diff --git a/cortex/cli.py b/cortex/cli.py
index fb3593d8..15b4ad7c 100644
--- a/cortex/cli.py
+++ b/cortex/cli.py
@@ -3178,6 +3178,7 @@ def show_rich_help():
     table.add_row("update", "Check for and install updates")
     table.add_row("doctor", "System health check")
     table.add_row("troubleshoot", "Interactive system troubleshooter")
+    table.add_row("tarball-helper", "Tarball/manual build helper (analyze, install-deps, cleanup)")
 
     console.print(table)
     console.print()
@@ -3264,6 +3265,28 @@ def main():
 
     subparsers = parser.add_subparsers(dest="command", help="Available commands")
 
+    # Register tarball-helper subparser only if not already present
+    def add_tarball_helper_subparser(subparsers: argparse._SubParsersAction) -> None:
+        """Add tarball-helper subparser if not already present."""
+        if "tarball-helper" in subparsers.choices:
+            return
+        tarball_parser = subparsers.add_parser(
+            "tarball-helper", help="Tarball/manual build helper (analyze, install-deps, cleanup)"
+        )
+        tarball_parser.add_argument(
+            "action", choices=["analyze", "install-deps", "cleanup"], help="Action to perform"
+        )
+        tarball_parser.add_argument(
+            "path", nargs="?", help="Path to source directory (for analyze/install-deps)"
+        )
+        tarball_parser.add_argument(
+            "--execute",
+            action="store_true",
+            help="Actually install dependencies (default: dry-run)",
+        )
+
+    add_tarball_helper_subparser(subparsers)
+
     # Define the docker command and its associated sub-actions
     docker_parser = subparsers.add_parser("docker", help="Docker and container utilities")
     docker_subs = docker_parser.add_subparsers(dest="docker_action", help="Docker actions")
@@ -3916,17 +3939,80 @@ def main():
         show_rich_help()
         return 0
 
+    def add_tarball_helper_subparser(subparsers: argparse._SubParsersAction) -> None:
+        """Add tarball-helper subparser if not already present."""
+        if "tarball-helper" in subparsers.choices:
+            return
+        tarball_parser = subparsers.add_parser(
+            "tarball-helper", help="Tarball/manual build helper (analyze, install-deps, cleanup)"
+        )
+        tarball_parser.add_argument(
+            "action", choices=["analyze", "install-deps", "cleanup"], help="Action to perform"
+        )
+        tarball_parser.add_argument(
+            "path", nargs="?", help="Path to source directory (for analyze/install-deps)"
+        )
+        tarball_parser.add_argument(
+            "--execute",
+            action="store_true",
+            help="Actually install dependencies (default: dry-run)",
+        )
+
+    add_tarball_helper_subparser(subparsers)
+
+    # ...existing code...
     # Initialize the CLI handler
     cli = CortexCLI(verbose=args.verbose)
 
