# pkg search incomplete



## stefanqn (Jun 28, 2014)

Hi, 
I'm completely new to FreeBSD and I'm really confused why I get different results if I search for zabbix on

a) the FreeBSD web ports search, which shows me just zabbix2?-server
b) my local machine using pkg-search(8)
c) and that even if some of the missing results are already installed.


```
root@qnBSD:/ # pkg update
Updating repository catalogue
root@qnBSD:/ # pkg search zabbix
zabbix2-agent-2.0.10_1
zabbix22-agent-2.2.3_1
root@qnBSD:/ # pkg info -x zabbix
zabbix22-frontend-2.2.3_1
zabbix22-server-2.2.3_1
```

Can someone offer some clarity? Is this intended behavior?


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## Beastie (Jun 28, 2014)

Hello and welcome to the forums!

The online ports search system searches an online copy of the ports tree. It shows you that these applications have been ported to FreeBSD. Nothing else.
But for some reason this search system is not always accurate, so try the one at Freshports instead.

pkg-search(8) searches in the local package repository catalogues (copied from the remote repository). In other words, it shows you what binary packages were available in the remote package repository at the time of the last `pkg update`.

pkg-info(8) shows you the currently-installed packages.

The discrepencies you are observing probably mean that the packages you have installed *previously* are no longer available in the *current* repository.
Note that this may be true only for a specific version of FreeBSD on a specific architecture. For example, on my current FreeBSD 9.1 for i386, with the latest (STABLE) package repository catalogue, `pkg search zabbix` returns:

```
zabbix2-agent-2.0.10_1
zabbix2-frontend-2.0.10_1
zabbix2-proxy-2.0.10_1
zabbix2-server-2.0.10_1
zabbix22-agent-2.2.3_1
zabbix22-frontend-2.2.3_1
zabbix22-proxy-2.2.3_1
zabbix22-server-2.2.3_1
```

Try `pkg update` again next week (starting from Wednesday).


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## stefanqn (Jul 6, 2014)

thank you, I've tried it today and now pkg-search() returns the correct results:

```
root@qnBSD:~ # pkg search zabbix
zabbix2-agent-2.0.10_1
zabbix2-frontend-2.0.10_1
zabbix2-proxy-2.0.10_1
zabbix2-server-2.0.10_1
zabbix22-agent-2.2.3_1
zabbix22-frontend-2.2.3_1
zabbix22-proxy-2.2.3_1
zabbix22-server-2.2.3_1
```

The explanation that I've installed the packages previously and that they are no longer available in the current repository is unlikely, because my BSD installation is maybe two weeks old. Another explanation for the discrepancies could be that I've installed zabbix by the ports collection and not as a pkg binary. Is it possible, that a software is available just by source and not as a binary? Or in other words, that the amount of software offered by these two channels is not identical?


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## Beastie (Jul 6, 2014)

stefanqn said:
			
		

> The explanation that I've installed the packages previously and that they are no longer available in the current repository is unlikely, because my BSD installation is maybe two weeks old.


It's not impossible. Package repositories are updated every week.



			
				stefanqn said:
			
		

> Another explanation for the discrepancies could be that I've installed zabbix by the ports collection and not as a pkg binary.


Do you have the *WITH_PKGNG* option in /etc/make.conf (not needed in FreeBSD 10)?



			
				stefanqn said:
			
		

> Is it possible, that a software is available just by source and not as a binary?


Some packages are never created because of the license, but it's not the case here. Ports may also occasionally fail to build, on all architectures, or only some of them, and therefore packages will not be available.


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