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What is Arch User Repository (AUR)? How to Use AUR on Arch and Manjaro Linux?

If you have been using Arch Linux or other distributions based on Arch such as Manjaro, you might have come across the term AUR. You try to install new software and someone suggests installing it from AUR. This leaves you confused. What is this AUR? Why is it used? How to use AUR? I’ll answer these questions in this article.

What is AUR?

AUR stands for Arch User Repository. It is a community-driven repository for Arch-based Linux distribution users. It contains package descriptions named PKGBUILDs that allow you to compile a package from source with makepkg and install it via pacman, the package manager in Arch Linux. The AUR was created to organize and share new packages from the community and to help accelerate popular packages’ inclusion into the community repository. Many new packages that enter the official repositories start in the AUR. In the AUR, users are able to contribute their own package builds (PKGBUILD and related files). The AUR community can vote for packages in the AUR. If a package becomes popular enough — provided it has a compatible license and good packaging technique — it may be entered into the community repository directly accessible by pacman.

In short, AUR is the way for developers to make new software available to Arch Linux users before the software is officially included in Arch repositories.

Should you use AUR? What’s the risk involved?

Using the AUR is like crossing the street. If you proceed with caution you should be fine. If you are new to Linux it is advised not to use the AUR until you build a foundation knowledge about Arch/Manjaro and Linux in general. It is true that anyone can upload packages to the AUR but the Trusted Users (TUs) are charged with keeping an eye on what gets uploaded. Although TUs perform quality control on the uploaded packages, there is no guarantee that packages in the AUR are well-formed or not malicious. In practice, the AUR seems to be quite safe but in theory, it can do some damage, but only if you are not careful. A smart Arch user always inspects PKGBUILDs and *.install files when building packages from the AUR. Additionally, TUs (Trusted Users) also remove packages in the AUR that are included in core/extra/community so there should be no naming conflicts between them. The AUR will often contain developmental versions of packages (cvs/svn/git/etc) but they will have modified names such as foo-git. As for the AUR packages, pacman handles dependency resolution and detects file conflicts. You never have to worry about overwriting files in one package with files from another unless you use the —force option by default. If you do that, you probably have more serious problems than file conflicts.

How to use AUR?

The simplest way to use AUR is through an AUR helper. An AUR helper is a command line tool (some have GUI as well) that lets you search for packages published on the AUR and install them.

Installing an AUR helper on Arch Linux

Let’s say you want to use Yay AUR helper. Make sure that you have git installed on Linux. And then clone the repository, go to the directory and build the package. Use these commands one by one for that:

sudo pacman -S --needed git base-devel git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/yay.git cd yay makepkg -si

It’s not that you must use AUR helper for installing packages from AUR. The next section shows how to use AUR without an AUR helper.

Installing AUR packages without AUR helpers

If you don’t want to use AUR helper, you can still install packages from AUR. You have to build them with a few commands. As soon as you find the package you want to install on AUR page it is advised to confirm “Licence”, “Popularity”, “Last Updated”, “Dependencies” and so on as an extra quality control step.

git clone [package URL] cd [package name] makepkg -si

git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/telegram-desktop-git.git cd telegram-desktop-git makepkg -si

Enabling AUR support in Manjaro Linux

AUR isn’t enabled by default and you have to enable it through pamac. My laptop runs Manjaro Cinnamon but the steps are the same for all Manjaro flavors. Open Pamac (listed as Add/Remove Software): Once you are in pamac go to preferences like shown below. In the preferences dialog box go to the AUR tab, enable the AUR support, enable check for updates and close the dialog box. You can now search for packages and those which belong to AUR can be identified by the tag under the package descriptions. AUR is one of the many reasons why people love Arch Linux and you can see why it is so popular. I hope you find this article useful and keep an eye on social media for upcoming Arch-related topics.

