diff --git a/libips/src/repository/file_backend.rs b/libips/src/repository/file_backend.rs
index a57d256..6fad659 100644
--- a/libips/src/repository/file_backend.rs
+++ b/libips/src/repository/file_backend.rs
@@ -64,6 +64,37 @@ impl Transaction {
         })
     }
     
+    /// Update the manifest in the transaction
+    ///
+    /// This intelligently merges the provided manifest with the existing one,
+    /// preserving file actions that have already been added to the transaction.
+    /// 
+    /// The merge strategy:
+    /// - Keeps all file actions from the transaction's manifest (these have been processed with checksums, etc.)
+    /// - Adds any file actions from the provided manifest that don't exist in the transaction's manifest
+    /// - Merges other types of actions (attributes, directories, dependencies, licenses, links) from both manifests
+    pub fn update_manifest(&mut self, manifest: Manifest) {
+        // Keep track of file paths that are already in the transaction's manifest
+        let existing_file_paths: std::collections::HashSet<String> = self.manifest.files
+            .iter()
+            .map(|f| f.path.clone())
+            .collect();
+        
+        // Add file actions from the provided manifest that don't exist in the transaction's manifest
+        for file in manifest.files {
+            if !existing_file_paths.contains(&file.path) {
+                self.manifest.add_file(file);
+            }
+        }
+        
+        // Merge other types of actions
+        self.manifest.attributes.extend(manifest.attributes);
+        self.manifest.directories.extend(manifest.directories);
+        self.manifest.dependencies.extend(manifest.dependencies);
+        self.manifest.licenses.extend(manifest.licenses);
+        self.manifest.links.extend(manifest.links);
+    }
+    
     /// Process a file for the transaction
     ///
     /// Takes a FileAction and a path to a file in a prototype directory.
@@ -299,6 +330,11 @@ impl Repository for FileBackend {
             fs::create_dir_all(self.path.join("catalog").join(publisher))?;
             fs::create_dir_all(self.path.join("pkg").join(publisher))?;
             
+            // Set as default publisher if no default publisher is set
+            if self.config.default_publisher.is_none() {
+                self.config.default_publisher = Some(publisher.to_string());
+            }
+            
             // Save the updated configuration
             self.save_config()?;
         }
@@ -417,7 +453,7 @@ impl Repository for FileBackend {
         // For each package, list contents
         let mut contents = Vec::new();
         
-        for (pkg_name, pkg_version, pub_name) in packages {
+        for (pkg_name, pkg_version, _pub_name) in packages {
             // Example content data (package, path, type)
             let example_contents = vec![
                 (format!("{}@{}", pkg_name, pkg_version), "/usr/bin/example".to_string(), "file".to_string()),
@@ -504,6 +540,22 @@ impl Repository for FileBackend {
         
         Ok(())
     }
+    
+    /// Set the default publisher for the repository
+    fn set_default_publisher(&mut self, publisher: &str) -> Result<()> {
+        // Check if the publisher exists
+        if !self.config.publishers.contains(&publisher.to_string()) {
+            return Err(anyhow!("Publisher does not exist: {}", publisher));
+        }
+        
+        // Set the default publisher
+        self.config.default_publisher = Some(publisher.to_string());
+        
+        // Save the updated configuration
+        self.save_config()?;
+        
+        Ok(())
+    }
 }
 
 impl FileBackend {
diff --git a/libips/src/repository/mod.rs b/libips/src/repository/mod.rs
index 1982d2c..54740f3 100644
--- a/libips/src/repository/mod.rs
+++ b/libips/src/repository/mod.rs
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ pub struct RepositoryConfig {
     pub version: RepositoryVersion,
     pub publishers: Vec<String>,
     pub properties: HashMap<String, String>,
+    pub default_publisher: Option<String>,
 }
 
 impl Default for RepositoryConfig {
@@ -53,6 +54,7 @@ impl Default for RepositoryConfig {
             version: RepositoryVersion::default(),
             publishers: Vec::new(),
             properties: HashMap::new(),
+            default_publisher: None,
         }
     }
 }
@@ -94,4 +96,7 @@ pub trait Repository {
     
     /// Refresh repository metadata
     fn refresh(&self, publisher: Option<&str>, no_catalog: bool, no_index: bool) -> Result<()>;
+    
+    /// Set the default publisher for the repository
+    fn set_default_publisher(&mut self, publisher: &str) -> Result<()>;
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/libips/src/repository/rest_backend.rs b/libips/src/repository/rest_backend.rs
index 962f58e..358a53b 100644
--- a/libips/src/repository/rest_backend.rs
+++ b/libips/src/repository/rest_backend.rs
@@ -3,9 +3,8 @@
 //  MPL was not distributed with this file, You can
 //  obtain one at https://mozilla.org/MPL/2.0/.
 
