Editing Arch Linux (section)

==={{Anchor|AUR}}Arch User Repository (AUR)===
In addition to the repositories, the Arch User Repository (AUR) provides user-made PKGBUILD scripts for packages not included within the main repositories. These PKGBUILD scripts simplify building from source by explicitly listing and checking for dependencies and configuring the install to match the Arch architecture.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://aur.archlinux.org/ |title=AUR (en) - Home |website=AUR |access-date=5 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161103061025/https://aur.archlinux.org/ |archive-date=3 November 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> Arch User Repository helper programs can further streamline the downloading of PKGBUILD scripts and associated building process. However, this comes at the cost of executing PKGBUILDs not validated by a trusted person; as a result, Arch developers have stated that the utilities for automatic finding, downloading and executing of PKGBUILDs will never be included in the official repositories.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hardware.no/artikler/aaron_griffin_english/49507/3 |title=Arch Linux: Popular KISS distro – Interview – Part II |author=Robin Heggelund Hansen |date=25 March 2008 |publisher=Hardware.no |access-date=19 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090402152123/https://www.hardware.no/artikler/aaron_griffin_english/49507/3 |archive-date=2 April 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Users can create packages compatible with Pacman using the Arch build system and custom PKGBUILD scripts.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://library.linode.com/using-linux/package-management#sph_using-the-arch-build-system-abs |title=Using the Arch Build System |publisher=library.linode.com |date=8 September 2011 |access-date=30 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927171153/https://library.linode.com/using-linux/package-management#sph_using-the-arch-build-system-abs |archive-date=27 September 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> This functionality has helped support the Arch User Repository, which consists of user contributed packages to supplement the official repositories.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.linuxdistroreview.com/arch-linux |title=Arch Linux |publisher=linuxdistroreview.com |author=Bo Milanovich |date=8 March 2011 |access-date=30 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120221120510/https://www.linuxdistroreview.com/arch-linux |archive-date=21 February 2012 }}</ref>

The Arch User Repository provides the community with packages that are not included in the main repositories. Reasons for exclusion from the main repositories include:
*Licensing issues: software that cannot be redistributed, but is free to use, can be included in the Arch User Repository since all that is hosted by the Arch Linux website is a shell script that downloads the actual software from elsewhere. Examples include proprietary [[freeware]] such as [[Google Earth]] and [[Spotify]].
*Modified official packages: the Arch User Repository also contains many variations on the official packaging as well as beta versions of software that is contained within the repositories as stable releases.
*Popularity of the software: rarely used programs have not been added to the official repositories (yet).
*Betas or "nightly" versions of software which are very new and thus unstable. Examples include the "firefox-nightly" package, which gives new daily builds of the [[Firefox]] web browser.

PKGBUILDs for any software can be contributed by ordinary users.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Arch User Repository - ArchWiki |url=https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Arch_User_Repository |access-date=2023-07-11 |website=wiki.archlinux.org |quote=In the AUR, users are able to contribute their own package builds[.] |archive-date=14 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230714060913/https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Arch_User_Repository |url-status=live }}</ref> Any PKGBUILD that has 10 or more votes or more than 1% usage from [https://pkgstats.archlinux.de/packages pkgstats] can be promoted into the ''extra'' repository.<ref>{{Cite web |title=AUR Trusted User guidelines - ArchWiki |url=https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/AUR_Trusted_User_guidelines#Rules_for_packages_entering_the_extra_repository |access-date=2023-07-11 |website=wiki.archlinux.org |archive-date=11 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230711123754/https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/AUR_Trusted_User_guidelines#Rules_for_packages_entering_the_extra_repository |url-status=live }}</ref>