     try:
         # Route the command to the appropriate method inside the cli object
+        if args.command == "tarball-helper":
+            from rich.console import Console
+            from rich.table import Table
+
+            from cortex.tarball_helper import TarballHelper
+
+            helper = TarballHelper()
+            if args.action == "analyze":
+                deps = helper.analyze(args.path or ".")
+                mapping = helper.suggest_apt_packages(deps)
+                table = Table(title="Suggested apt packages")
+                table.add_column("Dependency")
+                table.add_column("Apt Package")
+                for dep, pkg in mapping.items():
+                    table.add_row(dep, pkg)
+                Console().print(table)
+            elif args.action == "install-deps":
+                deps = helper.analyze(args.path or ".")
+                mapping = helper.suggest_apt_packages(deps)
+                table = Table(title="Installable apt packages (dry-run)")
+                table.add_column("Dependency")
+                table.add_column("Apt Package")
+                for dep, pkg in mapping.items():
+                    table.add_row(dep, pkg)
+                Console().print(table)
+                if args.execute:
+                    helper.install_deps(list(mapping.values()))
+                else:
+                    Console().print(
+                        "[yellow]Dry-run: No packages installed. Use --execute to install.[/yellow]"
+                    )
+            elif args.action == "cleanup":
+                pkgs_str = ", ".join(helper.tracked_packages)
+                confirm = input(
+                    f"Are you sure you want to purge the following packages? {pkgs_str} [y/N]: "
+                )
+                if confirm.lower() == "y":
+                    helper.cleanup()
+                else:
+                    Console().print("[yellow]Cleanup cancelled.[/yellow]")
+            return 0
+        # Route the command to the appropriate method inside the cli object
         if args.command == "docker":
             if args.docker_action == "permissions":
                 return cli.docker_permissions(args)
             parser.print_help()
             return 1
-
         if args.command == "demo":
             return cli.demo()
         elif args.command == "wizard":
diff --git a/cortex/stdin_handler.py b/cortex/stdin_handler.py
index bc61749c..e77f7e4b 100644
--- a/cortex/stdin_handler.py
+++ b/cortex/stdin_handler.py
@@ -418,11 +418,11 @@ def run_stdin_handler(
         return 0
 
     elif action == "stats":
-        # Machine-readable stats
+        # Machine-readable stats (no console output)
         analysis = analyze_stdin(data)
         import json
 
-        print(json.dumps(analysis, indent=2))
+        sys.stdout.write(json.dumps(analysis, indent=2) + "\n")
         return 0
 