-use anyhow::{Result, anyhow};
+use anyhow::{anyhow, Result};
 use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
-use std::collections::HashMap;
 
 use super::{Repository, RepositoryConfig, RepositoryVersion};
 
@@ -299,6 +298,25 @@ impl Repository for RestBackend {
         
         Ok(())
     }
+    
+    /// Set the default publisher for the repository
+    fn set_default_publisher(&mut self, publisher: &str) -> Result<()> {
+        // This is a stub implementation
+        // In a real implementation, we would make a REST API call to set the default publisher
+        
+        // Check if the publisher exists
+        if !self.config.publishers.contains(&publisher.to_string()) {
+            return Err(anyhow!("Publisher does not exist: {}", publisher));
+        }
+        
+        // Set the default publisher
+        self.config.default_publisher = Some(publisher.to_string());
+        
+        // Save the updated configuration
+        self.save_config()?;
+        
+        Ok(())
+    }
 }
 
 impl RestBackend {
diff --git a/pkg6dev/src/main.rs b/pkg6dev/src/main.rs
index 1c51f4a..7846d0f 100644
--- a/pkg6dev/src/main.rs
+++ b/pkg6dev/src/main.rs
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 use clap::{Parser, Subcommand};
 use libips::actions::{ActionError, File, Manifest};
+use libips::repository::{Repository, FileBackend};
 
-use anyhow::Result;
+use anyhow::{Result, anyhow};
 use std::collections::HashMap;
 use std::fs::{read_dir, OpenOptions};
 use std::io::Write;
@@ -31,6 +32,24 @@ enum Commands {
     ShowComponent {
         component: String,
     },
+    /// Publish a package to a repository
+    Publish {
+        /// Path to the manifest file
+        #[clap(short = 'm', long)]
+        manifest_path: PathBuf,
+
+        /// Path to the prototype directory containing the files to publish
+        #[clap(short = 'p', long)]
+        prototype_dir: PathBuf,
+
+        /// Path to the repository
+        #[clap(short = 'r', long)]
+        repo_path: PathBuf,
+
+        /// Publisher name (defaults to "test" if not specified)
+        #[clap(short = 'u', long)]
+        publisher: Option<String>,
+    },
 }
 
 fn main() -> Result<()> {
@@ -43,6 +62,12 @@ fn main() -> Result<()> {
             replacements,
             output_manifest,
         } => diff_component(component, replacements, output_manifest),
+        Commands::Publish {
+            manifest_path,
+            prototype_dir,
+            repo_path,
+            publisher,
+        } => publish_package(manifest_path, prototype_dir, repo_path, publisher),
     }
 }
 
@@ -285,3 +310,88 @@ fn make_file_map(files: Vec<File>) -> HashMap<String, File> {
         })
         .collect()
 }
+
+/// Publish a package to a repository
+///
+/// This function:
+/// 1. Opens the repository at the specified path
+/// 2. Parses the manifest file
+/// 3. Uses the FileBackend's publish_files method to publish the files from the prototype directory
+fn publish_package(
+    manifest_path: &PathBuf,
+    prototype_dir: &PathBuf,
+    repo_path: &PathBuf,
+    publisher: &Option<String>,
+) -> Result<()> {
+    // Check if the manifest file exists
+    if !manifest_path.exists() {
+        return Err(anyhow!("Manifest file does not exist: {}", manifest_path.display()));
+    }
+
+    // Check if the prototype directory exists
+    if !prototype_dir.exists() {
+        return Err(anyhow!("Prototype directory does not exist: {}", prototype_dir.display()));
+    }
+
+    // Parse the manifest file
+    println!("Parsing manifest file: {}", manifest_path.display());
+    let manifest = Manifest::parse_file(manifest_path)?;
+
+    // Open the repository
+    println!("Opening repository at: {}", repo_path.display());
+    let repo = match FileBackend::open(repo_path) {
+        Ok(repo) => repo,
+        Err(_) => {
+            println!("Repository does not exist, creating a new one...");
+            // Create a new repository with version 4
+            FileBackend::create(repo_path, libips::repository::RepositoryVersion::V4)?
+        }
+    };
+
+    // Determine which publisher to use
+    let publisher_name = if let Some(pub_name) = publisher {
+        // Use the explicitly specified publisher
+        if !repo.config.publishers.contains(pub_name) {
+            return Err(anyhow!("Publisher '{}' does not exist in the repository. Please add it first using pkg6repo add-publisher.", pub_name));
+        }
+        pub_name.clone()
+    } else {
+        // Use the default publisher
+        match &repo.config.default_publisher {
+            Some(default_pub) => default_pub.clone(),
+            None => return Err(anyhow!("No default publisher set in the repository. Please specify a publisher using the --publisher option or set a default publisher."))
+        }
+    };
+
+    // Begin a transaction
+    println!("Beginning transaction for publisher: {}", publisher_name);
+    let mut transaction = repo.begin_transaction()?;
+
+    // Add files from the prototype directory to the transaction
+    println!("Adding files from prototype directory: {}", prototype_dir.display());
+    for file_action in manifest.files.iter() {
+        // Construct the full path to the file in the prototype directory
+        let file_path = prototype_dir.join(&file_action.path);
+        
+        // Check if the file exists
+        if !file_path.exists() {
+            println!("Warning: File does not exist in prototype directory: {}", file_path.display());
+            continue;
+        }
+        
+        // Add the file to the transaction
+        println!("Adding file: {}", file_action.path);
+        transaction.add_file(file_action.clone(), &file_path)?;
+    }
+
+    // Update the manifest in the transaction
+    println!("Updating manifest in the transaction...");
+    transaction.update_manifest(manifest);
+
+    // Commit the transaction
+    println!("Committing transaction...");
+    transaction.commit()?;
+
+    println!("Package published successfully!");
+    Ok(())
+}