aur-helpers

name	aur-helpers
description	Comprehensive guide for using AUR helper tools like yay, paru, pikaur, and aura for automating package management.

Skill: aur-helpers

Purpose

Comprehensive guide for using AUR helper tools (yay, paru, pikaur, aura, etc.). Covers installation, configuration, workflows, and comparisons to help AI agents assist users with AUR package management using their preferred helper.

When to Use This Skill

This skill should be used when:

• Installing or configuring an AUR helper
• Managing AUR packages using a helper
• Troubleshooting AUR helper issues
• Choosing an AUR helper for a user
• Migrating between AUR helpers

When NOT to Use This Skill

• For building packages manually (use aur-makepkg skill)
• For official repo packages (use pacman directly)
• When you prefer manual AUR workflow

Overview

AUR helpers automate the process of finding, building, and installing packages from the AUR. They handle dependency resolution, PKGBUILD cloning, building, and installation.

Common Features

• Search AUR and repositories
• Automatic dependency resolution
• PKGBUILD viewing/editing
• Package building
• AUR comment interaction

yay

Installation

# From AUR
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/yay.git
cd yay
makepkg -si

# Or from official repos (if available)
pacman -S yay

Basic Usage

# Upgrade all packages (including AUR)
yay -Syu

# Install package
yay -S package-name

# Search AUR
yay -Ss search-term

# Remove package
yay -R package-name

# Clean cache
yay -Scc

Configuration

# Edit config
yay --editmenu      # Edit PKGBUILD before build
yay --nodiffmenu    # Skip diff menu
yay --useask        # Use pacman confirmation

# Options in yay.conf
--aur
--repo
--both (default)

Search

# Search AUR only
yay -Ss term

# Search with details
yay -Si package-name

# Search both repos and AUR
yay -s term

paru

Installation

git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/paru.git
cd paru
makepkg -si

Basic Usage

# Upgrade everything
paru -Syu

# Install package
paru -S package-name

# Search AUR
paru -Ss term

# View PKGBUILD
paru -Sp package-name

# Clean cache
paru -Scc

Features

• Colorized output
• Better git support
• News reading (pacnews)
• Bin mirror list

Configuration

# ~/.config/paru/paru.conf
[options]
# AUR-only by default
AUROnly

# Skip PKGBUILD review
NoEditMenu

# Remove unneeded deps
RemoveUnrequired

pikaur

Installation

git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/pikaur.git
cd pikaur
makepkg -fsi

Basic Usage

# Sync everything
pikaur -Syu

# Install package
pikaur -S package-name

# Search
pikaur -Ss term

# Interactive install
pikaur -Sgi package-name

Features

• Native Rust implementation
• Dynamic dependency resolution
• AUR voting
• pkgbuild editing

aura

Installation

git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/aura.git
cd aura
makepkg -si

Basic Usage

# Full system upgrade
aura -Syu

# Install package
aura -S package-name

# Search
aura -Ss term

# Orphans
aura -A

Features

• Haskell implementation
• Official repo and AUR support
• Package downgrade
• ABS support

Comparison

Feature	yay	paru	pikaur	aura
Language	Go	Rust	Rust	Haskell
Speed	Fast	Fast	Fast	Medium
Dependencies	Low	Low	Low	High
AUR Only	No	No	No	Yes
Features	Good	Excellent	Good	Good

Choosing a Helper

yay - Best for:

• Users familiar with pacman syntax
• Need AUR + official repos
• Good balance of features

paru - Best for:

• Maximum features
• Modern UI
• Fast Rust implementation

pikaur - Best for:

• Dynamic dependency resolution
• AUR voting integration

aura - Best for:

• Haskell preference
• Need ABS support

Configuration Files

yay (~/.config/yay/config.json)

{
  "aururl": "https://aur.archlinux.org",
  "cloneDir": "~/AUR",
  "buildDir": "~/AUR",
  "absDir": "~/ABS",
  "editor": "vim",
  "pacman": "sudo pacman",
  "makepkg": "makepkg",
  "novelUpdate": false,
  "bottomup": true,
  "sudevel": false,
  "singlelineresults": false,
  "develcheck": false,
  "upgrade": true,
  "cleanAfterInstall": false
}

paru (~/.config/paru/paru.conf)

[options]
PgpFetch
Devel
UpgradeMenu
NewsOnUpgrade
BottomUp
UseAsk
PkgListsByOrigin

[bin]
Shower

Workflow Examples

Install New Package

# Using yay
yay -S package-name

# Using paru
paru -S package-name

# Using pikaur
pikaur -S package-name

# Using aura
aura -S package-name

System Upgrade

# yay - include AUR upgrades
yay -Syu

# paru - same interface
paru -Syu

# pikaur
pikaur -Syu

# aura
aura -Syu

Search Packages

# Search AUR
yay -Ss search-term
paru -Ss search-term
pikaur -Ss search-term

# Search official repos
yay -Ss ^term
paru -Ss ^term

Remove Package

# Remove with dependencies
yay -Rs package-name
paru -Rs package-name

# Remove completely
yay -Rns package-name
paru -Rns package-name

AUR-Specific Operations

View PKGBUILD

# yay
yay -Sp package-name

# paru
paru -Sp package-name

# pikaur
pikaur -Sp package-name

Edit PKGBUILD

# yay - automatic
yay -S package-name --editmenu

# paru - automatic
paru -S package-name --editmenu

View AUR Comments

# yay
yay -C package-name

# Direct URL
xdg-open https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/package-name/

AUR Vote

# pikaur - vote from CLI
pikaur --vote package-name

Troubleshooting

Key Issues

# Refresh keys
yay --refresh --gpgdir /etc/pacman.d/gnupg

# Or use pacman directly
pacman-key --refresh-keys

Cache Issues

# Clean cache
yay -Scc
paru -Scc
pikaur -Scc

Build Failures

# Rebuild from scratch
yay -S package-name --rebuild

# Clean build
yay -Scc && yay -S package-name

Dependency Issues

# Skip dependency check
yay -S package-name --nodepcheck

# Install deps only
makepkg -s

Security Considerations

Always Review PKGBUILD

# Always view before install
yay -S package-name --editmenu
paru -S package-name --editmenu

Signature Verification

# Enable checking
yay --pgpfetch
paru --pgpfetch

Trusted Users

• Only install PKGBUILDs from trusted sources
• Check package comments
• Review source URLs

Common Commands by Helper

Action	yay	paru	pikaur
Upgrade	-Syu	-Syu	-Syu
Install	-S	-S	-S
Search	-Ss	-Ss	-Ss
Remove	-R	-R	-R
Clean	-Scc	-Scc	-Scc
View PKGBUILD	-Sp	-Sp	-Sp

Related Skills

• aur-guides - Main dispatcher
• aur-pkgbuild - PKGBUILD creation
• aur-submission - AUR submission
• aur-makepkg - Building
• aur-pacman - Pacman usage
• aur-audit - Validation