Question 1

How do I build AUR packages offline with RUA?

Accepted Answer

Use the --offline flag with commands like 'rua builddir --offline /path/to/pkgbuild' to run builds without network access, leveraging RUA's isolated environment for security. This is useful for air-gapped systems or verifying builds independently.

Question 2

Is RUA safer than yay or paru?

Accepted Answer

Yes, RUA prioritizes security with bubblewrap and seccomp isolation, while yay/paru focus on convenience with less built-in protection. However, RUA's safety comes at the cost of compatibility—tools like X11 and ccache may not work during builds.

Question 3

Can RUA use ccache to speed up builds?

Accepted Answer

No, due to safety restrictions, ccache usage fails during builds as documented in the limitations. This means dependencies may re-download each time, potentially slowing down repeated builds unless you manually whitelist cache directories.

Question 4

Does RUA install optional dependencies automatically?

Accepted Answer

No, RUA skips optional dependencies (optdepends) entirely and requires manual review during the PKGBUILD inspection phase. You must check and install them separately if needed for package functionality.

Question 5

How to review changes in a PKGBUILD before upgrading with RUA?

Accepted Answer

RUA shows upstream changes upon upgrade and allows local patch application via its review workflow. Use commands like 'rua upgrade' to interactively review diffs and merge changes, or drop to git CLI for more control.

Question 6

What directories does RUA isolate during builds?

Accepted Answer

RUA mounts most of ~ as tmpfs, with only GPG keyrings accessible read-only for signature verification. All other files, including /tmp and /dev, are re-mounted with empty or restricted filesystems to prevent host system access.

Question 7

Why doesn't X11 work with RUA builds?

Accepted Answer

X11 access is blocked by RUA's namespace jail and seccomp restrictions for safety, as noted in the limitations. This can break builds that require GUI interactions, but you can configure wrap_args to whitelist access if absolutely necessary.

RUA

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