| name | aur-helpers |
| description | Use AUR helper tools (yay, paru) to build and install packages from the AUR. Covers common commands and safety practices. Use when installing or managing AUR packages via helpers. |
| license | MIT |
Skill: aur-helpers
Purpose
Use AUR helper tools to search, build, install, and manage AUR packages.
yay
yay -S pkgname
yay -Syu
yay -R pkgname
yay -Q
yay -Ps
yay -Yc
yay -G pkgname
yay --gendb
paru
paru -S pkgname
paru -Syu
paru -R pkgname
paru -G pkgname
paru --report
paru --clean
paru -Pg
Key Differences
| Feature | yay | paru |
|---|
| Config | ~/.config/yay/config.json | /etc/paru.conf / ~/.paru.conf |
| Language | Go | Rust |
| PKGBUILD review | show-diff by default | diff by default |
| Dev mode | yay -G | paru -G |
Safety
- Always review the PKGBUILD before building — helpers don't replace human review
- Use
--noconfirm carefully — it skips all prompts including diffs
- Check for suspicious sources, install paths, or post-install scripts
- Use a scanner (
traur, ks-aur-scanner) before installing unfamiliar packages
- Prefer building in a chroot:
yay -S --builddir /tmp/pkg pkgname
- AUR helpers are officially unsupported
Related
aur-pacman — underlying pacman commands
aur-pkgbuild — understanding PKGBUILDs
aur-rpc — the JSON RPC helpers query under the hood