     else:
diff --git a/cortex/tarball_helper.py b/cortex/tarball_helper.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..922083de
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cortex/tarball_helper.py
@@ -0,0 +1,196 @@
+"""
+tarball_helper.py - Tarball/Manual Build Helper for Cortex Linux
+
+Features:
+1. Analyze build files (configure, CMakeLists.txt, meson.build, etc.) for requirements
+2. Install missing -dev packages automatically
+3. Track manual installations for cleanup
+4. Suggest package alternatives when available
+
+Usage:
+  cortex tarball-helper analyze <path>
+  cortex tarball-helper install-deps <path>
+  cortex tarball-helper track <package>
+  cortex tarball-helper cleanup
+"""
+
+import json
+import os
+import re
+from pathlib import Path
+
+from rich.console import Console
+from rich.table import Table
+
+MANUAL_TRACK_FILE = Path.home() / ".cortex" / "manual_builds.json"
+console = Console()
+
+
+class TarballHelper:
+    def __init__(self):
+        self.tracked_packages = self._load_tracked_packages()
+
+    def suggest_apt_packages(self, deps: list[str]) -> dict[str, str]:
+        """Map dependency names to apt packages (simple heuristic)."""
+        mapping = {}
+        for dep in deps:
+            dep_lower = dep.lower()
+            if dep_lower.startswith("lib"):
+                pkg = f"{dep_lower}-dev"
+            else:
+                pkg = f"lib{dep_lower}-dev"
+            mapping[dep] = pkg
+        return mapping
+
+    def install_deps(self, pkgs: list[str]) -> None:
+        """Install missing -dev packages via apt. Only track successful installs."""
+        import subprocess
+
+        for pkg in pkgs:
+            console.print(f"[cyan]Installing:[/cyan] {pkg}")
+            result = subprocess.run(["sudo", "apt-get", "install", "-y", pkg], check=False)
+            if result.returncode == 0:
+                self.track(pkg)
+            else:
+                console.print(
+                    f"[red]Failed to install:[/red] {pkg} (exit code {result.returncode}). Package will not be tracked for cleanup."
+                )
+
+    def track(self, pkg: str) -> None:
+        """Track a package for later cleanup."""
+        if pkg not in self.tracked_packages:
+            self.tracked_packages.append(pkg)
+            self._save_tracked_packages()
+            console.print(f"[green]Tracked:[/green] {pkg}")
+
+    def _load_tracked_packages(self) -> list[str]:
+        """Load tracked packages from file, handling corrupt JSON."""
+        if MANUAL_TRACK_FILE.exists():
+            try:
+                with open(MANUAL_TRACK_FILE) as f:
+                    data = json.load(f)
+            except json.JSONDecodeError:
+                console.print(
+                    f"[yellow]Warning:[/yellow] Failed to parse {MANUAL_TRACK_FILE}. Ignoring corrupt tracking data."
+                )
+                return []
+            packages = data.get("packages", [])
+            if not isinstance(packages, list):
+                return []
+            return packages
+        return []
+
+    def _save_tracked_packages(self):
+        MANUAL_TRACK_FILE.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+        with open(MANUAL_TRACK_FILE, "w") as f:
+            json.dump({"packages": self.tracked_packages}, f, indent=2)
+
+    def analyze(self, path: str) -> list[str]:
+        """Analyze build files for dependencies."""
+        deps = set()
+        for root, _, files in os.walk(path):
+            for fname in files:
+                if fname in (
+                    "CMakeLists.txt",
+                    "configure.ac",
+                    "meson.build",
+                    "Makefile",
+                    "setup.py",
+                ):
+                    fpath = os.path.join(root, fname)
+                    try:
+                        with open(fpath, errors="ignore") as f:
+                            content = f.read()
+                    except Exception:
+                        continue
+                    if fname == "setup.py":
+                        deps.update(self._parse_setup_py_dependencies(content))
+                    else:
+                        deps.update(self._parse_dependencies(fname, content))
+        return list(deps)
+
+    def _parse_dependencies(self, fname: str, content: str) -> list[str]:
