ArchStore — Arch Linux Package Store

A classic, stable, and practical Linux desktop style package manager frontend for Arch Linux. It combines official pacman repositories and the Arch User Repository (AUR) into a dense, functional interface reminiscent of classic utilities like Synaptic Package Manager, Pamac, and older GNOME/XFCE applications.

Main Features

• Unified Search: Search packages across pacman repositories and the AUR simultaneously.
• Detailed Package Metadata: View licenses, sizes, packager, installation dates, dependencies, and installed versions.
• PKGBUILD Security Scanner: Analyzes PKGBUILD script manifests for suspicious scripts, remote code execution (curl/wget to sh), command injection, and other threats.
• System Updates Manager: Dense list split into security bulletins and standard applications, supporting individual selections and upgrade execution.
• Category Browsing: Explore applications by genre (Development, System, Networks, Multimedia, Games, etc.).
• Local SQLite Caching: Fast indexing and pagination for package queries with a 15-minute Time-to-Live (TTL).

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Technical Architecture

Backend (FastAPI + SQLite)

• Safe execution of system tools (pacman, yay) utilizing asyncio.subprocess exec arrays (no shell=True) to completely eliminate command injection vectors.
• Whitelist-based package name and search query sanitization.
• Lightweight SQLite storage cache with auto-expiration.

Frontend (React + TypeScript + TailwindCSS v4)

• Stable, non-trendy desktop-oriented interface with a fixed sidebar, top toolbar, main work panel, and bottom status bar.
• Pure black dark mode (#000000) and clean white light mode with dense spacing, standard table layouts, and classic retro-thin scrollbars.
• Simple rectangular borders with minimal rounding, zero modern gradients, shimmers, or floating card designs.

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Installation & Setup

Prerequisites

Make sure you have python, node, npm, and an AUR helper (like yay) installed.

1. Backend Setup

Create a virtual environment, activate it, and install Python dependencies:

cd backend
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

Start the development API server:

uvicorn main:app --reload --port 8000

The backend API will run on http://localhost:8000.

2. Frontend Setup

Navigate to the frontend folder, install npm modules, and run the development server:

cd frontend
npm install
npm run dev

The frontend application will start on http://localhost:5173. Any calls to /api will be proxied to the backend automatically.

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Security Policy

1. Command Sanitization: Strict whitelist of ^[a-zA-Z0-9@._+-]+$ for all package names passed to shell processes.
2. Untrusted Scripts Isolation: Build and PKGBUILD script generation is handled strictly through the pacman package manager database structures and standard AUR helpers (yay), bypassing manual root exec calls.
3. No Sudo Privilege Escalation without Prompt: Installation requests call pkexec (standard Polkit helper) to prompt user dynamically, or run in the user's home space for user-run AUR installs.