Feature Overview

This is a high-level overview of features that make Spack different from other package managers and port systems.

Simple package installation

Installing the default version of a package is simple. This will install the latest version of the mpileaks package and all of its dependencies:

$ spack install mpileaks

Custom versions & configurations

Spack allows installation to be customized. Users can specify the version, compile-time options, and target architecture, all on the command line.

# Install a particular version by appending @
$ spack install hdf5@1.14

# Add special compile-time options by name
$ spack install hdf5@1.14 api=v110

# Add special boolean compile-time options with +
$ spack install hdf5@1.14 +hl

# Add compiler flags using the conventional names
$ spack install hdf5@1.14 cflags="-O3 -floop-block"

# Target a specific micro-architecture
$ spack install hdf5@1.14 target=icelake

Users can specify as many or as few options as they care about. Spack will fill in the unspecified values with sensible defaults.

Customize dependencies

Spack allows dependencies of a particular installation to be customized extensively. Users can specify both direct dependencies of a package, using the % sigil, or transitive dependencies, using the ^ sigil:

# Install hdf5 using gcc@15 as a compiler (direct dependency of hdf5)
$ spack install hdf5@1.14 %gcc@15

# Install hdf5 using hwloc with CUDA enabled (transitive dependency)
$ spack install hdf5@1.14 ^hwloc+cuda

The expression on the command line can be as simple or as complicated as the user needs:

# Install hdf5 compiled with gcc@15, linked to mpich compiled with gcc@14
$ spack install hdf5@1.14 %gcc@15 ^mpich %gcc@14

Non-destructive installs

Spack installs every unique package/dependency configuration into its own prefix, so new installs will not break existing ones.

Packages can peacefully coexist

Spack avoids library misconfiguration by using RPATH to link dependencies. When a user links a library or runs a program, it is tied to the dependencies it was built with, so there is no need to manipulate LD_LIBRARY_PATH at runtime.

Unprivileged user installs

Spack does not require administrator privileges to install packages. You can install software in any directory you choose, making it easy to manage packages in your home directory or shared project locations without needing sudo access.

From source and binary

Spack’s core strength is creating highly customized, optimized software builds from source code. While it’s primarily a from-source package manager, it also supports fast binary installations through build caches.

Contributing is easy

To contribute a new package, all Spack needs is a URL for the source archive. The spack create command will create a boilerplate package file, and the package authors can fill in specific build steps in pure Python.

For example, this command:

$ spack create https://ftp.osuosl.org/pub/blfs/conglomeration/libelf/libelf-0.8.13.tar.gz

creates a simple Python file:

from spack.package import *


class Libelf(AutotoolsPackage):
    """FIXME: Put a proper description of your package here."""

    # FIXME: Add a proper url for your package's homepage here.
    homepage = "https://www.example.com"
    url = "https://ftp.osuosl.org/pub/blfs/conglomeration/libelf/libelf-0.8.13.tar.gz"

    # FIXME: Add a list of GitHub accounts to
    # notify when the package is updated.
    # maintainers("github_user1", "github_user2")

    version("0.8.13", sha256="591a9b4ec81c1f2042a97aa60564e0cb79d041c52faa7416acb38bc95bd2c76d")

    # FIXME: Add dependencies if required.
    # depends_on("foo")

    def configure_args(self):
        # FIXME: Add arguments other than --prefix
        # FIXME: If not needed delete this function
        args = []
        return args

It doesn’t take much Python coding to get from there to a working package:

from spack_repo.builtin.build_systems.autotools import AutotoolsPackage

from spack.package import *


class Libelf(AutotoolsPackage):
    """libelf lets you read, modify or create ELF object files in an
    architecture-independent way. The library takes care of size
    and endian issues, e.g. you can process a file for SPARC
    processors on an Intel-based system. Note: libelf is no longer
    maintained and packages that depend on libelf should migrate to
    elfutils."""

    # The original homepage no longer exists, but the tar file is
    # archived at fossies.org.
    # homepage = "http://www.mr511.de/software/english.html"

    homepage = "https://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Libelf"

    urls = [
        "https://fossies.org/linux/misc/old/libelf-0.8.13.tar.gz",
        "https://ftp.osuosl.org/pub/blfs/conglomeration/libelf/libelf-0.8.13.tar.gz",
    ]

    license("LGPL-2.0-only")

    version("0.8.13", sha256="591a9b4ec81c1f2042a97aa60564e0cb79d041c52faa7416acb38bc95bd2c76d")

    depends_on("c", type="build")  # generated

    provides("elf@0")

    # configure: error: neither int nor long is 32-bit
    depends_on("automake", when="platform=darwin", type="build")
    depends_on("autoconf", when="platform=darwin", type="build")
    depends_on("libtool", when="platform=darwin", type="build")
    depends_on("m4", when="platform=darwin", type="build")

    @property
    def force_autoreconf(self):
        return self.spec.satisfies("platform=darwin")

    def configure_args(self):
        args = ["--enable-shared", "--disable-debug"]

        # config.sub: invalid option -apple-darwin21.6.0
        if self.spec.satisfies("platform=darwin target=aarch64:"):
            args.append("--build=aarch64-apple-darwin")

        return args

    def install(self, spec, prefix):
        make("install", parallel=False)

    def flag_handler(self, name, flags):
        if name == "cflags":
            if self.spec.satisfies("%clang@16:") or self.spec.satisfies("%gcc@14:"):
                flags.append("-Wno-error=implicit-int")
                flags.append("-Wno-error=implicit-function-declaration")
        return (flags, None, None)

Understanding Spack’s scope

Spack is a package manager designed for performance and customization of software. To clarify its role and prevent common misconceptions, it’s helpful to understand what falls outside of its current scope:

1. Spack is a user-space tool, not an operating system. It runs on top of your existing OS (like Linux, macOS, or Windows) and complements the system’s native package manager (like yum or apt), but does not replace it. Spack relies on the host system for essentials like the C runtime libraries. Building a software stack with a custom libc is a planned future capability but is not yet implemented.

2. Spack performs native builds, not cross-compilation. It builds software for the same processor architecture it is running on. Support for cross-compilation (e.g., building for an ARM processor on an x86 machine) is a planned future capability but is not yet implemented.