pkgsrc can be used in two different ways. The first is to only use the binary packages, which can be installed and deinstalled using simple command line tools. The second is to build packages from source, where the user can provide additional build options to enable or disable certain features of the packages. By default the packages are all installed in the /usr/pkg directory, regardless of the operating system. When building from source, the user can install the packages to any other location in the filesystem, too. This allows pkgsrc to be used as a secondary package system on platforms that lack a good primary one.

pkgsrc currently contains over 6500 (over 8000 including wip) packages, including popular open source software such as the Apache HTTP Server, the Mozilla web browser, the GNOME Desktop Environment and the K Desktop Environment.

pkgsrc supports the following operating systems: