Table of Content

This is a four-parts article. There are few sections here.

Part One
  • Preface: Test Bed, Must Read
  • Getting Started With Docker
  • Package Management: ALPM Frontend, ASP and AUR Helper, Get Help
  • Updating System: OS Release, The Riddle, Refresh Update, List Upgradable, Download Upgrade, Upgrade, Common Form
  • Package IRSIF: Install, Removal, Query Search, Show Info, Change Log, List Files, Verify, Package as File
  • What's Next
Part Two
  • Dependency: Using pacman, Test, Using pactree
  • Repository: Configuration, Mirror
  • Group: Blackarch Example, List Group
  • Lock Package: IgnorePkg, HoldPkg
  • System Wide: List Packages, Search Files
  • History: The Log File
  • Clean Up: Cache, Autoremove
  • Case: When chroot fail
  • What's Next
Part Three
  • Automatic Build: User Privilege, PKGBUILD, makepkg, Example, Dependency, Download, Install, Namcap
  • ABS: Deprecation, ASP, SVN
  • What's Next
Part Four
  • Introducing AUR: Package Query, cower, Foreign Package
  • AUR Helper: yaourt, pacaur, packer, aura
  • Screenshot: Query AUR
  • Conclusion

Introducing AUR

One of the most important strength to Arch, is the number of packages can be achieved from AUR (Arch User Repository). In order to use AUR you have to go through automatic build process. Don’t be scared, this process is easy, and won’t hurt you.

Personally I love the colored output

In case you forget, this good reading is a must.

  • https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Arch_User_Repository

We have already discussed makepkg, now consider these two low level AUR helpers.

Package Query

package-query is, the base dependency of some AUR tools, such as cower and yaourt.

Now that we already have package-query installed. Consider see it in action, querying sync, local, and AUR.

$ cd ..

$ package-query -S package-query

$ package-query -Q package-query
local/package-query 1.9-2

$ package-query -A package-query
aur/package-query 1.9-2 [installed] (1148) (9.78)

Docker AUR: Package Query: Action

In its manual, you can see that package-query provide flexible nice formatting.

cower

There is AUR tools that could make our life easier such as cower. First we have to find the cower origin. Since cower is AUR package, we can repeat the same process, like what we does to package-query to cower.

$ package-query --aur --sync --query cower
aur/cower 17-2 (932) (28.91)

$ cd ~

$ wget -q https://aur.archlinux.org/cgit/aur.git/snapshot/cower.tar.gz

$ tar -xzf cower.tar.gz 

$ cd cower

Docker AUR: Cower: Build

There are these errors however.

$ makepkg -i
...
==> Verifying source file signatures with gpg...
    cower-17.tar.gz ... FAILED (unknown public key 1EB2638FF56C0C53)
==> ERROR: One or more PGP signatures could not be verified!

Use --skippgpcheck to pass PGP Check.

$ makepkg -i --skippgpcheck
...
/bin/sh: pod2man: command not found
make: *** [Makefile:90: cower.1] Error 127
==> ERROR: A failure occurred in build().
    Aborting...

And fix Perl $PATH if necessary.

.

$ touch .profile

$ nano .profile

$ cat .profile
export PATH=$PATH:/usr/bin/core_perl

$ source .profile && export PATH

$ echo $PATH
/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/bin/core_perl
$ cd ~/cower
$ makepkg -i --skippgpcheck
makepkg -i --skippgpcheck
==> WARNING: A package has already been built, installing existing package...
==> Installing package cower with pacman -U...
...

