Yaourt is a popular Arch User Repository (AUR) helper that simplifies the process of installing and managing software not available in the official Arch Linux repositories. It acts as a wrapper around pacman, extending its functionality to include AUR packages.

Understanding Yaourt and Pacman

All pacman commands function identically when used with yaourt. The primary advantage of yaourt is its ability to interact with the Arch User Repository (AUR). When you attempt to install a package using yaourt, it first checks the official repositories. If the package is not found there, yaourt will then query the AUR, download the necessary source files, and build the package for you.

Key Yaourt Commands

Searching and Installing AUR Packages

To search for a package in both official repositories and the AUR, and then install it if found, you can use the following command:

yaourt <package>

Updating System and AUR Packages

To update your local package database and upgrade all outdated packages, including those from the AUR and packages based on development repositories (like Git, SVN, Mercurial), use:

yaourt -Suya --devel

Building Packages from Source

If you need to build a specific package from its source files, yaourt provides the -Sb option:

yaourt -Sb <package>

Non-Interactive Installation

For any of the commands above, if you wish to bypass the constant confirmation prompts and proceed with installations or upgrades automatically, you can use the --noconfirm option:

yaourt -S <package> --noconfirm

Further Resources

• Arch Linux Pacman Wiki
• Arch User Repository Wiki
• Pacman Man Page