Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

aurutils VS pkgsrc

Compare aurutils VS pkgsrc and see what are their differences

aurutils logo aurutils

Helper tools for the AUR. Contribute to AladW/aurutils development by creating an account on GitHub.

pkgsrc logo pkgsrc

pkgsrc is a framework for building over 17,000 open source software packages.
  • aurutils Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-29
  • pkgsrc Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-30

aurutils features and specs

  • Streamlined AUR Management
    Aurutils provides a suite of command-line utilities that streamline the process of managing packages from the Arch User Repository (AUR), making it easier and more efficient to install, update, and manage AUR packages.
  • Integration with Pacman
    Aurutils integrates well with Pacman, Arch Linux's package manager, allowing users to manage AUR packages alongside official repository packages, thereby maintaining a consistent package management experience.
  • Custom Repository Support
    Aurutils allows users to create and maintain custom binary repositories of AUR packages, which can facilitate faster installations and allow multiple machines to share built packages.
  • Automation of Package Builds
    It automates many of the steps involved in building and installing AUR packages, such as dependency management and cleaning up build files, which helps reduce errors and saves time.

Possible disadvantages of aurutils

  • Learning Curve
    Aurutils, being a set of command-line tools, may present a steep learning curve for users who are less experienced with terminal-based operations or Arch Linux's package management system.
  • Complexity of Setup
    Setting up and configuring aurutils initially can be more complex compared to some other AUR helpers, as it may require more manual handling and configuration, especially when setting up custom repositories.
  • Limited Graphical User Interface Support
    Aurutils is primarily designed for use in the command line, which might not appeal to users looking for a graphical interface to manage AUR packages.
  • Dependency on External Tools
    Aurutils relies on other command-line tools and scripts, such as makepkg and repo-add, which might not be intuitive for users unfamiliar with these resources, potentially making troubleshooting more challenging.

pkgsrc features and specs

  • Cross-Platform Support
    pkgsrc is designed to be a portable package management system and can be used on a variety of Unix-like operating systems, including NetBSD, Solaris, Linux, and macOS. This cross-platform capability makes it a versatile tool for developers working in diverse environments.
  • Consistency Across Systems
    Using pkgsrc allows for a consistent package management experience regardless of the underlying operating system, reducing the learning curve and maintenance overhead for administrators managing multiple systems.
  • Comprehensive Package Collection
    pkgsrc offers a wide range of software packages, providing a robust collection that can meet diverse user needs from scientific libraries to web applications.
  • Quarterly Releases
    With quarterly releases, pkgsrc provides a balanced approach between stability and keeping software up to date, offering users new features regularly while maintaining reliability.
  • Flexible Build Options
    pkgsrc supports a flexible build system, allowing users to customize package builds with specific options or dependencies, tailored to their specific needs or system requirements.

Possible disadvantages of pkgsrc

  • Smaller Community
    Compared to other popular package management systems like apt (Debian/Ubuntu) or yum (RedHat/CentOS), pkgsrc has a relatively smaller community, which might affect the availability of support and community-driven improvements.
  • Potentially Older Software
    While pkgsrc maintains stable quarterly releases, it may occasionally lag behind other systems in terms of offering the very latest versions of certain software, which might not be ideal for users needing the newest features.
  • Manual Configuration
    Setting up pkgsrc might require manual interventions and configurations, which could pose a hurdle for users unfamiliar with its setup process or those who prefer more automated solutions.
  • Dependency Management
    Although pkgsrc is quite capable in dependency handling, some users may find its dependency resolution to be less automatic or seamless compared to other systems which offer more integrated solutions.
  • Performance Overhead
    Because it is designed to be cross-platform, there can be some performance overhead associated with using pkgsrc compared to native package managers that are optimized for specific operating systems.

aurutils videos

AUR helpers - Full Installation Guide for Aurutils

pkgsrc videos

pkgsrc on ChromeOS

More videos:

  • Review - Using pkgsrc for multi-platform deployments in heterogeneous environments, G Clifford Williams

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to aurutils and pkgsrc)
Work Music
100 100%
0% 0
Developer Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Focus Music
100 100%
0% 0
Package Manager
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, pkgsrc seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 11 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

aurutils mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of aurutils yet. Tracking of aurutils recommendations started around Mar 2021.

pkgsrc mentions (11)

  • Debian isn't waiting for 2038 to blow up, switches to 64-bit time for everything
    > Most open source software packages are also compiled for BSD variants, they switched to 64 bit time_t a long time ago and reported back upstream any problems. * NetBSD in 2012: https://www.netbsd.org/releases/formal-6/NetBSD-6.0.html * OpenBSD in 2014: http://www.openbsd.org/55.html For packaging, NetBSD uses their (multi-platform) Pkgsrc, which has 29,000 packages, which probably covers a large swath of... - Source: Hacker News / 12 months ago
  • Our Audit of Homebrew
    > https://pkgsrc.smartos.org/install-on-macos/ Note that Pkgsrc is a NetBSD-derived project. * https://pkgsrc.org The Joyent folks leveraged it to allow their customers, who were perhaps not as familiar with Solaris/SmartOS, a larger pool of packages. Pkgsrc was running on Solaris before Joyent, Joyent built on top of it. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • Show HN: Brioche โ€“ A new Nix-like package manager
    Https://pkgsrc.org/ from netbsd runs on many systems. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
  • Installing packages without an internet connection?
    It seems according to pkgsrc.org that pkgin might follow the PKG_PATH environment variable. You're supposed to set PKG_PATH="http://cdn.NetBSD.org/pub/pkgsrc/packages/NetBSD/$(uname -p)/$(uname -r|cut -f '1 2' -d.)/All/", and according to uname(1), -p gives the processor architecture and -r gives the operating system [kernel] release. Source: over 3 years ago
  • pkgsrc.se is no more :(
    It seems like pkgsrc.org hasnโ€™t got the news yet. Source: over 3 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing aurutils and pkgsrc, you can also consider the following products

Yay - Yay is an AUR helper written in go, based on the design of yaourt, apacman and pacaur.

Conda - Binary package manager with support for environments.

pikaur - AUR helper with minimal dependencies. Review PKGBUILDs all in once, next build them all without user interaction.Inspired by pacaur, yaourt and yay.

Homebrew - The missing package manager for macOS

paru - An AUR helper written in Rust and based on the design of yay. It aims to be your standard pacman wrapping AUR helper with minimal interaction.

Trizen - Trizen AUR Package Manager: A lightweight wrapper for AUR.