Is it normal for a PKG to swap identity?

IvanAT · 2026-08-05 12:30:18

https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/lumen-bin used to be https://github.com/L-U-M-E-N/lumen-desktop but after switching mainainers, is now https://github.com/jnsahaj/lumen

Is that normal? There are no comments on that PKG.
What happened here? Was an orphaned PKG taken over that happens to have the same name?

mithrial · 2026-08-05 12:36:05

It looks like it has been requests as orphaned January 14th: https://lists.archlinux.org/archives/li … 7XQEG3N3D/
But that was rejected: https://lists.archlinux.org/archives/li … 7XQEG3N3D/

However, we see that it has now the requesting person as maintainer.

schard · 2026-08-05 12:52:44

I'd say that it is unusual for a package to change its identity like that.
The issue seems that the new maintainer wanted to publish another program with the same name as the previous package.
The relevant changes were made here: https://aur.archlinux.org/cgit/aur.git/ … 3cfdd7d5d7
The former package provided some kind of "personal assistant" called lumen which allegedly was no longer updated.
The new package provides the eponymous diff viewer.

I'd certainly not have done this, since it will cause people having the older package installed getting a diff viewer installed and their personal assistant removed with the next update.
I don't know whether such a change is even permitted as per the AUR guidelines.

PS Chatty on the issue:

Q wrote:

Is it permitted as per the AUR guidelines of Arch Linux to replace an existing AUR package with an eponymous package that ships totally different software?

A wrote:

No. While I don't think the guidelines contain a sentence that literally says "you must not replace a package with unrelated software," the AUR's rules and established practices strongly imply that this is not acceptable.
The key principles are:
* **An AUR package represents a particular upstream project.** If the upstream project is renamed, then the package may be renamed accordingly, and the old package can be merged or deleted. This preserves continuity for the same software. ([ArchWiki][1])
* **Renames are explicitly distinguished from unrelated replacements.** The submission guidelines discuss using `replaces` only when a package is renamed (e.g. Ethereal → Wireshark), not when introducing different software under the same package name. ([ArchWiki][1])
* **Package names should identify the software they package.** If a name collision exists between unrelated upstream projects, the expected solution is to choose a distinguishing package name (for example by adding a suffix), not to overwrite the existing package's identity. This is consistent with both the package naming guidelines and long-standing community advice. ([ArchWiki][2])
Replacing an existing package with entirely different software would have several undesirable consequences:
* Users expecting updates to Software A would silently receive Software B.
* Existing votes, comments, and trust associated with the original package would be misleadingly inherited by unrelated software.
* Reverse dependencies and user expectations tied to the package name would be broken.
For those reasons, if the original software is obsolete or no longer maintained, the appropriate actions are generally:
* continue maintaining that software if possible,
* orphan or delete the package if appropriate,
* or create a **new** package with a different name for the unrelated software. ([ArchWiki][1])
So, **reusing an existing AUR package name for completely different software would not be consistent with the AUR guidelines or accepted maintenance practice**, even if the guidelines don't spell it out as an explicit prohibition. It would almost certainly attract deletion requests or intervention by AUR maintainers if discovered.
[1]: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/AUR_su … hatgpt.com "AUR submission guidelines - ArchWiki"
[2]: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Arch_p … hatgpt.com "Arch package guidelines - ArchWiki"

Last edited by schard (2026-08-05 13:04:46)

seth · 2026-08-05 13:08:43

You'd best ask https://aur.archlinux.org/account/zxp19821005 whether they've surrendered it.

On style, the submission guidelines don't explicitly object to this but the sane approach would have been to delete the old repo and create a new one w/ the same name to break the git chain (what implies that this has at any point been communicated during the transfer)
It might be reasonable to file a deletion request on those grounds and replay this (though it would lead to a complete loss of the previous package)

IvanAT · 2026-08-05 13:25:25

I can't register for the AUR, therefore can't see the user account.

seth · 2026-08-05 13:38:17

https://github.com/zxp19821005
There seems no https://github.com/zxp19821005/My_AUR_F … /lumen-bin
Apparently the username has a mail at 163.com

Arch Linux

#1 2026-08-05 12:30:18

Is it normal for a PKG to swap identity?

#2 2026-08-05 12:36:05

Re: Is it normal for a PKG to swap identity?

#3 2026-08-05 12:52:44

Re: Is it normal for a PKG to swap identity?

#4 2026-08-05 13:08:43

Re: Is it normal for a PKG to swap identity?

#5 2026-08-05 13:25:25

Re: Is it normal for a PKG to swap identity?

#6 2026-08-05 13:38:17

Re: Is it normal for a PKG to swap identity?

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