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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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How reliable are AUR packages in terms of stability? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 1 year ago by tokyo@lemmy.ml to c/linux@lemmy.ml

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I’m looking for the opinions and experience of unbiased Linux enthusiasts whose daily driver uses an arch based distro.

When I was using and learning EndeavourOS I frequently (enough) came across posts and videos that stated that although the AUR is useful, but it’s use should be limited to keep your system stable. If someone was having issues or a discussion about stability came up, there was always a seemingly condescending tone of “well my system has always worked fine, just don’t install too many AURs and it won’t break”.

However, whenever I see posts that relate to package managers, I always see praises for the AUR that seem to imply that there aren’t really any issues.

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[–] LeFantome@programming.dev 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Obviously the correct answer is the useless one that it varies package to package. AUR is a community effort.

In practice, I use a great many AUR packages and they work just fine. I avoid the AUR if there is an alternative in Core or Extra but much of the value of Arch is the AUR.

The number of AUR packages is not really a factor. You can have dozens of AUR packages installed without incident. A single poorly ( or maliciously ) crafted AUR package can cause problems.

Dependencies can be a problem. I used an AUR version of GIMP for a while ( 2.99 ) but it depended on GEGL and, at some point, the version of GEGL was not new enough and it broke. Overall though, issuers have been rare in my experience.

If you do have an issue, fixing it is typically easy. Arch package management is great in my experience.

I would stay away from Pamac ( from Manjaro but in the AUR ) and just use yay. Pamac breaks things. If you want more than that, try Pacseek.