pacinstall

View documentation for the original command

$ tldr pactrans

pacinstall [options] package(s)

-c, --clean
    Clean build files and dependencies after installation, especially for AUR packages.

-d, --noconfirm
    Do not ask for confirmation on installation or dependency resolution. Assume 'yes' to all prompts.

-y, --refresh
    Synchronize package databases with the remote repositories. (Like pacman -y).

-m, --makepkg-options
    Pass specific options directly to the makepkg command when building AUR packages.

-a, --aur
    Force searching and installing packages from the Arch User Repository.

--needed
    Do not reinstall targets that are already up to date. (Standard pacman option).

pacinstall is a convenience script primarily associated with certain Arch Linux AUR helpers, most notably yaourt (Yet AnOther User Repository Tool), though it is not a standard pacman command. Its purpose was to simplify the process of installing packages from both the official Arch repositories and the Arch User Repository (AUR) with a single command. It typically wrapped the functionality of yaourt -S <package>, allowing users to install software without explicitly specifying the yaourt command itself. This script handled dependency resolution, fetching sources, compiling AUR packages using makepkg, and then installing them via pacman. While its usage has declined with the deprecation of yaourt in favor of newer AUR helpers like yay and paru, it represented an effort to streamline package management for Arch Linux users.

• pacinstall is not a core pacman command and is not universally available on all Arch Linux installations.
• It was predominantly associated with yaourt, an AUR helper that is now largely unmaintained and deprecated due to security concerns and lack of development.
• Newer AUR helpers like yay and paru do not typically provide a pacinstall command; they integrate package installation functionality directly into their main commands (e.g., yay -S <package>).
• Using pacinstall today might imply using an outdated system or setup that relies on deprecated tools.

Associated with the deprecated yaourt tool, pacinstall itself has fallen out of common use. Modern Arch Linux users are strongly encouraged to migrate to and use actively maintained AUR helpers like yay or paru, which provide similar, if not superior, functionality directly through their main commands (e.g., yay -S <I>package</I> for installation). These newer tools often offer better performance, security, and integration with pacman.

The Arch User Repository is a community-driven repository for Arch Linux users. It contains PKGBUILDs (package build scripts) that allow users to compile software from source and install it via pacman. pacinstall was designed to seamlessly handle packages from this repository, automating the fetching, building, and installation steps.

pacinstall emerged as a convenience script alongside yaourt (Yet AnOther User Repository Tool), an early and popular AUR helper for Arch Linux. Its development aimed to simplify the installation experience for users, allowing them to install packages from both official repositories and the Arch User Repository using a more concise syntax than yaourt -S. For a period, it was a commonly used alias or wrapper, reflecting the desire for a single, unified command for all package installations. However, with the deprecation of yaourt due to security concerns and the rise of more modern and robust AUR helpers like yay and paru, the pacinstall script's relevance has waned significantly. It now primarily serves as a historical artifact of Arch Linux's package management evolution.

pacman(8), makepkg(8), yaourt(8), yay(8), paru(8)