pearOS PKGBUILDs

A collection of PKGBUILD scripts for building and installing pearOS packages on any Arch Linux-based system. Includes 26+ packages — from system tools like Calamares and GRUB to native Qt6 applications like Calculator, Calendar, Contacts, and Notes.

Table of Contents

• Overview
  • The Challenge
  • Links
• My Contributions
  • What I Worked On
  • Built With
  • What I Learned

Overview

The Challenge

The PKGBUILDs repository had over 26 packages but lacked clear documentation on how to build, install, and contribute. New contributors struggled to understand the packaging workflow and the prerequisites needed to build pearOS packages from source.

Links

• GitHub: pearOS-archlinux/pkgbuilds (8 stars)

My Contributions

What I Worked On

As a contributor, I focused on improving developer experience and onboarding:

• README improvements — rewrote the README to provide clear, step-by-step instructions for building and installing packages, including prerequisite dependencies, build commands, and troubleshooting guidance.
• Contributor documentation — added explicit guidance on how others can contribute to the package collection, including the Arch Linux Packaging Guidelines and the workflow for submitting new packages or updates.
• Package listing — documented all 26+ packages with descriptions, making it easy for users to discover what's available in the pearOS ecosystem.

Built With

• PKGBUILD — Arch Linux package build scripts
• Makepkg — package building tool
• Qt6 — UI framework for native applications
• KDE Frameworks — KDE platform libraries
• Arch Linux — target distribution

What I Learned

Working on the pearOS PKGBUILDs taught me about Arch Linux packaging conventions and the importance of clear contributor documentation for open-source sustainability. I learned how well-written READMEs can significantly lower the barrier to entry for new contributors.