How do I install packages from the AUR?

Question

Arch Linux has the AUR, a collection of user-built packages. How do I install these packages on Arch Linux ARM though?

Answer 1

The easiest solution is to use Yaourt (Yet AnOther User Repository Tool).

You can install with:

pacman -S yaourt

And then sync with the AUR:

yaourt -Syy

You can then search AUR packages:

yaourt package-name

Which will provide interactive prompts for installation.

Or if you know the package name exactly:

yaourt -S package-name

Most pacman commands are the same for yaourt.

Answer 2

According to the Building Packages page from the Arch Linux ARM, you need to.

1. Install the build essentials. These are needed to compile packages on Arch Linux ARM.

   $ sudo pacman -S kernel26-headers file base-devel abs
   

2. Obtain the PKGBUILD. You need to download the tarball that you want. You can find the tarballs for programs at the AUR.

3. Make the packages. Next you need to run makepkg in order to generate a package that pacman can install.

   $ makepkg -Acs
   

   The -A option ignores the target Arch architecture. The -c option cleans up the directory after makepkg is done, and -s installs the needed dependencies.

   It is advised that you do NOT run makepkg as root as it can cause permanent damage to your system. If you really need to run it as root though, use the --asroot option.

4. Install the package. makepkg should have create a file in the directory with the filetype .pkg.tar.xz. You should install this package by using the -U option with pacman.

   $ sudo pacman -U x.pkg.tar.xz
   

   Make sure you replace x.pkg.tar.xz with the actual package name.