Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

pkgsrc VS Firenvim

Compare pkgsrc VS Firenvim and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

pkgsrc logo pkgsrc

pkgsrc is a framework for building over 17,000 open source software packages.

Firenvim logo Firenvim

Turn your browser into a Neovim client.
  • pkgsrc Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-30
  • Firenvim Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-11-03

pkgsrc features and specs

  • Cross-Platform Support
    pkgsrc is designed to be a portable package management system and can be used on a variety of Unix-like operating systems, including NetBSD, Solaris, Linux, and macOS. This cross-platform capability makes it a versatile tool for developers working in diverse environments.
  • Consistency Across Systems
    Using pkgsrc allows for a consistent package management experience regardless of the underlying operating system, reducing the learning curve and maintenance overhead for administrators managing multiple systems.
  • Comprehensive Package Collection
    pkgsrc offers a wide range of software packages, providing a robust collection that can meet diverse user needs from scientific libraries to web applications.
  • Quarterly Releases
    With quarterly releases, pkgsrc provides a balanced approach between stability and keeping software up to date, offering users new features regularly while maintaining reliability.
  • Flexible Build Options
    pkgsrc supports a flexible build system, allowing users to customize package builds with specific options or dependencies, tailored to their specific needs or system requirements.

Possible disadvantages of pkgsrc

  • Smaller Community
    Compared to other popular package management systems like apt (Debian/Ubuntu) or yum (RedHat/CentOS), pkgsrc has a relatively smaller community, which might affect the availability of support and community-driven improvements.
  • Potentially Older Software
    While pkgsrc maintains stable quarterly releases, it may occasionally lag behind other systems in terms of offering the very latest versions of certain software, which might not be ideal for users needing the newest features.
  • Manual Configuration
    Setting up pkgsrc might require manual interventions and configurations, which could pose a hurdle for users unfamiliar with its setup process or those who prefer more automated solutions.
  • Dependency Management
    Although pkgsrc is quite capable in dependency handling, some users may find its dependency resolution to be less automatic or seamless compared to other systems which offer more integrated solutions.
  • Performance Overhead
    Because it is designed to be cross-platform, there can be some performance overhead associated with using pkgsrc compared to native package managers that are optimized for specific operating systems.

Firenvim features and specs

  • Seamless Integration
    Firenvim allows users to bring the power of NeoVim into web browsers, providing a seamless integration for those who prefer editing text in Vim-like environments. This is especially beneficial for users who spend a lot of time writing in text areas on the web, such as when composing emails or writing blog posts.
  • Increased Productivity
    For users familiar with Vim keybindings, Firenvim can significantly increase productivity by enabling efficient text editing capabilities directly in the browser. This eliminates the need to switch contexts between a browser and a text editor.
  • Customization
    Firenvim supports NeoVim's extensive configuration and plugin ecosystem, allowing users to customize their editing environment in web text areas to match their personal setup preferences.
  • Consistent Workflow
    It helps maintain a consistent workflow for users who frequently switch between local files and online text input fields, reducing the cognitive load of differing editing interfaces.

Possible disadvantages of Firenvim

  • Learning Curve
    For users not already familiar with Vim or NeoVim, there can be a steep learning curve associated with transitioning to this editing style, which might not be immediately intuitive.
  • Browser Compatibility
    Firenvim might have compatibility issues with certain websites or browser extensions, which could result in unexpected behavior when trying to edit content.
  • Resource Intensive
    Running NeoVim within a browser can be more resource-intensive compared to just using the native browser text editor. This could potentially affect the browser's performance, especially on lower-spec hardware.
  • Security Concerns
    Embedding a full-featured text editor within a web browser could raise security concerns, especially with sensitive data, as potential vulnerabilities in the Firenvim configuration or plugins could be exploited.

pkgsrc videos

pkgsrc on ChromeOS

More videos:

  • Review - Using pkgsrc for multi-platform deployments in heterogeneous environments, G Clifford Williams

Firenvim videos

Firenvim: Embed Neovim Into Every Textbox

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to pkgsrc and Firenvim)
Developer Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Text Editors
0 0%
100% 100
Package Manager
100 100%
0% 0
Web Browsers
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Firenvim should be more popular than pkgsrc. It has been mentiond 35 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

pkgsrc mentions (11)

  • Debian isn't waiting for 2038 to blow up, switches to 64-bit time for everything
    > Most open source software packages are also compiled for BSD variants, they switched to 64 bit time_t a long time ago and reported back upstream any problems. * NetBSD in 2012: https://www.netbsd.org/releases/formal-6/NetBSD-6.0.html * OpenBSD in 2014: http://www.openbsd.org/55.html For packaging, NetBSD uses their (multi-platform) Pkgsrc, which has 29,000 packages, which probably covers a large swath of... - Source: Hacker News / 12 months ago
  • Our Audit of Homebrew
    > https://pkgsrc.smartos.org/install-on-macos/ Note that Pkgsrc is a NetBSD-derived project. * https://pkgsrc.org The Joyent folks leveraged it to allow their customers, who were perhaps not as familiar with Solaris/SmartOS, a larger pool of packages. Pkgsrc was running on Solaris before Joyent, Joyent built on top of it. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • Show HN: Brioche โ€“ A new Nix-like package manager
    Https://pkgsrc.org/ from netbsd runs on many systems. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
  • Installing packages without an internet connection?
    It seems according to pkgsrc.org that pkgin might follow the PKG_PATH environment variable. You're supposed to set PKG_PATH="http://cdn.NetBSD.org/pub/pkgsrc/packages/NetBSD/$(uname -p)/$(uname -r|cut -f '1 2' -d.)/All/", and according to uname(1), -p gives the processor architecture and -r gives the operating system [kernel] release. Source: over 3 years ago
  • pkgsrc.se is no more :(
    It seems like pkgsrc.org hasnโ€™t got the news yet. Source: over 3 years ago
View more

Firenvim mentions (35)

  • Competitive Programming setup
    For leetcode specifically, I use firenvim to start a neovim session in the text area that would normally be leetcode's area and then have an autocmd that looks for "leetcode" in the filename and prompts me to select a filetype. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Feeling super slow...
    Yea worth it. As far as good for certain languages over others: text is text. Once youโ€™re more experienced with how (neo)vim works, you wonโ€™t want to type anywhere. Like in the browser or obsidian. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Vim Keybindings Everywhere โ€“ The Ultimate List
    In that case give firenvim[1] a try. It uses your existing config (keymaps, plugins, autocmds, etc). [1] https://github.com/glacambre/firenvim. - Source: Hacker News / about 3 years ago
  • Question: Neovim plugin for overleaf.
    You propably could use https://github.com/glacambre/firenvim inside of overleaf webpage. Althought I haven't tested it. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Vim in Twitter
    If by everywhere you mean everywhere, then take a look on this https://github.com/glacambre/firenvim. Source: over 3 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing pkgsrc and Firenvim, you can also consider the following products

Conda - Binary package manager with support for environments.

Vimium - The Hacker's Browser.

Homebrew - The missing package manager for macOS

Vieb - Browse the web with Vim-bindings

Yay - Yay is an AUR helper written in go, based on the design of yaourt, apacman and pacaur.

vim-anywhere - Sometimes, you edit text outside of Vim. These are sad times. Enter vim-anywhere!