Yaourt

Yaourt is a command-line package management utility that was historically used on Arch Linux and its derivatives. It provides a single interface to both the official Arch repositories and the Arch User Repository (AUR), combining the capabilities of pacman with AUR package building and installation. Users can search for packages, install or upgrade them, and manage dependencies from one tool. Yaourt can fetch PKGBUILDs from the AUR, build them locally, and install the resulting packages, as well as handle updates from official repositories.

Yaourt emerged as a popular wrapper around pacman and the AUR during the mid-2010s. It streamlined operations by allowing actions such as search, install, upgrade, and removal across both sources through a unified command line. Because it executes build scripts and installs software from third-party sources, there are security considerations tied to trust in upstream sources and the maintenance of the tool itself.

As Arch Linux and its ecosystem evolved, yaourt’s development slowed and it is no longer actively maintained in many repositories. Security and reliability concerns contributed to its decline in usage. Community guidance has shifted toward actively maintained AUR helpers that implement current best practices.

Today, users needing AUR access often opt for alternatives such as yay, paru, or trizen, which provide similar functionality with ongoing development and modern security considerations. Yaourt remains a reference point in discussions of historical Arch packaging tools and the evolution of AUR helpers.