The Arch AUR Update System - How Does it Work?

ScottArch · 2009-10-30 19:52:34

Hi Folks,

I am (very) new to Arch and I want to get a handle on things before I begin to build my system. I have read the Wiki(s), but they don't explain exactly how some things work.

I think I get how the standard repos work when it comes to upgrading software. In standard repos, am I correct in thinking that when programx-3.0 is released, the maintainers of the repo will replace programx-2.9 with programx-3.0 in the repositories and it will therefore be flagged up as a newer version and be updated when you update the system.

If that is so, the AUR system still confuses me. How does Arch know which is the newest version of the PKGBUILD when updating the system?

Say I am installing progamx-3.0-beta from the AUR. When this program is released as programx-3.0 and work begins on programx-3.1-beta, will I automatically be updated to programx-3.1-beta. In short, does an individual PKGBUILD behave the same as repo, but for that program only.

Also, what if I install MPlayer with VDPAU support, but very shortly VDPAU support is no longer a special compile flag and VDPAU support becomes the standard and available in the repo. Will support for this program seamlessly pass from the AUR to the standard repo when a newer version becomes available.

Finally, will I know if a maintainer stops supporting a particular PKGBUILD, or will my software keep failing behind until I realise that it is not being maintained, by which time i may be very out of date.

I am sorry for all the stupid newbie questions, but I think it is important for me to understand how the repos and the PKGBUILD system interacts, before I build my system. After all, with the rolling release schedule, I don't intend reinstalling it anytime soon.

Cheers,

Scott

Last edited by ScottArch (2009-10-30 19:53:35)

skottish · 2009-10-30 20:01:54

Welcome to the forums.

pacman is unaware of the AUR, so it won't upgrade anything from there. As well, there shouldn't be any packages in AUR that have the same name as anything in the primary repos. Because of that stuff like mplayer builds from the AUR won't automagically upgrade. There have been a few exceptions to that rule, such as libwebkit will over write webkit-svn, but it's a special case.

MP2E · 2009-10-30 20:24:28

Install yaourt from the AUR, essentially it's a pacman that reads from the repositories like regular pacman does, but it also reads from the AUR and can look for updates.

For example:
yaourt -S bin32-wine

bin32-wine is not a package in the repositories, so yaourt checks there first, then checks the AUR. Since bin32-wine IS in the AUR it downloads the PKGBUILD and lets you view the comments/gives you the option to edit the PKGBUILD. So you can view if other users found problems with the comments, and fix them yourself, or check the PKGBUILD for malicious content.

To update all your packages, including the ones through the AUR just type this:
yaourt -Syu --aur

Now I don't even use pacman, I just use yaourt for everything package managing related.

skottish · 2009-10-30 20:39:47

MP2E wrote:

...snip...
So you can view if other users found problems with the comments, and fix them yourself, or check the PKGBUILD for malicious content.
...snip...

This is very solid advice if anyone is going to use a pacman wrapper that deals with the AUR. Please don't get in the habit of blindly installing software with these tools. Make very sure that there isn't hidden dangers in the PKGBUILD, install files, or any patches.

MP2E · 2009-10-30 22:00:15

skottish wrote:

MP2E wrote:
...snip...
So you can view if other users found problems with the comments, and fix them yourself, or check the PKGBUILD for malicious content.
...snip...
This is very solid advice if anyone is going to use a pacman wrapper that deals with the AUR. Please don't get in the habit of blindly installing software with these tools. Make very sure that there isn't hidden dangers in the PKGBUILD, install files, or any patches.

I entirely agree. Many AUR packages conform to the standard and are of great quality, but it only takes one... Remember that your PEERS make these PKGBUILDs, not the trusted developers or trusted users..

ScottArch · 2009-10-31 12:00:42

Thanks lads,

You have been a great help. I thought my question might be deemed too simple (and definitely too long winded now I look back!), but the answers have been great.

skottish - Thanks for the welcome! I can see my mistake now. To use my example, it is a lot like the standard package system where the package is "mplayer-vdpau-nogui" and "29789-1" is the version number. An updated package will still be "mplayer-vdpau-nogui" but the version number will be different. I think I was looking for issues where there were none.

MP2E - I came across Yaourt and assumed that it worked similar to Pacman, but clarification that it is simply a wrapper with all the functionality, and added AUR support is what I needed.

Both - I think it is becoming clear to me that the "Arch way" is very much tied up in understanding what it is that you are doing with your system. I'm not sure how much I understand the PKGBUILD scripts, but I will try and get to grips with them using more common (and highly rated) scripts first. I promise you (probably) wont see me here saying that I broke my system with shady PKGBILDs...

Thanks lads,

Scott

fsckd · 2009-10-31 15:28:59

ScottArch wrote:

I think it is becoming clear to me that the "Arch way" is very much tied up in understanding what it is that you are doing with your system.

That is why Arch is awesome. There is no presumption of intent.

skottish · 2009-10-31 15:49:52

@ScottArch,

That fact that you came in with well thought out questions that showed that you both want to learn and took some time to understand tells me that you and Arch will be a good fit.

ScottArch · 2009-11-02 21:06:02

Thanks lads,

I really appreciate the encouragement.

I am in full swing with my Arch set-up now and thoroughly enjoying it. Trying to work out the issues is as much part of the process so even that is not dulling my enthusiasm.

Cheers,

Scott

siriusb · 2010-01-10 18:43:38

Hi All,

I'm wondering how can I update a package which I installed from AUR. I do not want to use yaourt.
Thx.

lucke · 2010-01-10 18:47:59

Download the tarball from AUR and build it again.

loafer · 2010-01-10 18:49:59

You should really have opened a new thread for this. You can build the new package using "makepkg" and install it with "pacman -U ... ".

siriusb · 2010-01-10 18:50:41

Thanks for confirming my thoughts.

danilo · 2010-12-29 15:41:38

Just a little note (sorry for the thread necromancy): If you don't want to use yaourt but want to know what packages you installed from AUR or another non-official-source (in order to manually check for updates), you can list those by issueing pacman -Qm (or pacman -Qmi for more detailed info).

Inxsible · 2010-12-29 17:36:51

This thread is old and has served its purpose.

Closing to avoid further bumping

Arch Linux

#1 2009-10-30 19:52:34

The Arch AUR Update System - How Does it Work?

#2 2009-10-30 20:01:54

Re: The Arch AUR Update System - How Does it Work?

#3 2009-10-30 20:24:28

Re: The Arch AUR Update System - How Does it Work?

#4 2009-10-30 20:39:47

Re: The Arch AUR Update System - How Does it Work?

#5 2009-10-30 22:00:15

Re: The Arch AUR Update System - How Does it Work?

#6 2009-10-31 12:00:42

Re: The Arch AUR Update System - How Does it Work?

#7 2009-10-31 15:28:59

Re: The Arch AUR Update System - How Does it Work?

#8 2009-10-31 15:49:52

Re: The Arch AUR Update System - How Does it Work?

#9 2009-11-02 21:06:02

Re: The Arch AUR Update System - How Does it Work?

#10 2010-01-10 18:43:38

Re: The Arch AUR Update System - How Does it Work?

#11 2010-01-10 18:47:59

Re: The Arch AUR Update System - How Does it Work?

#12 2010-01-10 18:49:59

Re: The Arch AUR Update System - How Does it Work?

#13 2010-01-10 18:50:41

Re: The Arch AUR Update System - How Does it Work?

#14 2010-12-29 15:41:38

Re: The Arch AUR Update System - How Does it Work?

#15 2010-12-29 17:36:51

Re: The Arch AUR Update System - How Does it Work?

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