apk
also: Alpine Package Keeper
APK is the package manager for Alpine Linux, a lightweight Linux distribution. It installs, removes, and manages software packages from repositories.
apk stands for Alpine Package Keeper. It is the official package manager for Alpine Linux, designed to be fast and minimal, reflecting Alpine's focus on small image size and security.
Unlike larger distributions that use apt, yum, or pacman, apk is optimized for embedded systems and containers. For example, Alpine Linux is widely used in Docker images because of its tiny footprint—often under 10 MB.
Common apk commands include apk add package-name to install, apk del package-name to remove, and apk update to refresh the package index. You can also search for packages with apk search.