Docker AUR: Cower: makepkg

Always RTFM

$ man cower

Consider see cower in action

$ cower -c -s cower
aur/burgaur 2.2-2 (7, 0.10)
    A delicious AUR helper. Made from cower.
aur/burgaur-git 2.2-2 (1, 0.49)
    A delicious AUR helper. Made from cower.
aur/cower 17-2 (932, 28.91) [installed]
    A simple AUR agent with a pretentious name
aur/cower-git 17-1 (81, 2.11)
    A simple AUR agent with a pretentious name
aur/owlman 0.8-1 (1, 0.00)
    A pacman and cower wrapper focused on simplicity

Docker AUR: Cower: Action

You can have more screenshot here

Foreign Package

We can identify any foreign package, such as build from AUR.

$ pacman -Qm

Equal to:

$ pacman --query --foreign
asp-git 2-1
aura-bin 1.3.9-1
cower 17-2
pacaur 4.7.10-1
package-query 1.9-2
packer 20160325-1
yaourt 1.9-1

![Docker pacman: query foreign][image-ss-query-foreign]{: .img-responsive }


AUR Helper

Consider make our live easier with AUR Helper. Make compilation process more automatic. Reading official documentation is a must.

  • https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/AUR_helpers

yaourt

I also wrote an article once. With some configuration explained.

Now consider cower again.

$ cd ~

$ cower -d -c yaourt
:: yaourt downloaded to /home/epsi

$ cd yaourt

$ makepkg -i
makepkg -i
==> Making package: yaourt 1.9-1 (Sat Sep 16 04:20:38 UTC 2017)
==> Checking runtime dependencies...
==> Checking buildtime dependencies...
==> Retrieving sources...
  -> Downloading yaourt-1.9.tar.gz...
...

Docker AUR: Yaourt: Install

Always RTFM

$ man yaourt

Consider use yaourt to query other AUR Helper.

$ yaourt pacaur
...
3 aur/pacaur 4.7.10-1 (1001) (52.44)
    An AUR helper that minimizes user interaction
...
==> Enter n° of packages to be installed (e.g., 1 2 3 or 1-3)
==> ----------------------------------------------------------
==> 3

Docker AUR: Yaourt: Action

Pressing 3 and Enter will install aur/pacaur

Yaourt comes with config file. Just copy them to your home directory

$ cat /etc/yaourtrc
$ cp /etc/yaourtrc ~/.yaourtrc

I left my ~/.yauortrc config as below to avoid too many confirmation question from yaourt.

$ cat ~/.yauortrc
# SUDO
SUDONOVERIF=1      # Avoid multiple sudo checks when timestamp_timeout=0

# Prompt
BUILD_NOCONFIRM=1  # Only prompt for editing files
EDITFILES=0

# Command
MAKEPKG="makepkg --skippgpcheck"

Docker AUR: Yaourtrc: ViM

This configuration is very helpful if you maintain your AUR upgrade regularly with a lot of Syua option in yaourt.

This yaourt -Syua command will update all your AUR at once. Make sure you know what you are doing when skipping PGP Verification.

$ yaourt -Syua

Docker AUR: yaourt -Syua

pacaur

Set editor as environment variable if necessary.

$ cat .profile
export EDITOR=vim

$ . .profile

Consider use pacaur to install asp.

$ pacaur -S asp   
[sudo] password for epsi: 
resolving dependencies...
looking for conflicting packages...

Packages (3) jq-1.5-5  oniguruma-6.6.1-1  asp-2-1

Total Download Size:   0.35 MiB
Total Installed Size:  1.50 MiB

:: Proceed with installation? [Y/n] y
:: Retrieving packages...
 asp-2-1-any               10.3 KiB   103K/s 00:00 [##########] 100%
 oniguruma-6.6.1-1-x...   154.3 KiB   359K/s 00:00 [##########] 100%
 jq-1.5-5-x86_64          191.8 KiB   291K/s 00:01 [##########] 100%
(3/3) checking keys in keyring                     [##########] 100%
(3/3) checking package integrity                   [##########] 100%
(3/3) loading package files                        [##########] 100%
(3/3) checking for file conflicts                  [##########] 100%
:: Processing package changes...
(1/3) installing oniguruma                         [##########] 100%
(2/3) installing jq                                [##########] 100%
(3/3) installing asp                               [##########] 100%

This behave like pacman. On most cases pacaur goes well.

