ABS

Arch Linux / CachyOS package builder. Maybe works with other arch-based distros. Main idea of ABS is add gentoo-emerge like functionality to arch-like systems. Current code in repo is already a stable version so no releases necessary.

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Requirements

• Rust stable (edition 2024) — install via rustup
• base-devel, git, sudo, pacman
• devtools — required for chroot builds (makechrootpkg)

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Install

git clone https://github.com/John-CPP/ABS.git
cd ABS
cargo build --release
sudo install -Dm755 ./target/release/abs /usr/bin/abs

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Configuration

ABS reads one TOML file (first match wins):

1. $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/abs/abs.toml
2. /etc/abs/abs.toml

On first run, if neither file exists, ABS creates ~/.config/abs/abs.toml from abs.toml.example and prints:

ABS config has been created from the example. Please configure using --configure

Edit the config with:

abs --configure              # uses $EDITOR (then $VISUAL, then vi)
abs --configure=kate         # uses a specific editor

See abs.toml.example for all available keys.

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Usage

abs [FLAGS] [PACKAGE...]

Flags

Flag	Description
-d	Download sources only
-l	Local makepkg build
-h	Chroot makechrootpkg build
-o	Compile only; skip install
-t	Skip tests (--nocheck)
-n	Force rebuild
-c	Re-clone package repo
-u	Run updpkgsums before build
-e	Full clean
-s	Sudo clean
-r	Remove chroot
-k	Install keyrings
-v / -i	Verbose / silent
-R	Refresh all git remotes, print PKGBUILD vs installed report, no compile
-U	Print pending updates, pre-build manuals, run system update
-RU	-R + compile qualifying manuals, then run system update
--repo	Default repository for packages without [repo=...] (e.g. --repo=aur)
--install-only	Install existing packages from ready_made_packages_path
--clean-install	Remove src/ and pkg/ before compile
--dry-run	Print without executing
--list	Dump resolved config
--configure	Open user config in $EDITOR
--configure=EDITOR	Open user config in the given editor (e.g. --configure=kate)
--check-update	Query latest remote version of ABS and check against local version
--self-update	Fetch, compile, and install the latest remote version of ABS

Per-package overrides

Put options in square brackets after the package name (quote the argument in the shell when it contains [):

abs -h xray[repo=aur,pkgver=26.5.9,pkgrel=2] 'mesa[repo=cachyos]'
abs --repo=aur xray[pkgver=26.5.9,pkgrel=2] mesa[repo=cachyos]

Bracket key	Effect
repo=NAME	Repository for this package only (overrides --repo)
pkgver=, pkgrel=, epoch=, …	Replace or append that PKGBUILD assignment before build
local, chroot, build=local|chroot	Build environment for this package only
nocheck	Skip tests for this package only

Use , or / between bracket options. When pkgrel is set explicitly, automatic pkgrel bump is skipped for that build. Any PKGBUILD override triggers updpkgsums before compile (same as -u).

-RU and AUR packages

Add AUR packages to manual_update_packages with source = "aur" in [packages]. On -R / -RU, ABS pulls each AUR git clone (same as official arch packages), compares PKGBUILD versions to installed, and rebuilds when newer.

Optional upstream GitHub tracking for packages that lag behind upstream (e.g. AUR only ships stable):

manual_update_packages = ["xray"]

[packages.xray]
source = "aur"
upstream_github = "xtls/xray-core"   # or https://github.com/xtls/xray-core
upstream_prereleases = true          # include GitHub prereleases (default: false)

On -R / -RU, after syncing the AUR clone, ABS queries the GitHub API (via curl). If upstream is newer than pkgver in the PKGBUILD, it sets pkgver, resets pkgrel=1, runs updpkgsums, then continues the normal version report / build flow. Requires network access and curl.

[build] config keys

Key	Description
default_environment	local or chroot
ignore_compilation_failures	Log warning and continue on build failure instead of aborting
compile_first_install_after	Build all packages first, then install — useful for unattended runs
clean_install_by_default	Remove src/ and pkg/ before every compile
concurrent_repos_downloads_limit	Maximum number of repository clones/updates to sync concurrently (default: 10)

Self-Updates config keys

These are root-level properties (but are also parsed under the [build] section for backwards compatibility):

Key	Description
check_for_update_on_startup	Check for newer ABS versions silently in the background at startup, notifying at exit if newer (default: true)
auto_update_on_startup	Check for newer ABS versions and automatically self-update synchronously at startup (default: false)
self_update_at_updates	Check for newer ABS versions synchronously when -U is used and update before system packages (default: false)
self_update_github_url	The repository URL used to clone when self-updating (default: "https://github.com/John-CPP/ABS")
self_update_raw_url	The raw Cargo.toml URL used to parse the latest version (default: "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/John-CPP/ABS/master/Cargo.toml")
self_update_install_path	Destination path where the compiled binary will be installed (default: "/usr/bin/abs")

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Development

cargo check
cargo clippy -- -D warnings
cargo test

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License

CC BY 4.0 — use, modify, and share with attribution.