Creating a Custom Backend

Overview

TinyPM's modular architecture makes it straightforward to add new backends. This guide walks through creating a custom provider for your package manager of choice.

Step 1: Create the Provider File

Create a new file in lib/providers/:

touch lib/providers/mybackend.sh

Step 2: Implement the Interface

Your provider script should define functions for each supported action:

# lib/providers/mybackend.sh

provider_install() {
    local package="$1"
    # Your install logic here
    mypm install "$package"
}

provider_search() {
    local query="$1"
    # Your search logic here
    mypm search "$query"
}

provider_remove() {
    local package="$1"
    # Your remove logic here
    mypm remove "$package"
}

provider_list() {
    # Your list logic here
    mypm list --installed
}

provider_update() {
    # Your update logic here
    mypm upgrade
}

provider_run() {
    local app="$1"
    # Your run logic here
    mypm run "$app"
}

provider_check() {
    # Return 0 if backend is available, 1 if not
    command -v mypm > /dev/null 2>&1
}

Step 3: Register the Backend

Add your backend to the core's provider loading logic so it can be selected with a flag.

Step 4: Add a Flag

Register a short flag (e.g. -m) and long flags (e.g. --mypm) in the argument parser.

Step 5: Test

tinypm doctor        # Should show your backend
tinypm search -m test
tinypm install -m mypackage

Tips

• Follow the existing provider patterns for consistency
• Use provider_check() so doctor can report on your backend
• Keep the provider focused on wrapping the real CLI
• Test with doctor first to make sure detection works

Contributing

If you build a provider that could be useful to others, consider contributing it back to the [TinyPM repository](https://github.com/AnimatedGTVR/TinyPM).