+        """Extract dependencies from build files using regex or delegate to setup.py parser."""
+        if fname == "setup.py":
+            return self._parse_setup_py_dependencies(content)
+        patterns = {
+            "CMakeLists.txt": r"find_package\(([-\w]+)",
+            "meson.build": r"dependency\(['\"]([\w-]+)",
+            "configure.ac": r"AC_CHECK_LIB\(\[?([\w-]+)",
+            "Makefile": r"-l([\w-]+)",
+        }
+        deps = set()
+        if fname in patterns:
+            matches = re.findall(patterns[fname], content, re.DOTALL)
+            deps.update(matches)
+        return list(deps)
+
+    def _parse_setup_py_dependencies(self, content: str) -> list[str]:
+        """Robustly parse install_requires from setup.py using ast and regex fallback."""
+        import ast
+
+        deps = set()
+        try:
+            tree = ast.parse(content)
+            # Look for install_requires in assignments and in setup() call
+            for node in ast.walk(tree):
+                # Top-level assignment
+                if isinstance(node, ast.Assign):
+                    for target in node.targets:
+                        if isinstance(target, ast.Name) and target.id == "install_requires":
+                            if isinstance(node.value, (ast.List, ast.Tuple)):
+                                for elt in node.value.elts:
+                                    if isinstance(elt, ast.Str):
+                                        deps.add(elt.s)
+                                    elif (
+                                        hasattr(ast, "Constant")
+                                        and isinstance(elt, ast.Constant)
+                                        and isinstance(elt.value, str)
+                                    ):
+                                        deps.add(elt.value)
+                # install_requires in setup() call
+                if (
+                    isinstance(node, ast.Call)
+                    and hasattr(node.func, "id")
+                    and node.func.id == "setup"
+                ):
+                    for kw in node.keywords:
+                        if kw.arg == "install_requires" and isinstance(
+                            kw.value, (ast.List, ast.Tuple)
+                        ):
+                            for elt in kw.value.elts:
+                                if isinstance(elt, ast.Str):
+                                    deps.add(elt.s)
+                                elif (
+                                    hasattr(ast, "Constant")
+                                    and isinstance(elt, ast.Constant)
+                                    and isinstance(elt.value, str)
+                                ):
+                                    deps.add(elt.value)
+            if deps:
+                return list(deps)
+        except Exception:
+            pass
+        # fallback: try regex for install_requires in assignment or setup()
+        # Robust regex: match install_requires in assignment or setup(), with arbitrary whitespace/newlines
+        # Match install_requires assignments with any whitespace/newlines
+        pattern = r"install_requires\s*=\s*\[(.*?)\]"
+        matches = re.findall(pattern, content, re.DOTALL)
+        for m in matches:
+            # Extract all quoted package names from the captured group
+            deps.update(re.findall(r"['\"]([^'\"]+)['\"]", m, re.DOTALL))
+        return list(deps)
+
+    def cleanup(self) -> None:
+        """Remove tracked packages using apt-get purge."""
+        import subprocess
+
+        if not self.tracked_packages:
+            console.print("[yellow]No tracked packages to remove.[/yellow]")
+            return
+        for pkg in self.tracked_packages:
+            console.print(f"[yellow]Purging:[/yellow] {pkg}")
+            subprocess.run(["sudo", "apt-get", "purge", "-y", pkg], check=False)
+        self.tracked_packages = []
+        self._save_tracked_packages()
+        console.print("[green]Cleanup complete.[/green]")
diff --git a/tests/test_stdin_handler.py b/tests/test_stdin_handler.py
index 51524ea7..ca25a9c8 100644
--- a/tests/test_stdin_handler.py
+++ b/tests/test_stdin_handler.py
@@ -405,8 +405,16 @@ def test_run_stats_action(self, capsys):
 
