How to find out why a AUR package was installed?

[exaveal]

Hi,

what is the best way to find out why a package from AUR was installed? I only have the information if it was explicitly installed or as a dependency from another. but which other package was ist?

with “pactree PACKAGENAME” I just see the directions which packages are needed. I would need the other way round.

Thanks!

[Strit]

You can try pactree -r PACKAGENAME to see that. But it only works if it still depends on it.

[maycne.sonahoz]

You can try finding that context in /var/log/pacman.log:

• search for package name, the first occurrence should be when you had it installed
• read around for the associated context

vi +$(grep -n -m1 <package_name> /var/log/pacman.log | cut -d: -f1) /var/log/pacman.log

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@maycne.sonahoz

Why do i have AUR packages installed?

Unless installed explicitly, AUR packages may have been installed as dependencies for other packages.

• No package in Manjaro’s repositories have a mandatory dependency with AUR packages. They may have optional dependencies there though, in order to add functionalities.
• An AUR package may require another AUR package.
• Some packages in AUR were formerly in Arch’s repositories – and thus in Manjaro’s.
  Arch maintainers regularly check for packages to drop from their repositories; those packages are then removed from their repositories – and thus later from Manjaro’s – and moved to AUR.
  • Packages dropped to AUR can, usually, be safely removed from your system.