aur-vcs-packages

name	aur-vcs-packages
description	Version Control System packages (-git, -svn, -hg) for the AUR. Covers naming, dynamic pkgver(), source handling, and best practices. Use when creating or maintaining -git/-svn/-hg packages.
license	MIT

Skill: aur-vcs-packages

Purpose

Create and maintain VCS packages that build from live repository sources.

Naming

• Append VCS suffix: -git, -svn, -hg, -bzr, -darcs
• Example: pkgname=my-app-git

Source Array

source=("$pkgname::git+https://github.com/user/repo.git#branch=main")
sha256sums=('SKIP')   # VCS sources always use SKIP

For pinned-tag sources, prefer the tag object hash over the tag name (tag names can be force-pushed):

_tag=$(git rev-parse "v$pkgver")   # resolves once at build prep time
source=("git+https://github.com/user/repo.git#tag=${_tag}")

pkgver() {
  cd "$srcdir/repo"
  git describe --long --tags | sed 's/\([^-]*-g\)/r\1/;s/-/./g'
}

Using pkgver() separately from _tag prevents accidentally bumping pkgver without updating the pinned tag.

Dynamic pkgver()

For VCS packages, define a pkgver() function instead of a static pkgver:

pkgver() {
  cd "$srcdir/$pkgname"
  git describe --long --tags 2>/dev/null | sed 's/\([^-]*-g\)/r\1/;s/-/./g' || echo "r$(git rev-list --count HEAD).$(git rev-parse --short HEAD)"
}

This generates a version like 1.2.3.r4.gabc123f.

Important Rules

• Do NOT commit mere pkgver bumps — only commit structural PKGBUILD changes
• VCS packages are NOT "out of date" just because upstream has new commits
• Internet connection required at build time (note this in comments)
• Use SKIP for all checksums on VCS sources
• Always test that makepkg -o (download-only) succeeds

Related

• aur-pkgbuild — PKGBUILD structure
• aur-submission — submitting the package