Docker AUR: pacaur -S asp

Consider try another. Use pacaur to query AUR Helper.

$ pacaur -S packer
:: Package packer not found in repositories, trying AUR...
:: resolving dependencies...
:: looking for inter-conflicts...
:: packer-20150808-1 has been flagged out of date on Sun Apr  2 10:26:23 2017

AUR Packages  (1) packer-20150808-1  
Repo Packages (2) jansson-2.10-2  jshon-20131105-1  

Repo Download Size:   0.05 MiB
Repo Installed Size:  0.19 MiB

:: Proceed with installation? [Y/n] 
...
==> Cleaning up...
:: Installing packer package(s)...
:: packer package(s) failed to install.
:: ensure package version does not mismatch between .SRCINFO and PKGBUILD
:: ensure package name has a VCS suffix if this is a devel package
:: jshon is now an orphan package

Docker AUR: pacaur -S packer

But oouch, sometimes an issue happened such as failed to install. This time we need a lower level method.

$ cower -d packer
:: packer downloaded to /home/epsi

$ cd packer/

$ makepkg
==> Making package: packer 20150808-1 (Sat Sep 16 05:21:21 UTC 2017)
==> Checking runtime dependencies...
==> Checking buildtime dependencies...
==> Retrieving sources...
  -> Cloning packer git repo...

$ sudo pacman -U packer-20160325-1-any.pkg.tar.xz 
...
:: Processing package changes...
(1/1) installing packer                            [##########] 100%
...

packer

Consider use packer to query other AUR Helper.

$ packer -S aura-bin
packer -S aura-bin

Aur Targets    (1): aura-bin

Proceed with installation? [Y/n] y
Edit aura-bin PKGBUILD with $EDITOR? [Y/n] n
==> Making package: aura-bin 1.3.9-1 (Sat Sep 16 05:28:01 UTC 2017)
==> Checking runtime dependencies...
==> Checking buildtime dependencies...
==> Retrieving sources...
  -> Downloading aura-1.3.9-x86_64.tar.gz...
...
==> Checking for packaging issue...
==> Creating package "aura-bin"...
  -> Generating .PKGINFO file...
  -> Generating .BUILDINFO file...
  -> Generating .MTREE file...
  -> Compressing package...
==> Leaving fakeroot environment.
==> Finished making: aura-bin 1.3.9-1 (Sat Sep 16 05:28:47 UTC 2017)

Docker AUR: packer -S aura-bin

I like to have aliases in .bashrc so I do not have to remember all the options. This is an unoffocial tip for unofficial package.

alias pksyu="packer -Syu --noconfirm --noedit"

Docker AUR: alias packer

$ pksyu
[sudo] password for epsi: 
:: Synchronizing package databases...
 core is up to date
 extra is up to date
 community is up to date
:: Starting full system upgrade...
 there is nothing to do
:: Synchronizing aur database...
 aur                                          6  6 [##########]100%
:: Starting full aur upgrade...
 local database is up to date
 

Docker AUR: pksyu

There are still some other AUR helpers, but I never use any of them. Yet this article is already long. I have decided not to make it any longer.


Screenshot

Query AUR

A special case for AUR, there are so many way to Query AUR in one system.

I Didn’t Know What To Do Last Summer I still don’t know what to do today. So I play with AUR instead.

#ihavenolife
$ package-query - As gst
$ cower - s gst
$ yaourt - s gst
$ aura - As gst
$ packer - Ss gst -- auronly
$ pacaur - Ssa gst

Screenshot: Query AUR

OS: Arch Linux

  • Window Manager: HerbstluftWM

Arch: Query AUR


Conclusion

After years of being user, I realize that I do not now anything about ALPM.

These are just preliminary knowledge about ALPM.

Thank you for reading