> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://tally.wharflab.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# tally/sort-packages

> Package lists in install commands should be sorted alphabetically.

Package lists in install commands should be sorted alphabetically.

| Property | Value      |
| -------- | ---------- |
| Severity | Style      |
| Category | Style      |
| Default  | Enabled    |
| Auto-fix | Yes (safe) |

## Description

Whenever possible, multi-line arguments should be sorted alphanumerically to make maintenance easier. This helps to avoid duplication of packages and
makes the list much easier to update. This also makes PRs a lot easier to read and review.

This rule enforces the [official Docker best practice](https://docs.docker.com/build/building/best-practices/#sort-multi-line-arguments) for sorting
package lists across common package manager install commands.

### Supported Package Managers

| Manager      | Install subcommands   |
| ------------ | --------------------- |
| apt-get, apt | `install`             |
| apk          | `add`                 |
| dnf, yum     | `install`             |
| zypper       | `install`, `in`       |
| npm          | `install`, `i`, `add` |
| yarn         | `add`                 |
| pnpm         | `add`, `install`, `i` |
| pip, pip3    | `install`             |
| bun          | `add`, `install`, `i` |
| composer     | `require`             |
| uv           | `add`, `pip install`  |
| choco        | `install`             |

### Sort key extraction

Version specifiers are stripped for comparison:

* `flask==2.0` sorts as `flask`
* `curl=7.88.1-10+deb12u5` sorts as `curl`
* `@eslint/js@8.0.0` sorts as `@eslint/js` (npm scoped package)

Sorting is case-insensitive.

### Variable arguments

When install commands mix literal packages and variable references (`$PKG`, `${PKG}`), only the literal packages are sorted. Variables are kept at the
end in their original relative order. Variable tokens are never touched by edits, avoiding conflicts with other rules like ShellCheck quoting.

### Skipped cases

No violation is emitted when:

* Fewer than 2 literal packages (nothing to sort)
* File-based install: `pip install -r requirements.txt`, `pip install -e .`
* All arguments are variables
* Exec-form RUN: `RUN ["apt-get", "install", "curl"]`
* Packages are already sorted

## Examples

### Bad

```dockerfile theme={null}
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
    wget \
    curl \
    git \
    mercurial \
    subversion

RUN npm install express axios
```

### Good

```dockerfile theme={null}
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
    curl \
    git \
    mercurial \
    subversion \
    wget

RUN npm install axios express
```

## Auto-fix

This rule provides a safe auto-fix that sorts packages in-place. Only the package name text is replaced; whitespace, continuation backslashes, and
newlines are preserved.

```bash theme={null}
tally lint --fix Dockerfile
```

## Configuration

No custom configuration options. The rule is enabled by default with severity "style".

```toml theme={null}
# Disable the rule
[rules.tally.sort-packages]
severity = "off"
```

## References

* [Docker official best practices: Sort multi-line arguments](https://docs.docker.com/build/building/best-practices/#sort-multi-line-arguments)