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# AUR helpers

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Warning: AUR helpers are not supported by Arch Linux. You should become familiar with the manual build process in order to be prepared to troubleshoot problems.
Note: Please use the discussion page prior to making edits to this article: Talk:AUR helpers.

AUR helpers automate usage of the Arch User Repository. In particular, they may automate the following tasks:

- searching for packages published on the AUR;
- resolving of dependencies between AUR packages;
- retrieve and build AUR packages;
- retrieve web content, such as user comments;
- submission of AUR packages.

Pacman only handles updates for pre-built packages in its repositories. AUR packages are redistributed in form of PKGBUILDs and need an AUR helper to automate the re-build process. However, keep in mind that a rebuild of a package may be required when its shared library dependencies are updated, not only when the package itself is updated.

## Legend

The #Comparison tables columns have the following meaning:

File review
  Does not source the PKGBUILD at all by default; or alerts the user and offers the opportunity to inspect the PKGBUILD manually before it is sourced. Some helpers are known to source PKGBUILDs before the user can inspect them, allowing malicious code to be executed.
Diff view
  Ability to view package differences on inspection. Besides the PKGBUILD, this includes changes to files such as `.install` or `.patch` files.
Git clone
  Uses git-clone(1) by default to retrieve build files from the AUR.
Reliable parser
  Ability to handle complex packages by using the provided metadata (RPC/.SRCINFO) instead of PKGBUILD parsing, such as aws-cli-gitAUR.
Reliable solver
  Ability to correctly solve and build complex dependency chains, such as ros-noetic-desktop-fullAUR.
Split packages
  Ability to correctly build and install:
  - Multiple packages from the same package base, without rebuilding or reinstalling multiple times, such as clionAUR.
  - Split packages which depend on a package from the same package base, such as samsung-unified-driverAUR.
  - Split packages independently, such as nxproxyAUR and nxagentAUR.

Shell completion
  Tab completion is available for the listed shells.

Note:

- Optional means that a feature is available, but only through a command-line argument or configuration option.
- Partial means that a feature is not fully implemented, or that it partially deviates from the given criteria.

## Comparison tables

### Search and download

Name | Written in | File review | Diff view | Git clone | Reliable parser | Reliable solver | Shell completion | Specificity
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
auracle-gitAUR | C++ | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | bash | print build order
pbgetAUR | Python | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | – | – | –
repoctlAUR | Go | Yes | No | No | Yes | – | bash, zsh, fish | local repository
yaahAUR | Bash | Yes | No | Optional | Yes | – | bash | –

### Search and build

Name | Written in | File review | Diff view | Git clone | Reliable parser | Reliable solver | Split packages | Shell completion | Specificity
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
aurutilsAUR | Bash | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | bash, zsh | local repository, local patch application, package signing, clean chroot
bauerbillAUR | Python | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | bash, zsh | `bb-wrapper` for pacman wrapping, trust management
PKGBUILDerAUR | Python | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | – | `pb` for pacman wrapping
ruaAUR | Rust | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | bash, zsh, fish | local patch application, bubblewrap, `.pkg.tar` inspection

### Pacman wrappers

Warning: pacman(8) wrappers abstract the work of the package manager. They may (optionally or by default) introduce unsafe flags, or other unexpected behavior leading to a defective system.
Note: The following pacman wrappers support batch (rather than on-demand) operations: pacaurAUR, pikaurAUR, yayAUR, auraAUR, paruAUR, aurmanAUR

Name | Written in | File review | Diff view | Git clone | Reliable parser | Reliable solver | Split packages | Unsafe flags | Shell completion | Specificity
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
auraAUR | Rust | No | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | – | bash, fish, zsh | clean chroot
aurmanAUR | Python | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | -Sy --ask | bash, fish | fetch PGP keys
pacaurAUR | Bash | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | --ask | bash, zsh | –
pakkuAUR | Nim | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | -Sy | bash, zsh | –
paruAUR | Rust | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | -Sy --ask | bash, fish, zsh | local repository, clean chroot
pikaurAUR | Python | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | -Sy | bash, fish, zsh | dynamic users
trizenAUR | Perl | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | – | bash, fish, zsh | –
yayAUR | Go | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | --ask | bash, fish, zsh | –

## Graphical

Warning: Usage of graphical AUR helpers may lead to a defective system, for example through unattended partial upgrades.

