---
name: "alpm-pkgrel"
section: "7"
platform: "linux"
package: "alpm-docs"
version: "0.13.0-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/alpm-pkgrel"
---

# alpm-pkgrel(7)

version postfix to enforce a higher version consideration for ALPM based packages.

## NAME

pkgrel - version postfix to enforce a higher version consideration for ALPM based packages.

## DESCRIPTION

The **pkgrel** format is a version format, that is used as postfix to **pkgver** in a composite version string. This format is used in build scripts or file formats for package data description or reproduction to indicate, that a composite version (e.g. **BUILDINFO**’s **pkgver**) is to be considered newer than one with a lower value **pkgrel** component. This functionality is used in the context of distributions to release new builds of upstream software based on an upstream release of the same version. For each rebuild, the **pkgrel** value is incremented by ‘1’. Once the upstream version represented by **pkgver** is incremented, the **pkgrel** is reset to ‘1’.

The **pkgrel** value must consist of one or more numeric digits, optionally followed by a period (`.`) and one or more additional numeric digits. The default value when using **pkgrel** is ‘1’.

When used in a composite version string, **pkgver** is directly followed by a ‘-’ sign and the **pkgrel**.

Compositive version strings with the same **pkgver** component are sorted according to their **pkgrel**, but **epoch** may be used to set higher ordering nevertheless. Hence, the sorting precedence is: `epoch > pkgver > pkgrel`.

## EXAMPLES

Compositive version strings with the same **pkgver** component are sorted according to their **pkgrel** component.

```
"1.0.0-1" < "1.0.0-2"
"1.0.0-1" < "1.0.0-1.0"
"1.0.0-1.0" < "1.0.0-2.0"
```

An explicit **epoch** component is always considered before the **pkgver** and **pkgrel** components in a composite version string.

```
"1:1.0.0-1" > "1.0.0-2"
```

## SEE ALSO

[**BUILDINFO**(5)](/BUILDINFO/5.md), [**PKGBUILD**(5)](/PKGBUILD/5.md), [**PKGINFO**(5)](/PKGINFO/5.md), [**SRCINFO**(5)](/SRCINFO/5.md), [**alpm-epoch**(7)](/alpm-epoch/7.md), [**alpm-package-version**(7)](/alpm-package-version/7.md), [**alpm-pkgver**(7)](/alpm-pkgver/7.md), [**vercmp**(8)](/vercmp/8.md)