diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 096f2e3a7a..8389219d1c 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -633,12 +633,6 @@ quality:
 # Full gate: quality (autoformat + test) followed by every lint check.
 quality-high: quality lint
 
-.PHONY: requirements-archive
-# Archive fully-checked requirement files via pkgmgr (installs kpmx if missing).
-requirements-archive:
-	@"$${PYTHON}" -m pip install --quiet --upgrade kpmx
-	@"$${PYTHON}" -m pkgmgr archive docs/requirements
-
 .PHONY: roundtrip
 # Validate one or more roles through every deploy mode in order (compose, then swarm), stopping at the first failure.
 # Param apps: space-separated role ids; default = one role per base cluster, most-complex first (complexity --unique).
diff --git a/aliases b/aliases
index 4b351f27bd..91a77caf1f 100644
--- a/aliases
+++ b/aliases
@@ -124,7 +124,6 @@ alias i8puma='__i8puma(){ local gates=() ok=1; case "${3:-}" in "") ;; true|fals
 alias i8puwl='__i8puwl(){ [ -z "${1:-}" ] && { echo "usage: i8puwl <whitelist app ids> [distros]" >&2; return 2; }; i8source && gh workflow run entry-manual.yml --repo "$(git remote get-url "$(git config --get remote.pushDefault)")" --ref "$(git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD)" -f whitelist="$(python3 -m utils.roles.display --encode "$1")" -f distros="${2:-${INFINITO_DISTROS}}" -f workspace=false -f instructions=false; }; __i8puwl' # dispatch a manual CI run on the push remote (remote.pushDefault) limited to whitelist $1, distros $2 (default INFINITO_DISTROS), with the workspace and instructions tests off; pushes nothing, so the run uses whatever the remote already holds for the current branch
 alias i8qu='m quality'
 alias i8quhi='m quality-high'
-alias i8re='m requirements-archive'
 alias i8ro='m roundtrip'
 alias i8ru='m runner-ci-deploy'
 alias i8ruci='m runner-ci-disable'
diff --git a/cli/meta/ci/image_ref.py b/cli/meta/ci/image_ref.py
index a60a24d1f0..fad47bc713 100644
--- a/cli/meta/ci/image_ref.py
+++ b/cli/meta/ci/image_ref.py
@@ -12,12 +12,7 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 import argparse
 import sys
 
-from utils.distros import (
-    IMAGE_ENVIRONMENT,
-    IMAGE_PKGMGR,
-    environment_image,
-    pkgmgr_image,
-)
+from utils.distros import IMAGE_ENVIRONMENT, environment_image
 
 
 def main(argv: list[str] | None = None) -> int:
@@ -25,7 +20,7 @@ def main(argv: list[str] | None = None) -> int:
     parser.add_argument(
         "--kind",
         required=True,
-        choices=(IMAGE_PKGMGR, IMAGE_ENVIRONMENT),
+        choices=(IMAGE_ENVIRONMENT,),
         help="Which image reference to render.",
     )
     parser.add_argument("--distro", required=True, help="Distro id, e.g. debian.")
@@ -38,10 +33,6 @@ def main(argv: list[str] | None = None) -> int:
     )
     args = parser.parse_args(argv)
 
-    if args.kind == IMAGE_PKGMGR:
-        print(pkgmgr_image(args.distro, owner=args.owner, tag=args.tag))
-        return 0
-
     if not args.repository:
         parser.error("--repository is required for --kind environment")
     print(
diff --git a/meta/distros.yml b/meta/distros.yml
index 0873a5b3bd..56b133b19e 100644
--- a/meta/distros.yml
+++ b/meta/distros.yml
@@ -31,7 +31,6 @@
 
 images:
   base: "ghcr.io/{owner}/base-{slug}:{tag}"
-  pkgmgr: "ghcr.io/{owner}/pkgmgr-{slug}:{tag}"
   environment: "ghcr.io/{owner}/{repository}/{slug}:{tag}"
 
 galaxy_platform_versions:
diff --git a/tests/lint/repository/test_distros_spot.py b/tests/lint/repository/test_distros_spot.py
index 39a462fcfd..c0d6eb157b 100644
--- a/tests/lint/repository/test_distros_spot.py
+++ b/tests/lint/repository/test_distros_spot.py
@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@ from utils.cache.yaml import load_yaml_any
 from utils.distros import (
     FILE_META_DISTROS,
     IMAGE_BASE,
-    IMAGE_PKGMGR,
     dev_runtime_images,
     distro_names,
     image_template,
@@ -197,7 +196,7 @@ class TestDistrosSpot(unittest.TestCase):
                 slug=_SHELL_LOOP_SLUG,
                 tag=static["INFINITO_PARENT_IMAGE_TAG"],
             )
-            for kind in (IMAGE_BASE, IMAGE_PKGMGR)
+            for kind in (IMAGE_BASE,)
         }
 
         offenders = [
diff --git a/tests/unit/python/utils/test_distros.py b/tests/unit/python/utils/test_distros.py
index 2bb7a77a85..b32f0163a9 100644
--- a/tests/unit/python/utils/test_distros.py
+++ b/tests/unit/python/utils/test_distros.py
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@ from utils.distros import (
     distro_of_dev_runtime_image,
     environment_image,
     galaxy_platforms,
-    pkgmgr_image,
 )
 
 
@@ -50,12 +49,6 @@ class TestDistroSpot(unittest.TestCase):
         first[0]["versions"].append("mutated")
         self.assertEqual(galaxy_platforms()[0]["versions"], ["all"])
 
-    def test_pkgmgr_image_renders_the_template(self) -> None:
-        self.assertEqual(
-            pkgmgr_image("arch", owner="acme", tag="stable"),
-            "ghcr.io/acme/pkgmgr-arch:stable",
-        )
-
     def test_environment_image_renders_the_template(self) -> None:
         self.assertEqual(
             environment_image("centos", owner="acme", repository="nexus", tag="ci-1"),
@@ -64,7 +57,7 @@ class TestDistroSpot(unittest.TestCase):
 
     def test_unknown_distro_is_rejected(self) -> None:
         with self.assertRaises(UnknownDistroError):
-            pkgmgr_image("gentoo", owner="acme", tag="stable")
+            environment_image("gentoo", owner="acme", repository="nexus", tag="stable")
 
     def test_dev_runtime_image_round_trips_to_its_distro(self) -> None:
         for name in distro_names():
diff --git a/utils/distros.py b/utils/distros.py
index 0e4f3e7de3..67e054554b 100644
--- a/utils/distros.py
+++ b/utils/distros.py
@@ -31,7 +31,6 @@ from utils.yaml_bootstrap import load_block
 FILE_META_DISTROS: str = "meta/distros.yml"
 
 IMAGE_BASE = "base"
-IMAGE_PKGMGR = "pkgmgr"
 IMAGE_ENVIRONMENT = "environment"
 
 
@@ -119,11 +118,6 @@ def base_image(distro: str, owner: str, tag: str) -> str:
     return _render(IMAGE_BASE, distro, owner=owner, tag=tag)
 
 
-def pkgmgr_image(distro: str, owner: str, tag: str) -> str:
-    """Reference of the pkgmgr image the `pkgmgr install` test boots."""
-    return _render(IMAGE_PKGMGR, distro, owner=owner, tag=tag)
-
-
 def environment_image(distro: str, owner: str, repository: str, tag: str) -> str:
     """Reference of the environment image built for a distro."""
     return _render(