Yeah, it is easier to install using AUR than manually building, but often the packages come with no documentation. It has a GitHub link and the AUR page link, but the GitHub author is not the person who created the AUR package, and the AUR page has no setup/usage information.
I now know that I have to enable service, but often the name of the service is not known. I have to guess the name or see the build files tab. Also, novice users would not even know that manual service enabling is needed. And then, the settings are not known. I could search for cfg files, but this is not fun. For example, for an AUR package, its GitHub page says “Connect your browser to https://localhost:8001. You should see a screen like:”, but nothing was at that port. I checked for open ports, and it was actually running at port 8010 for the AUR package version.
If each AUR package had some basic setup/usage guide section, it would be a lot easier to use.
Considering AUR’s PKGBUILDs are build recipes, i too would expect built packages to use the same default configurations as upstream. You should forward that to the AUR package manager since it is their responsability.
More often than not
(is what it feels like for me)
there is also a mention of the program in the Arch wiki
often with instructions
and the source of the package almost always contains configuration information
re this:
I’d first … strongly doubt that
(because novice users usually do not even know that there are comments on the AUR page
nor do they care to read them - and if they do, they can’t make heads or tails of it)
No, I did not mean the usage of the app, but the about the specific setup/configuration that the person who has created the AUR package has made, which is NOT part of the original project in the GitHub. For example, there are multiple packages of Trilium (self-hosted note app) from different persons, and the service names are different, the user settings of the service is different, and the default data storage location is different. I could find them out by navigating to the cfg file but if all such information were listed in the AUR page, it would be much easier.
Of course, it is the maintainers freedom whether he adds such information to the listing or not, but I feel like that the AUR system itself is not encouraging it because there is no dedicated section for those information. I mean, the AUR page had “Setup/Configuration” section, and it was shown in the web page or in the Add/Remove Software GUI, maintainers would be encouraged to add some notes for that, and users will be easily find necessary information to get started.
What setup? What configuration? You need to wake up a little and stop dreaming.
We don’t have problems finding how something works, so perhaps instead of demanding from people to write an essay of an explanation of a bash script, you should learn how to read it yourself.
And you haven’t gave a single valid example. Name exact package names and show which lines in PKGBUILDs change original default settings.
Also, you are always free to take that PKGBUILD, remove unwanted changes, and upload it as “package-original” or whatever and maintain that. And don’t forget to add post_install echo “<setup/usage>” script.
You have a very weird mindset… or maybe that is the mindset of some of those developers who releases libraries with little or no documentation. I am not saying that it is better than not releasing libraries at all, but if one has taken all that much trouble of creating a free library for people, why not spend just a few tens of minutes to explain how to use them? Instead of letting each users, especially novice users, spending hours trying to figuring out how to use them?
I have already given the example, Trilium in AUR. There are different versions and they have different service names and different default data locations. I could eventually figure them out, but it is not that much difficult to write a few lines of instructions for such things for users.
Yes. It’s weird if you don’t feel entitled in today’s world.
Actually, this has nothing to do with developers or software or any particular thing. You can apply this anywhere.
If you have taken so much trouble to write these posts on a forum that has nothing to do with any AUR package or AUR itself PLUS you had to find service names and all the other stuff you mention, why not take just a few tens of minutes and write a post_install script that echos few lines of info after installation and post it on AUR package page and ask maintainer if he is willing to include it in PKGBUILD?
I only see 2 packges, one -bin and one not. There are some guides on how and where packages should be installed, so while package that you compile could be integrated in /usr, binary version might be better to go in /opt. This is all available and documented by the way.
