Difference between revisions of "Arch User Repository"

no edit summary
imported>Verityproductions
imported>Verityproductions
Line 1: Line 1:
= Overview =
= Overview =


{{warning|'''Use the AUR at your own risk!''' Support will not be provided by the Manjaro team for any issues that may arise relating to software installations from the AUR. }}
{{warning|'Use the AUR at your own risk! Support will not be provided by the Manjaro team for any issues that may arise relating to software installations from the AUR. }}
 


Although Manjaro is 100% Arch compatible - being based on Arch itself - it is not possible access the official repositories of the Arch System to download software. Manjaro instead uses its own official repositories in order to ensure that any software packages provided (e.g. system updates and applications) have been fully tested and are completely stable before release.
Although Manjaro is 100% Arch compatible - being based on Arch itself - it is not possible access the official repositories of the Arch System to download software. Manjaro instead uses its own official repositories in order to ensure that any software packages provided (e.g. system updates and applications) have been fully tested and are completely stable before release.
Line 18: Line 19:
= Accessing the AUR =
= Accessing the AUR =


Two packages are required in order to access the AUR, which can be installed using the terminal:
All the necessary software needed to access and use the AUR will have already been pre-installed for you in Manjaro 0.8.2 onwards. These are:
 
 
'''1. The base-developer group package:''' Rather than downloading pre-compiled software packages for installation, you will instead be downloading the instructions for Manjaro to build and compile them on your system. The base-developer group package is required to do this.
 
'''2. yaourt''' and '''packer:''' Either of these may be used to search and download from the AUR, rather like '''[[pacman]]''' is used to search and download from from Manjaro's official repositories. Both will also automatically find and download the necessary dependencies for downloaded software as well, provided that the software packages themselves have properly stated which dependencies are needed.
 


'''1. The base-developer group package:''' Rather than downloading pre-compiled software packages for installation, you will instead be downloading the instructions for Manjaro to build and compile them on your system. The base-developer group package is required to do this. '''This should be pre-installed on Manjaro 0.8.1 onwards.'''
Whether you choose to use yaourt or packer (or both!) will be entirely down to personal preference. However, yaourt (an acronym for '''Y'''et '''A'''n'''O'''ther '''U'''ser '''R'''espository '''T'''ool) seems to be the most popular choice for users. '''If for any reason you wish to (re)install these packages, then enter the following command in your terminal''':


'''2.''' Either '''yaourt''' or '''packer:''' Either of these are used to search and download from the AUR, rather like pacman is used to search and download from from Manjaro's official repositories. Both will also automatically find and download the necessary dependencies for downloads as well, provided that the software packages to be installed properly state which dependencies are needed. Which of these tools you may chose is entirely down to personal preference. However, yaourt (an acronym for '''Y'''et '''A'''n'''O'''ther '''U'''ser '''R'''espository '''T'''ool) seems to be the most popular choice for users.
sudo pacman -S base-devel yaourt packer


{{note| Although the base developer group package should already be installed on your system, it will still be included in the installation instructions. The worst that can happen is that it will be updated!}}


= Searching for and Installing Software From the AUR =


== To Use yaourt ==
{{tip|It is '''strongly''' recommended to first visit the AUR website and examine the relevant page(s) for any and all software intended to be installed. These pages contain comments from both existing users and package developers, which may provide valuable information (e.g. warnings and/or solutions to problems). The AUR website can be found '''[http://aur.archlinux.org/ here]'''}}


* To install the base developer group package and '''yaourt''', enter the command:
sudo pacman -S base-devel yaourt


Both yaourt and packer must be used in the terminal, and are themselves very similar to pacman to use. Furthermore, as with pacman, it is not necessary to specify precise or complete package names in order to search for or download software. For example, if wishing the download the ''Avant Window Navigator'' (a popular dock/toolbar), simply entering 'avant' will yield a list of potential matches to browse and select from.


