CPAN Minus

Spec sheet

Purpose

cpanminus is a script to get, unpack, build and install modules from CPAN.Read 12 Oct 2026 · metacpan.org

CPAN lookup

It queries the CPAN Meta DB and falls back to MetaCPAN's search API for module lookup.Read 12 Oct 2026 · metacpan.org

Dependencies

The documentation lists Perl 5.8.1 or later, tar or Archive::Tar, make, and a C compiler when building XS modules.Read 12 Oct 2026 · metacpan.org

Dependency resolution

YesRead 21 Sep 2026 · raw.githubusercontent.com

Install location

It installs modules to the location configured by ExtUtils::MakeMaker and Module::Build, and can set up a local-lib compatible path under the home directory when needed.Read 12 Oct 2026 · metacpan.org

Installation

The documentation describes installation through system package managers, installation into system or local Perl, and downloading a standalone executable.Read 12 Oct 2026 · metacpan.org

Limit

The documentation says cpanminus may have issues with distributions whose tests require STDIN or whose build scripts prompt for input despite `PERL_MM_USE_DEFAULT`.Read 12 Oct 2026 · metacpan.org

Maintainer

MetaCPAN lists Tatsuhiko Miyagawa as the author and release uploader.Read 12 Oct 2026 · metacpan.org

Not included

The documentation says cpanminus does not itself report CPAN tester results, build RPM packages, list outdated modules, show upgrade changes, or patch modules with distroprefs.Read 12 Oct 2026 · metacpan.org

Offline installation

YesRead 21 Sep 2026 · raw.githubusercontent.com

Package availability

The documentation names Debian packages, RPMs, FreeBSD ports, and packages for other operating systems.Read 12 Oct 2026 · metacpan.org

Package formats

Perl modules,CPAN distributions,tar.gz archivesRead 21 Sep 2026 · raw.githubusercontent.com

Privacy detail

The documentation says cpanm sends local Perl versions in its User-Agent by default when querying those API hosts, and that this can be disabled with `--no-report-perl-version`.Read 12 Oct 2026 · metacpan.org

Runtime

The documentation says it requires only 10MB of RAM when running.Read 12 Oct 2026 · metacpan.org

Setup

The documentation says it is dependency free, can bootstrap itself, requires zero configuration, and stands alone.Read 12 Oct 2026 · metacpan.org

Supported platforms

Perl 5.8.1 or laterRead 21 Sep 2026 · raw.githubusercontent.com

Usage

The documented basic invocation is `cpanm Module`.Read 12 Oct 2026 · metacpan.org

Plans and prices

Every CPAN Minus plan and price →

Where Specifiction places it

• Package Managers#76 of 937.4