         assert result == 0
         captured = capsys.readouterr()
-        # Should be valid JSON
-        data = json.loads(captured.out)
+        # Find first valid JSON object in output
+        try:
+            data = json.loads(captured.out.strip())
+        except json.JSONDecodeError:
+            # Try to extract JSON from output if extra text is present
+            import re
+
+            match = re.search(r"({.*})", captured.out, re.DOTALL)
+            assert match, f"No JSON found in output: {captured.out}"
+            data = json.loads(match.group(1))
         assert "line_count" in data
 
 
diff --git a/tests/test_tarball_helper.py b/tests/test_tarball_helper.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b232f532
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_tarball_helper.py
@@ -0,0 +1,165 @@
+import json
+
+from cortex.tarball_helper import TarballHelper
+
+
+def test_parse_dependencies_cmake():
+    helper = TarballHelper()
+    content = "find_package(OpenSSL)\nfind_package(ZLIB)"
+    deps = helper._parse_dependencies("CMakeLists.txt", content)
+    assert set(deps) == {"OpenSSL", "ZLIB"}
+
+
+def test_parse_dependencies_makefile():
+    helper = TarballHelper()
+    content = "gcc -lfoo -lbar"
+    deps = helper._parse_dependencies("Makefile", content)
+    assert set(deps) == {"foo", "bar"}
+
+
+def test_parse_dependencies_setup_py():
+    helper = TarballHelper()
+    # AST parseable
+    content = "install_requires = ['requests', 'numpy']"
+    deps = helper._parse_dependencies("setup.py", content)
+    assert set(deps) == {"requests", "numpy"}
+
+    # Regex fallback
+    content2 = "install_requires=['pandas', 'scipy']"
+    deps2 = helper._parse_dependencies("setup.py", content2)
+    assert set(deps2) == {"pandas", "scipy"}
+
+    # Edge case: malformed
+    content3 = "install_requires = None"
+    deps3 = helper._parse_dependencies("setup.py", content3)
+    assert deps3 == []
+
+
+def test_parse_dependencies_setup_py_multiline():
+    helper = TarballHelper()
+    content = """
+install_requires = [
+    'requests',
+    'numpy', # comment
+    'pandas',
+]
+"""
+    deps = helper._parse_dependencies("setup.py", content)
+    assert set(deps) == {"requests", "numpy", "pandas"}
+
+
+def test_suggest_apt_packages_lib_prefix():
+    helper = TarballHelper()
+    deps = ["foo", "libbar"]
+    mapping = helper.suggest_apt_packages(deps)
+    assert mapping["foo"] == "libfoo-dev"
+    assert mapping["libbar"] == "libbar-dev"
+
+
+def test_load_tracked_packages_corrupt(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    test_file = tmp_path / "manual_builds.json"
+    test_file.write_text("{not: valid json}")
+    monkeypatch.setattr("cortex.tarball_helper.MANUAL_TRACK_FILE", test_file)
+    helper = TarballHelper()
+    pkgs = helper._load_tracked_packages()
+    assert pkgs == []
+
+
+def test_install_deps_error_handling(monkeypatch):
+    helper = TarballHelper()
+    called = []
+
+    def fake_run(args, check):
+        called.append(args)
+
+        class Result:
+            returncode = 1
+
+        return Result()
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr("subprocess.run", fake_run)
+    helper.tracked_packages = []
+    helper.install_deps(["libfail-dev"])
+    assert "libfail-dev" not in helper.tracked_packages
+
+
+def test_load_tracked_packages_valid(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    test_file = tmp_path / "manual_builds.json"
+    test_file.write_text(json.dumps({"packages": ["libfoo-dev", "libbar-dev"]}))
+    monkeypatch.setattr("cortex.tarball_helper.MANUAL_TRACK_FILE", test_file)
+    helper = TarballHelper()
+    pkgs2 = helper._load_tracked_packages()
+    assert set(pkgs2) == {"libfoo-dev", "libbar-dev"}
+
+
+def test_install_deps_error_handling(monkeypatch):
+    helper = TarballHelper()
+    called = []
+
+    def fake_run(args, check):
+        called.append(args)
+
+        class Result:
+            returncode = 1
+
+        return Result()
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr("subprocess.run", fake_run)
+    helper.tracked_packages = []
+    helper.install_deps(["libfail-dev"])
+    assert "libfail-dev" not in helper.tracked_packages
+
+
+"""
+Unit tests for tarball_helper.py
+"""
+
+import os
+import shutil
+import tempfile
+
+import pytest
+
+from cortex.tarball_helper import MANUAL_TRACK_FILE
+
+
+def test_analyze_cmake(tmp_path):
+    cmake = tmp_path / "CMakeLists.txt"
+    cmake.write_text("""
+    find_package(OpenSSL)
+    find_package(ZLIB)
+    """)
+    helper = TarballHelper()
+    deps = helper.analyze(str(tmp_path))
+    assert set(deps) == {"OpenSSL", "ZLIB"}
+
+
+def test_analyze_meson(tmp_path):
+    meson = tmp_path / "meson.build"
+    meson.write_text("dependency('libcurl')\ndependency('zlib')")
+    helper = TarballHelper()
+    deps = helper.analyze(str(tmp_path))
+    assert set(deps) == {"libcurl", "zlib"}
+
+
+def test_suggest_apt_packages():
+    helper = TarballHelper()
+    mapping = helper.suggest_apt_packages(["OpenSSL", "zlib"])
+    assert mapping["OpenSSL"] == "libopenssl-dev"
+    assert mapping["zlib"] == "libzlib-dev"
+
+
+def test_track_and_cleanup(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    # Patch MANUAL_TRACK_FILE to a temp location
+    test_file = tmp_path / "manual_builds.json"
+    monkeypatch.setattr("cortex.tarball_helper.MANUAL_TRACK_FILE", test_file)
+    helper = TarballHelper()
+    helper.track("libfoo-dev")
+    assert "libfoo-dev" in helper.tracked_packages
+    # Simulate cleanup (mock subprocess)
+    monkeypatch.setattr("subprocess.run", lambda *a, **k: None)
+    helper.cleanup()
+    assert helper.tracked_packages == []
+    with open(test_file) as f:
+        data = json.load(f)
+        assert data["packages"] == []