TeX Live local repository configuration for package version pinning

The goal is to compile LaTeX documents with identical package versions on every contributor machine by using a local TeX Live repository rather than a live CTAN mirror. TeX Live Manager can serve packages from a local directory, but that repository is bound to a single TeX Live release year, and the package manager does not combine packages from different release years.

Because LaTeX provides no native dependency lockfile, there is uncertainty about how to capture and restore an exact package set from a local repository. The missing constraint is whether the pinned set must include recursive dependencies and how the package manager should behave when a required package is absent from the local repository for that release year.

• What configuration restricts an installation to a local repository for all package operations?
• Should a reproducible package set include recursive dependencies, and how is that set exported from a local TeX Live repository?
• What is the expected behavior when a local repository package depends on a package unavailable in the same TeX Live release year?