Installation
Choose the CLI if you want to work in a terminal, or the .NET libraries if you want to call Packata from application code. You do not need to install both. The CLI Quickstart is the default path for trying Packata with a small sample.
Command-line tool
Use a .NET 8, 9 or 10 SDK for the dotnet tool commands below. The installed tool runs on a compatible .NET runtime; the .NET CLI chooses the host platform and a compatible target framework. If you want an executable that includes its runtime, use a self-contained standalone archive instead.
Install for your user account
A global tool installation makes packata available from any working directory:
dotnet tool install --global Packata-cli
packata --help
packata --version
Help lists the command groups, and the version command confirms which build is installed. To update an existing global installation, run dotnet tool update --global Packata-cli. If your terminal cannot find packata, follow the tool installer’s PATH instructions for your shell.
Install for a repository
A local tool manifest lets a repository record the tool it needs. In that repository’s directory, create a manifest if one does not already exist, then install Packata:
dotnet new tool-manifest
dotnet tool install Packata-cli
dotnet tool run packata -- --help
Skip dotnet new tool-manifest when the repository already has one. If Packata is already recorded in a checked-in manifest, use dotnet tool restore instead of installing it again. Run local-tool commands from the manifest’s directory or one of its descendants.
After either installation, follow the CLI Quickstart to check a contract and read sample records. The CLI reference contains the complete command and option descriptions.
Standalone archives
Use an archive when you want to run an executable directly rather than install a .NET tool. GitHub releases provide two archive families:
| Archive name | What you need |
|---|---|
Packata-cli-<version>-<framework>-<rid> | The corresponding .NET runtime: net8.0, net9.0 or net10.0 |
Packata-cli-<version>-<rid> | No separate .NET installation; the self-contained archive includes .NET 10 |
Here, <rid> identifies the operating system and processor architecture. Choose it from the table below; <version> is the release version you are downloading.
| Platform | RID | Executable |
|---|---|---|
| Windows x64 | win-x64 | packata.exe |
| Windows ARM64 | win-arm64 | packata.exe |
| Linux x64 (glibc) | linux-x64 | packata |
| Linux ARM64 (glibc) | linux-arm64 | packata |
| Alpine Linux x64 (musl) | linux-musl-x64 | packata |
| Alpine Linux ARM64 (musl) | linux-musl-arm64 | packata |
| macOS Intel | osx-x64 | packata |
| macOS Apple Silicon | osx-arm64 | packata |
Extract the ZIP on Windows or the tar.gz on Linux/macOS. From the extracted directory, invoke packata.exe or packata using your shell’s syntax for a local executable, with --version to check it starts.
Choose linux-musl-* for musl-based distributions such as Alpine, and linux-* for glibc-based distributions. There is no 32-bit Windows CLI archive.
A self-contained archive includes .NET, but a database connector or native vendor driver may still have its own prerequisites. The database guide explains how connectors are selected and acquired.
.NET libraries
Use a .NET 8, 9 or 10 SDK and open a terminal in your application project’s directory. Add the package for the contract standard you need:
dotnet add package Packata.DataPackage
For ODCS documents, add Packata.OpenDataContract instead. Add both if your application handles both standards. Each format package brings in Packata.Core, which contains the shared contract model; it does not need a separate package command for this setup.
To read dataset records, also add the base reader package:
dotnet add package Packata.ResourceReaders
This includes delimited-file and inline-data readers. The reader registration table lists optional packages for Excel, Parquet, databases and other formats, together with the registration each one needs.
Add Packata.Storages for library storage backends, Packata.Database for shared database connection configuration, or Packata.Provisioners for database provisioning. Install these when your application needs those operations; they are not required for the basic CSV walkthrough.
Continue with the .NET Quickstart for a complete application, or the .NET reference for package and API entry points.
VS Code status
The extension is planned, not implemented. There is no extension to install yet. The VS Code status page links to the proposals and to the CLI and .NET walkthroughs you can use today.