View source for Package File (OS X)

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|subcat=Archiving
|extensions={{ext|pkg}}
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A '''Package File''' is used in Mac OS X as an installation archive of a software package for distribution. Clicking on it on an OS X system will launch the Installer package to extract and install the software.

These files have a .pkg extension, an extension that has also been used for installable packages on a number of other operating systems including SunOS, Unix System V, Symbian, BeOS, and the Apple Newton.

OS X packages are a form of the [[Xar (Extensible Archive)|xar]] archive format.

A [[Meta-Package File]] is another form of OS X package which may contain multiple packages of the single-package format.

== Links ==
* [[Wikipedia:.pkg|Wikipedia: .pkg]]
* [[Wikipedia:Installer (OS X)|Wikipedia: Installer (OS X)]]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20120114020558/http://developer.apple.com/library/mac/#/web/20111007150849/http://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/Darwin/Reference/ManPages/man1/tconf.1.html TargetConfig command line tool man page]
* [https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/Darwin/Reference/ManPages/man8/installer.8.html Installer man page]
* [https://developer.apple.com/legacy/library/documentation/DeveloperTools/Conceptual/SoftwareDistribution4/Managed_Installs/Managed_Installs.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40004615-CH6-SW9 Software Delivery Legacy Guide]

[[Category:Apple]]
[[Category:Macintosh]]