10 Most-Used AUR Helpers For Arch Linux

Arch Linux stands out as a lightweight, flexible, and independently developed GNU/Linux distribution with a distinct character.

Among the array of Linux distributions, Arch Linux holds a unique and special place. Those with expertise can construct their personalized Arch Linux system entirely from scratch.

What is AUR?

One of the most important things about Arch Linux is the AUR (Arch User Repository). It is a community-driven software repository for Arch Linux users that contains PKGBUILDs, allowing users to compile and build their own packages that do not exist in the official repository from the source.

Many new packages start in AUR before entering the official repository and users can also contribute packages that they have developed to this repo.

Furthermore, users have the ability to search for and download PKGBUILDs from the AUR homepage, build them, and proceed with installations. However, certain users opt for AUR helpers, which provide a simpler approach to installing PKGBUILDs compared to the aforementioned method.

In this article, we shall look at some of the best AUR helpers that users can rely on to easily install PKGBUILDs all of which are using the Arch user repo as source.

1. Yay (Yet another Yogurt)

Yay is command-line based and the best AUR helper on Arch, it is recommended for new Arch users before they can start using other AUR helpers.

It is an equivalent of Pacman and has some of the following advantages: its commands and options match that of Pacman in many ways, has colored output, it also supports backups and can upgrade your system with few or no additional prompts.

If you are switching from another AUR helper, you can simply install Yay with that helper. Alternatively, you can install Yay by cloning the PKGBUILD and building with makepkg:

$ sudo pacman -S --needed base-devel git
$ git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/yay.git
$ cd yay
$ makepkg -si

2. Pakku

Pakku is a Pacman wrapper with additional features, such as searching/installing packages from AUR, viewing files and changes between builds, building packages from repositories, removing make dependencies after building, etc.

You can install Pakku by cloning the PKGBUILD and building with makepkg.

$ sudo pacman -S --needed base-devel git
$ git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/pakku.git
$ cd pakku
$ makepkg -si

3. Pacaur

Pacaur is also a command-line-based AUR helper that helps to minimize user interaction and uses cower as a backend. It is best for advanced Arch Linux users because of its complexity.

Pacaur has got the following advantages: it has the same operation syntax as Pacman, it also adds seamless access to AUR, colored output, has great search, and above all minimizes user prompts. Its only limitation is that it mostly works fine for advanced Arch users.

You can install Pacaur by cloning the PKGBUILD and building with makepkg.

$ sudo pacman -S --needed base-devel git
$ git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/pacaur.git
$ cd pacaur
$ makepkg -si

4. Trizen

Trizen is a lightweight, command-line-based, and speed-oriented AUR helper which allows users to search and install packages, and read AUR package comments.

It also has a built-in interaction with Pacman and acts as a text file editor at the same time. Trizen helps boost security while installing packages since the code is written in Perl and can not be executed silently.

You can install Trizen by cloning the PKGBUILD and building with makepkg.

$ sudo pacman -S --needed base-devel git
$ git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/trizen.git
$ cd trizen
$ makepkg -si

5. Aura

Aura is a package manager that is intended to function as an AUR helper and also perform many other functionalities. It supports many Pacman operations and there are sub-options with even more options having a specific meaning in Aura.

It has some of the following pros: similar operation syntax to Pacman, users can run it with root privileges and build as a normal user, and it is written in Haskell. But users normally face difficulties in system upgrades when using Aura.

You can install Aura by cloning the PKGBUILD and building with makepkg.

$ sudo pacman -S --needed base-devel git
$ git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/aura.git
$ cd aura
$ makepkg -si

6. Pikaur

Pikaur is a command-line AUR helper and Pacman wrapper with minimal dependencies, which is inspired by yaourt, apacman, and pacaur.

You can install Pikaur by cloning the PKGBUILD and building with makepkg.

$ sudo pacman -S --needed base-devel git
$ git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/pikaur.git
$ cd pikaur
$ makepkg -fsri

7. Paru

Paru is a Rust-based AUR helper that’s designed to be fast and efficient. It aims to provide a seamless experience with parallel downloading and installation, dependency handling, and regular updates.

$ sudo pacman -S --needed base-devel
$ git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/paru.git
$ cd paru
$ makepkg -si

8. Aurman

Aurman is another known AUR helper for its advanced features, including interactive package selection, dependency management, and support for local repository management.

It offers functionalities beyond what some other AUR helpers provide such as advanced dependency resolution, parallel downloading and building, colorful output and explicit user control.

$ sudo pacman -S --needed base-devel
$ https://github.com/polygamma/aurman.git
$ cd aurman
$ makepkg -si

9. Pamac

Pamac is a user-friendly graphical package manager and AUR helper that is based on the Qt framework, which is easy to use and has a variety of features, such as package searching, sorting, and filtering both from official repositories and the Arch User Repository (AUR).

$ sudo pacman -S pamac-gtk  [GTK-based interface]
$ sudo pacman -S pamac-qt   [Qt-based interface]

10. Pacseek

Pacseek is a terminal user interface that enables you to effortlessly browse and search through both the Arch Linux package databases and the Arch User Repository.

$ git clone https://github.com/moson-mo/pacseek.git
$ cd pacseek
$ go build .
$ ./pacseek

Concluding Remarks

The idea of AUR is a great one and this is just one of the unique and important things about Arch Linux. Having looked at all these amazing AUR helpers, you can choose the one you think will work best for you.

If you are using an AUR helper that you feel works well for you but is not on this list, you can let us know in the comments section below.