- Argon — GTK 3 pacman wrapper written in Python.

  https://github.com/14mRh4X0r/arch-argon || argonAUR

- Bauh — Qt5 Python app supporting AppImage, Debian and Arch packages (including AUR), Flatpak, Snap and native Web applications.

  https://github.com/vinifmor/bauh || bauhAUR

- Cylon — TUI pacman wrapper written in Bash.

  https://github.com/gavinlyonsrepo/cylon || cylonAUR

- Kalu — Systray notification icon using libalpm and PolicyKit, with optional updater

  https://github.com/Thulinma/kalu || kaluAUR

- Octopi — Qt 5 pacman wrapper written in C++.

  https://tintaescura.com/projects/octopi || octopiAUR

- Pacseek — A terminal user interface for searching and installing Arch Linux packages.

  https://github.com/moson-mo/pacseek || pacseekAUR

- Pamac — Standalone GTK 4 (or terminal) package manager written for Manjaro using libalpm(3). Has a tray app. Can also be used with command line interface.

  https://wiki.manjaro.org/index.php/Pamac || pamac-aurAUR

- Pakku GUI — GTK 3 frontend for pakku written in Python.

  https://gitlab.com/mrvik/pakku-gui || pakku-guiAUR

- PkgBrowser — Qt 5 read-only browser for repository packages and AUR written in Python.

  https://osdn.net/projects/pkgbrowser/ || pkgbrowserAUR

- Yup — Ncurses TUI pacman wrapper written in Go.

  https://github.com/ericm/yup || yupAUR

## Maintenance

- aur-out-of-date — Uses hoster APIs to check AUR packages for upstream changes.

  https://github.com/simon04/aur-out-of-date || aur-out-of-dateAUR

- aurpublish — Helper script to manage and upload AUR packages using git-subtree(1). Uses githooks(5) to verify the PKGBUILD integrity, generate .SRCINFO automatically, and create a commit message template.

  https://github.com/eli-schwartz/aurpublish || aurpublish

- devtools — Build packages in a clean environment (systemd-nspawn container) to ensure their correctness. Wrapped by auraAUR, aurutilsAUR, clean-chroot-managerAUR and paruAUR.

  https://gitlab.archlinux.org/archlinux/devtools || devtools

- pkgoutofdate — Parses the source URL from PKGBUILDs and tries to find new versions of packages by incrementing the version number and sending requests to the web server.

  https://github.com/anatol/pkgoutofdate || pkgoutofdate-gitAUR

- repman — Command line tool to manage local and remote repositories.

  https://gitlab.com/mipimipi/repman || repman-gitAUR

## Other

- aur-talk — Fetch and display AUR comments.

  https://github.com/GermainZ/aur-talk || aur-talk-gitAUR

- aurvote-utils — A set of utilities for managing AUR votes.

  https://github.com/jadenPete/aurvote-utils || aurvote-utilsAUR

- haskell-aur — Haskell library for accessing Aurweb RPC interface.

  https://hackage.haskell.org/package/aur || haskell-aurAUR

- package-query — Tool for querying libalpm(3) and the AUR.

  https://github.com/archlinuxfr/package-query || package-queryAUR

- python3-aur — Python 3 modules and helper utilities for accessing AUR package information and automating AUR interactions.

  https://xyne.dev/projects/python3-aur || python3-aurAUR

- raur — Rust library for accessing Aurweb RPC interface.

  https://gitlab.com/davidbittner/raur ||

## See also

- GUI Package Managers for Arch Linux (DebugPoint, 2023) offers some screenshots and simple information about a few of the options mentioned in #Graphical

Categories:

- Package management
- Software comparisons