morganamilo/paru

★ 8,700RustAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5Setup · hard

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      AUR helper
      Arch Linux packages
    Features
      Build script review
      Syntax highlighting
      Git package tracking
      AUR comments
    Usage
      Search packages
      Install packages
      Upgrade packages
    Config
      paru.conf file
      Man pages

mindmap root((repo)) What it does AUR helper Arch Linux packages Features Build script review Syntax highlighting Git package tracking AUR comments Usage Search packages Install packages Upgrade packages Config paru.conf file Man pages

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Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Search for and install software from the Arch Linux AUR without performing the manual clone, review, and makepkg steps yourself.

USE CASE 2

Review a package's build script before installation to verify what it will run on your machine.

USE CASE 3

Track and upgrade packages that pull from live Git repositories when upstream code changes.

USE CASE 4

Read AUR comment threads for a package directly from the terminal to check for known issues.

Tech stack

Rust

Getting it running

Difficulty · hard Time to first run · 1h+

Arch Linux only. First install requires a manual clone and makepkg since paru is not in the official repos, after that it manages itself.

In plain English

Paru is a tool for Arch Linux users who want to install software that is not in the official Arch repositories. Arch Linux has a community-driven repository called the AUR (Arch User Repository), where volunteers publish build instructions for thousands of additional programs. Installing from the AUR normally involves several manual steps, and paru automates all of them. It wraps around pacman, which is Arch Linux's built-in package manager, adding AUR support on top. You can search for packages, install them, upgrade them, and review their build scripts before anything gets compiled or run on your machine. The review step is significant because AUR packages are community-contributed rather than officially vetted, so being able to read what a package will do before installing it is a useful safety check. Paru shows you the build file with optional syntax highlighting and lets you edit it if you want to make changes that persist across future upgrades. Some of the features the README highlights: you can track packages that pull from live Git repositories and check whether upstream has changed, download build files without installing, read AUR comment threads for a package directly from the terminal, and build packages from a local directory. Search results can be flipped so the most relevant result appears at the bottom of the terminal output, which is a small ergonomic preference many users like. Paru is configured through a config file called paru.conf, and full documentation is available through man pages (paru(8) and paru.conf(5)). It is written in Rust and is available through the AUR itself, so the first install is a one-time manual step before paru can manage itself going forward. This is a community project, not an official Arch Linux tool. The README notes that build failures caused by a package's own build instructions should be reported to that package's maintainer, not to paru.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

I want to install a package from the AUR using paru. Walk me through how to search for it, review the PKGBUILD, and complete the install.

Prompt 2

Using paru, how do I view and edit the PKGBUILD file for an AUR package before it gets built and installed?

Prompt 3

Help me configure my paru.conf to flip search results so the best match shows at the bottom and enable syntax highlighting for build file reviews.

Prompt 4

I have a local directory with a PKGBUILD. How do I use paru to build and install it from that local path?

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