Ansible AUR Helper

This Ansible module helps you manage packages from the Arch User Repository (AUR) using different helpers and makepkg.

Supported Helpers

The following package helpers are automatically used if they are available, in this order:

• yay
• paru
• pacaur
• trizen
• pikaur
• aurman (no longer maintained)

If no helper is found, or you specify it, makepkg will be used:

• makepkg

Options

Parameter	Choices/Default	Description
name		Name(s) of the package(s) to install or update.
state	present, latest	Desired status of the package; 'present' means skip if already installed.
upgrade	yes, no	Choose to upgrade the entire system or not.
use	auto, yay, paru, pacaur, trizen, pikaur, aurman, makepkg	Select which tool to use; 'auto' chooses the first available helper.
extra_args	null	Additional arguments for the tool; cannot be used in 'auto' mode.
aur_only	yes, no	Limit operations to the AUR only.
local_pkgbuild	Local directory with PKGBUILD, null	Only for use with makepkg or pikaur. Build from local files instead of downloading from AUR.
skip_pgp_check	yes, no	Only for use with makepkg. Skip PGP check of source files; useful if GnuPG isn't set up properly.
ignore_arch	yes, no	Only for makepkg. Ignore missing architecture info in PKGBUILD.

Important Notes

• You need to specify either name or upgrade, not both.
• In use=auto mode, makepkg will be the backup if no helpers are found.

Installation

AUR Package

You can find the ansible-aur-git package in the AUR.

The module gets installed in /usr/share/ansible/plugins/modules, one of the default module paths.

Manual Installation

Clone the ansible-aur repository into your custom module directory:

git clone https://github.com/luizgavalda/ansible-aur.git ~/.ansible/plugins/modules/aur

Ansible Galaxy

ansible-aur is also available on Galaxy, a hub for Ansible content. To install it, run:

ansible-galaxy install luizgavalda.aur

If installed from Galaxy, you'll need to include it in your playbook:

# playbook.yml
- hosts: localhost
  roles:
  - luizgavalda.aur
  tasks:
  - aur: name=package_name

Or in your role's metadata:

# meta/main.yml
dependencies:
- luizgavalda.aur

# tasks/main.yml
- aur: name=package_name

Usage

Notes

• This module is meant for installing and updating AUR packages; use the official pacman module for package removal or updates from repositories.
• The helper's --needed parameter is used, meaning if a package is up-to-date, it won't be rebuilt.

Create an "aur_builder" User

While Ansible may SSH as root, makepkg and AUR helpers cannot run as root, resulting in an error. Thus, create a non-root user (like aur_builder) that can use pacman without a password.

You can create this user in an Ansible task:

- user:
    name: aur_builder
    create_home: no
    group: wheel
- lineinfile:
    path: /etc/sudoers.d/11-install-aur_builder
    line: 'aur_builder ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: /usr/bin/pacman'
    create: yes
    validate: 'visudo -cf %s'

Examples

Here are a few examples of how to use the module in tasks:

# Install trizen using makepkg, skip if already installed
- aur: name=trizen use=makepkg state=present
  become: yes
  become_user: aur_builder

# Install package_name using the first known helper
- aur: name=package_name
  become: yes
  become_user: aur_builder

# Install multiple packages using yay
- aur:
    use: yay
    name:
      - package_name_1
      - package_name_2

# Upgrade the system with yay, focusing on AUR packages
- aur: upgrade=yes use=yay aur_only=yes

# Install a package using pikaur and a local PKGBUILD
- aur:
    name: gnome-shell-extension-caffeine-git
    use: pikaur
    local_pkgbuild: {{ role_path }}/files/gnome-shell-extension-caffeine-git
    state: present
  become: yes
  become_user: aur_builder