== To Use packer ==
While the use of the ''sudo'' command is a convention when using pacman to install files (e.g. sudo pacman -S [software package name]), it is not necessary to use this with yaourt or packer. Instead, To search for and install software packages from the AUR, the syntax is:


* To install the base developer group package and '''packer''', enter the command:
  [yaourt or packer] [software package name]
  sudo pacman -S base-devel packer




= Searching for and Installing Software From the AUR =
For example, '''to use yaourt''' to search for the ''Avant Window Navigator'', the following command would be entered:
 
yaourt avant
 


Both yaourt and packer are automatically configured to search the AUR for software packages; there is no need to configure any files or such after installation to make them work. They are also very similar to pacman to use. Furthermore, as with pacman, it is not necessary to specify precise or complete package names to search for or download packages. For example, if wishing the download the ''Avant Window Navigator'' (a popular dock/toolbar), simply entering 'avant' will yield a list of potential matches to browse and select from.
Alternatively, '''to use packer''' to search for the same software package, the following command would be entered instead:


{{tip|It is '''strongly''' recommended to first visit the AUR website and examine the relevant page(s) for any and all software intended to be installed. These pages contain comments from both existing users and package developers, which may provide valuable information (e.g. warnings and/or solutions to problems). The AUR website can be found '''[http://aur.archlinux.org/ here]'''}}
packer avant




[[File:yaourtsearch.png|thumb|left|375px]]
[[File:yaourtsearch.png|thumb|left|375px]]


While the use of the ''sudo'' command is a convention when using pacman to install files (e.g. sudo pacman -S [software package name]), it is not necessary to use this with yaourt or packer. Instead, to search for and install software packages from the AUR, the syntax is:


  [yaourt or packer] [software package name]
As illustrated, a search for the ''Avant Window Navigator'' undertaken using yaourt has resulted in ten possible matches being listed. Any combination of listed packages can be downloaded by simply entering their numbers. For example, entering '''3''' would install the package ''avant-window-navigaor-bzr''. Adding '''5''' after this would also install extra applets for for this package:
 
  '''==> Enter No of packages to be installed (ex: 1 2 3 or 1-3)'''
'''==> -------------------------------------------------------'''
3 5


As illustrated, a search for the ''Avant Window Navigator'' was undertaken with yaourt using the command '''yaourt avant'''. This has resulted in ten possible matches being listed. Any combination of listed packages can be downloaded by simply entering their numbers. For example, entering '''3''' would install the package ''avant-window-navigaor-bzr''. Adding '''5''' after this would also install extra applets for for this package (e.g. '''3 5''').


{{tip|The numbers at the end of each line are user votes for each package. The higher the number, the more popular the package. Note that option '3' has the highest number of votes by far!}}
{{tip|The numbers at the end of each line are user votes for each package. The higher the number, the more popular the package. Note that option '3' has the highest number of votes by far!}}
Line 62: Line 72:
Once the number(s) of your chosen software package(s) have been entered, and the installation process has begun, user comments from the AUR website may be displayed if using yaourt. You may also be presented with a standard warning that the download package is unsupported and potentially dangerous.  
Once the number(s) of your chosen software package(s) have been entered, and the installation process has begun, user comments from the AUR website may be displayed if using yaourt. You may also be presented with a standard warning that the download package is unsupported and potentially dangerous.  


You may also be asked if you wish to '''Edit PKGBUILD'''. Unless you know what you are doing, always type '''n''' for 'no' when asked. The purpose of this option is to allow experienced users to inspect the instructions that will be used to build the package(s) to be installed. As dependencies may also have to be installed first in the process, it is possible to be prompted to edit these as well. Although you should just keep entering 'no' to these prompts, be aware that you will also be prompted on occasion to continue the installation as well. '''So make sure you read each prompt properly before entering anything,''' else you could end up aborting the installation by accident!
You may also be asked if you wish to '''Edit PKGBUILD'''. Unless you know what you are doing, always type '''n''' for 'no' when asked. The purpose of this option is to allow experienced users to inspect the instructions that will be used to build the package(s) to be installed. As dependencies may also have to be installed first in the process, it is possible to be prompted to edit these as well.  
 
Although you should just keep entering 'no' to these prompts, be aware that you will also be prompted on occasion to continue the installation as well. '''So make sure you read each prompt properly before entering anything,''' else you could end up aborting the installation by accident!
<br clear="all" />
<br clear="all" />


[[Category:Using Manjaro]]
[[Category:Using Manjaro]]
[[Category:Contents Page]]
[[Category:Contents Page]]