How to Install Paru AUR Helper on Arch Linux

Overview of Paru AUR Helper

Paru provides an intuitive command line interface for searching, downloading, and installing packages from the AUR seamlessly. Here are some of the key features and benefits paru offers:

• Simplified installs of AUR packages with a single command
• Handling of package dependencies
• Automatic downloading and compiling of build files
• Pacman-style syntax for easy use
• Official repo package management
• News updates for AUR packages
• Colorized output

Compared to manually using git and makepkg for AUR packages, paru makes the process much smoother. Expert Arch users rely on paru for efficient everyday AUR package management.

Now let’s dive into how to get paru installed on your Arch system.

Step 1 – Install Base Developer Tools

Paru is built and installed from source onto your system, which requires having some base build tools:

sudo pacman -S --needed git base-devel

This installs git for source control and the base-devel package group containing essential utilities like make, compilers, and libtool.

Step 2 – Clone the Paru Git Repository

Next, clone the paru Git repository to your local system. This downloads the source files:

git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/paru.git

The entire paru tool is now copied to a paru directory for building.

Step 3 – Navigate to the Paru Directory

Change into the paru directory to prepare for the next steps:

cd paru

We are now ready to build paru from source.

Step 4 – Run Makepkg to Build Paru

Use makepkg to compile and package paru for installation:

makepkg -si

The -si flags build the package and automatically install it. Makepkg will proceed to download dependencies, compile paru, and create a package to install.

Step 5 – Add User to Contrib Group

To allow AUR installation without root/sudo, add your user to the contrib group:

sudo usermod -aG contrib ${USER}

This grants permissions to install and manage AUR packages.

Step 6 – Configure Paru

Paru can be customized via its configuration file located at ~/.config/paru/paru.conf. For example, you can configure the text editor.

See man paru.conf for details on configuration options.

Step 7 – Start Using Paru Commands

With paru installed, you can begin leveraging it to easily install packages from the AUR!

Search for packages:

paru <package name>

Install packages:

paru -S <package name>

Update packages:

paru -Syu

And many other pacman-style commands. See paru --help for more details on usage.

Troubleshooting Paru Installation

If you encounter any issues installing paru, here are some troubleshooting tips:

• Make sure base-devel and git are installed before cloning the repository.
• Check that your user has permissions to install packages globally, consider adding to the contrib group.
• Ensure a network connection is available for downloading sources and dependencies.
• View the build output for any errors, and check the Arch news for notices about broken packages.
• Remove the paru directory and do a fresh git clone if needed to retry installation.

Hopefully these provide some guidance to resolve any problems encountered when installing paru. Don’t hesitate to consult the Arch wiki or forums for additional troubleshooting advice.

Why Use an AUR Helper Like Paru?

The AUR provides access to an extensive collection of community packages beyond the official Arch repositories. But the manual process for installing AUR packages can be tedious. This is where a helper like paru becomes invaluable.

The key advantages paru provides for managing AUR packages are:

• Simplified commands – Installation is condensed down to simple paru install commands. No need to manually clone repos and run makepkg.
• Automatic building – Paru handles downloading sources, dependencies, and compiling for you. Much easier than manual build steps.
• Dependency resolution – Paru will fetch and build all needed dependencies for a package automagically.
• Package updates – paru -Syu upgrades all AUR packages along with regular Arch packages.
• User repository – Custom packages can be hosted in a user repository using paru.
• Trusted and safe – Paru has an excellent reputation in the Arch community as a trusted, secure tool.

For both novice and expert Arch users alike, a quality AUR helper like paru is an essential component of an Arch-based system. The time savings and convenience when managing AUR packages makes paru well worth installing.

Conclusion

I hope this guide has simplified the process of getting paru installed on your Arch Linux system. Having this capable AUR helper opens up easy access to the extensive packages in the Arch User Repository.

Paru makes the wonders of the AUR accessible to normal users. Instead of complex manual build processes, you can install amazing community packages with just a single command.

Get ready to fully experience the potential of Arch with all the extra software the AUR provides. Paru is a must-have tool that ultimately enables Arch Linux to be such a customizable and user-centric distribution.

Let us know if you have any other questions about using paru or other AUR helpers! Our forum community is always happy to help fellow Arch users master this excellent open source operating system.