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How to Use the AUR with Arch Linux

The AUR, which stands for Arch Unit Repository, is used to install software pertinent to Arch Linux and otherArch distributions in the Linux operating system. But, before diving deep into the procedure for using AUR with Arch Linux, it is crucial to comprehend the concept of the AUR. Using the AUR not only enhances the efficacy of the system, but it also provides easy installation of various applications and packages. This guide provides an introduction to AUR, methods for using the AUR, and reasons to opt for the AUR. The step-by-step procedure provided in this article will allow you to run and install apps effectively via the AUR and its respective packages.

Arch Unit Repository (AUR)

The AUR constitutes an important part of the overall Arch Linux nexus. Inherently, the AUR is a community-driven repository that hosts a versatile range of installation packages in the Arch Linux operation system. The AUR also allows you to host packages extrinsic to the domain of the official Arch Linux database. One beneficial factor of the AUR is that most of the packages in this repository adhere to the AUR before officially becoming part of the Arch Linux database.

This conventionally follows the sequential criteria constituting the three cardinal packages. PKGBuilds allows the user access to the package source through the makepkg, and you can install the software or application by incorporating Pacman, the root package manager of the Arch Linux operating system.

The core purpose of the AUR is to delegate the information of community packages for the deposition of such packages in the repository of a community depository, along with the Linux database. The AUR community can select packages to become a part of the community repository, given the attributes of prevalence and license authenticity.

Function of AUR

The AUR allows you to select a file from the PKGBuild depository and then automatically form a package yourself. Those who have a firm grasp over the functioning of AUR can effectively use it, but for beginners, it is recommended to form the basics of Arch Linux and its distributions before starting with the AUR.

The AUR constitutes many types of packages, so the updated packages come with distinct names to avoid clashing in the depository over programs with identical names. Programmers are inclined towards the use of the AUR for the installation of packages because it is a secure approach with updated packages. Installing a package through the AUR is relatively easy and hassle-free.

Using AUR in Arch Linux

The AUR can assist greatly in downloading and installing programs and packages in Arch Linux and its associated distributions, such as Manjaro. You can install the AUR by following the two steps listed below:

Prerequisites

The perquisites for installing and using AUR in Arch Linux are justified by the need for appropriate tools like git and the repository of the clone. These tools are an essential component of installing and using the AUR in Arch Linux.

Installing the AUR

The installation of the AUR in Arch Linux can be categorized into two methods:

Install AUR with the AUR Helper

If you wish to install the Arch Unit Repository through the AUR helper, then you might consider the active and well-maintained helpers named auracle-git, aurutils, trizen, yay, and pacaur.

Choose one of the helpers and proceed with installing the AUR on your Arch Linux system. Once the prerequisites are fulfilled in the system in updated form, you can easily install the AUR in Linux. Issue the following commands to do install the AUR package on your server:

To apply the changes, the active directory of the package issues the following command:

To start the building process, enter the following command:

The helper I have selected to install the packages of AUR is yay. You can opt for other helpers, as well, according to your preferences. To install the packages, issue the following command:

Replace the package name in the above command with the package that you wish to install.

Install AUR Without the AUR Helper

It is not necessary to always go for the AUR helper to install AUR along with its respective packages on Arch distributions. But, for this, you must verify certain aspects of the desired packages that you might confront on the AUR page. Pay close heed to the following categories before installing any AUR package:

When you get assistance from AUR helper, packages are automatically checked through trusted users. But, if you are downloading packages on your own, then you should check these credentials before installing the package in your main server.

In the above command, place the URL of the package you wish to download from the AUR page.

For example, suppose you want to install the Telegram desktop package. Then, the above command will look like this:

Now, apply the second command:

Simply input your package name in the above command to change the active depository of the package. For the telegram desktop package, this command will be modified as follows:

Now, run this final command, and your package will be installed successfully with the building program:

Conclusion

To sum it up, AUR makes using packages in Arch Linux easy. You can also decide whether to get support from the AUR helper. After following the steps mentioned above, you can use the AUR with Arch Linux without any problems.

About the author

Younis Said

I am a freelancing software project developer, a software engineering graduate and a content writer. I love working with Linux and open-source software.

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