication.

What it does well

Supports RPM/YUM and DEB/APT repositories
Managed mode adds signing and audit history
Stores package payloads once
Publishes incremental changes
Apache-2.0 licensed and self-hosted

What to know first

Windows is not supported
Managed workspaces require local POSIX filesystems
Separate server required for web serving
Several legacy metadata formats are omitted

Verdict

SOW provides a focused way to build and publish Linux package repositories, with a simpler plain mode and a controlled managed mode. Its storage and filesystem requirements should be checked before deployment.

Facts from SOW's own pages

Audience: The documentation describes Plain mode for indexing a package directory and Managed mode for maintaining a curated long-lived repository. · sow.pgsty.com, 11 Oct 2026
Audit and recovery: Managed mode records operations and supports recovery from interrupted writes. · sow.pgsty.com, 5 Oct 2026
Format limits: SOW omits SQLite rpm-md, zchunk, modulemd, source-package indexes, and MD5/SHA1 DEB manifests. · sow.pgsty.com, 5 Oct 2026
Incremental publishing: The changes command reports publication deltas, and publishing uploads changed objects rather than every repository object. · sow.pgsty.com, 11 Oct 2026
Integrations: SOW builds repository metadata in-process and documents compatibility with RPM/YUM and DEB/APT clients plus filesystem and R2 publication providers. · sow.pgsty.com, 5 Oct 2026
Key handling: The signing documentation says configuration, SQLite, logs, JSON output, and error text do not persist secret key or passphrase material. · sow.pgsty.com, 11 Oct 2026
License: The product pages identify SOW as Apache-2.0 licensed. · sow.pgsty.com, 11 Oct 2026
Managed filesystem requirement: Managed workspaces require a local POSIX filesystem with advisory locks, fsync, and atomic rename semantics. · sow.pgsty.com, 11 Oct 2026
Managed mode: Managed workspaces track package membership, policy, signing, immutable generations, audit history, and publication targets. · sow.pgsty.com, 11 Oct 2026
Notable compatibility limit: Plain mode does not generate legacy SQLite metadata or module streams. · sow.pgsty.com, 11 Oct 2026
Package storage: Managed mode stores package payloads once in a shared pool and renders metadata views for distributions and architectures. · sow.pgsty.com, 5 Oct 2026
Plain mode: Plain mode indexes top-level RPM and DEB files in a directory and writes repository metadata beside them. · sow.pgsty.com, 11 Oct 2026
Platforms: The download page lists Linux and macOS builds for amd64 and arm64, and says Windows is not a release target. · sow.pgsty.com, 11 Oct 2026
Publication: SOW supports configured filesystem and Cloudflare R2 publication targets, with incremental changes and public visibility checks. · sow.pgsty.com, 5 Oct 2026
Publication targets: The documented publication providers are filesystem and Cloudflare R2 via S3-compatible storage. · sow.pgsty.com, 11 Oct 2026
Purpose: SOW creates and manages static RPM/YUM and DEB/APT package repositories from local package files. · sow.pgsty.com, 11 Oct 2026
Release platforms: Release binaries target Linux and macOS on amd64 and arm64; Windows is not supported. · sow.pgsty.com, 5 Oct 2026
Repository views: Managed mode stores each live package once and can expose metadata-only distribution views from a shared pool. · sow.pgsty.com, 11 Oct 2026
Security: R2 credentials must be provided through an environment variable or file reference; inline secrets are forbidden. · sow.pgsty.com, 5 Oct 2026
Serving requirement: SOW emits static repository files and is not an HTTP daemon; users serve the generated public tree with their own HTTP server. · sow.pgsty.com, 11 Oct 2026
Signing: Managed mode can sign RPM and DEB repository metadata; RPM package signing is configured separately, and SOW does not re-sign DEB package bodies. · sow.pgsty.com, 11 Oct 2026
Workspace filesystem limit: Managed workspaces require a local POSIX filesystem; NFS and other network filesystems are unsupported workspace locations. · sow.pgsty.com, 5 Oct 2026

Where SOW stands on Freedom251

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