Arch Linux @lemmy.ml mub @lemmy.ml 2w ago

Can I fix an AUR package myself?

There is an AUR package that errors when I update it, and it has been like that for a while so I wondered if I could fix it myself?

The Package is here https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/filebrowser-bin

You can see my comment explaining the error under the username "mub".

10 comments

Y'all act like you've never used makepkg or opened up a pkgbuild in a text editor smh
- I dont undersrand OPs question. Im so confused,. Why wouldnt you be able to edit it?
The URL leads to a 404 page. You're including the dot at the end in it.

As for your question, it has something to do with the PKGBUILD file. Edit it to fix the error and then build it locally with pacman.

If you are talking about wanting to maintain the AUR package, make an orphanage request and assign yourself as the maintainer.
- make an orphanage request
  
  Looks like it's even being actively maintained though.
  
  I'm probably just being impatient. I'll do the local build thing with pacman for now, but my curiosity is pushing me to consider the orphan request option. I'll give it a couple more weeks though.
Regarding your question, you can just clone the package's git URL or download the PKGBUILD file directly, make your edit and run makepkg or makepkg -sirc as the wiki suggests to produce the package and install it.
You can also install the package tar with pacman -U <file>.

Relevant Arch wiki pages:
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Arch_build_system
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Arch_User_Repository

But looking at the comments it seems you are using an AUR helper that has a cache you might want to clear as the git repo for that package has an unstaged change for the license file for some reason (or you reset that file so git doesn't complain when pulling).

Edit: I see you figured it out already.
Did you change something in the license file yourself? Check your yay cache and perhaps delete the cached files for this package.

While there seem to be other issues with the PKGBUILD (typo for example), this seems like a problem with your local setup and not the package. Note that using AUR helpers like yay are not supported, so check if the package builds correctly manually.
Aside from downloading and changing PKGBUILD directly, there is an AUR helper named Paru that shows the PKGBUILD contents before using it to build the package. I'm not sure, but seems like it opens inside a terminal text editor, so you can make changes before building.
How are you installing this package?

I download the PKGBUILD and run makepkg on it. In this case I would edit the PKGBUILD and run makepkg again.

Seems trivial, but I understand there's an error in the PKGBUILD that should be fixed on the AUR so others don't have to manually fix it, too.

10 comments