Arch Linux

tethys

Member

Registered: 2019-08-13

Posts: 170

[SOLVED] How to upgrade AUR packages using pacman

In these forums I see often that it is NOT recommended to use AUR helpers like yay.
So, if I rely only on pacman for the upgrade, how would I upgrade AUR packages?
I am interested specifically in "nvidia-580xx-dkms" and "nvidia-580xx-utils" packages.

What I have done till now is:
1) build the "nvidia-580xx-dkms" and "nvidia-580xx-utils" packages from AUR;
2) perform "pacman -Syu";
3) see if there are errors: in my case specifically after running "70-dkms-install.hook";
4) if there are no errors, I do not neeed to upgrade just yet the "nvidia-580xx-dkms" and "nvidia-580xx-utils" packages;
    (I know that I should I upgrade each time the packages, but if I run a stable version of the packages I would prefer to keep those if they build with the new kernel !)
5) if there are errors, then I run first "pacman -R nvidia-580xx-dkms nvidia-580xx-utils", followed by "pacman -U" with the packages built from AUR at 1)

Is this the recommended way to update "nvidia-580xx-dkms" package or is there another better procedure (that perhaps involves less steps)?

Last edited by tethys (2026-04-19 17:52:27)

V1del

Forum Moderator

Registered: 2012-10-16

Posts: 25,115

Re: [SOLVED] How to upgrade AUR packages using pacman

It will not be part of pacman ever. The "recommended" way is to clone the AUR packages and occasionally doing a git pull and a makepkg rebuild, like you're currently doing.

AUR helpers are primarily discouraged because they tend to blur the line between supported repo packages and inherently unsupported AUR packages, which can be very confusing for newbies. If you understand the difference and are diligent in checking new PKGBUILD versions for malicious behaviour, there's not really an inherent risk to AUR helpers. But it's important you understand the distinction between an AUR package and a repo package and understand that the former is not official and needs to be verified on every update to a PKGBUILD, that it still does what you expect it to.

FWIW I do use an AUR helper myself, but I audit the PKGBUILD diffs each time there's an update to ensure the package still does what I expect it to do.

Last edited by V1del (2026-04-11 11:25:10)

mpan

Member

Registered: 2012-08-01

Posts: 1,593

Website

Re: [SOLVED] How to upgrade AUR packages using pacman

There is no general, blanket recommendation against AUR helpers. There even is an official Arch Wiki article about AUR helpers.

For reasons outlined by V1del above, the use of AUR helpers is discouraged for beginners. Arch newcomers commonly have a poor grasp on the entire process. Most AUR helpers⁽¹⁾ deepen and fix such a bad mental model. Aside from the obvious security implications, which are relatively not that common,⁽²⁾ there are more widespread issues. That is newbies’ inability to troubleshoot problems, the extent of cluelessness preventing us from giving them help, and — since more experienced Arch users appreciate understanding — getting rubbing the wrong way. A layer of indirection added by AUR helpers is not making it any easier.

AUR helpers are also not supported. Not supported doesn’t mean you’re discouraged from using them. It means that they’re not a part of Arch (the project) and, like all 3rd party software, the entire support is their developers’ job. If they don’t provide it, you’re mostly on your own.

In a similar fashion Arch is not responsible for packages the user builds themselves from PKGBUILDs. The user is the maintainer and its their, and solely their, responsibility. Regardless of whether the PKGBUILD has been downloaded from AUR, from another place, or written by that user.

In these ways AUR helpers may seem “discouraged,” but there is certainly no general recommendation against them. As long as you understand the process, you know what you’re doing, and have a need to use an AUR helper, feel free to use one! Nobody is going to say a single bad word for that reason alone.

Pacman isn’t going to “support AUR” for a very trivial reason. They are unrelated. AUR is a part of a almost completely separate workflow. I wish to stress word “part”: it’s not even the only place where you can obtain PKGBUILDs from.

____
⁽¹⁾ Alad’s aurutils being a notable exception. That’s because it’s a collection of tools to buld your own workflow, not a ready to use wrapper for pacman.
⁽²⁾ Not non-existent either. Adversaries routinely attempt to use AUR to deploy malware.

Last edited by mpan (2026-04-11 15:00:33)

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tethys

Member

Registered: 2019-08-13

Posts: 170

Re: [SOLVED] How to upgrade AUR packages using pacman

Thank you for your replies. I understand what you are saying and I do not consider myself a newby but, because I do not have that many AUR packages, still prefer not to use an AUR helper. So I will continue to do what I am doing. Mine is a special case because the AUR packages "nvidia-580xx-dkms" and "nvidia-580xx-utils" are essential for any update. I will leave the post open for few days for further feedback and then close it.