SysForge is an AUR helper that builds and tracks packages tuned to your CPU. Every package it builds, from the AUR or your own PKGBUILDs, gets -march=native, LTO, or whichever rule-based compiler-flag profile matches its PKGBUILD. It can go further with profile-guided optimization (PGO): per package, for the kernel (AutoFDO and Propeller), and for its own LLVM/Clang toolchain, which it can also rewrite with BOLT. It records what it built and with which flags, so sysforge update can tell when a package's source, flags or toolchain have moved on. Pacman owns the package database; SysForge owns the build configuration layer above it.
v3.5.0
Install from the AUR, run the one-time setup, then build. Anything you build is maintained from
then on: sysforge update rebuilds it as upstream moves, repo packages included.
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/sysforge.git && cd sysforge && makepkg -si
sudo sysforge run reconfigure && sudo sysforge run hardware # one-time setup
sysforge build neovim-git -si # build and install with your profile
sysforge update # later: rebuild what has moved onGetting started walks through each step: requirements, choosing
gcc or LLVM, stopping maintenance of a package, reviewing changed sources and the setup presets.
build, update and resolve cover most days; doctor, log and state explain what
happened, and most read-only commands take --json for scripts.
Everyday commands lists them by task, along with how SysForge fits
alongside makepkg and pacman, freezing source downloads and turning the AUR off.
Each guide covers one feature, step by step:
- Drift and rebuilds: what
updaterebuilds on its own after a profile or compiler change, and what it only reports. - Profile-guided optimization: package PGO, toolchain PGO, and kernel AutoFDO/Propeller, including how to collect a profile that actually helps.
- Sandboxed builds: running PKGBUILDs in a clean chroot instead of as you.
- Freezing sources:
--frozen,--thaw, reviewing changed sources and PGP key fetches. - Custom kernels and boot entries:
sysforge run kernelfrom config review to boot-safety checks, and the loader entries it writes.
The concept pages explain the techniques behind them, independent of SysForge: how an Arch package is built, compiler optimization, PGO and post-link optimization, compiler bootstrapping, shared libraries and ABI, kernel and boot basics, and measuring performance. The glossary defines the terms they share.
SysForge installs packages and edits a few system files, always through sudo and only for the
command that needs it. What SysForge touches lists every
file it writes, every root command it runs, and how to undo it, for one package or entirely.
SysForge can also install a whole system from the Arch ISO, then build everything in your package list with your profile. Fresh install covers it from connecting to the network to the first boot.
SysForge started as a tool to streamline its author's own Arch Linux build and maintenance workflow on a daily-driver machine, and grew into a general-purpose AUR helper. The codebase is developed essentially end-to-end with Claude Code, but it is deliberately structured to stay hand-editable: the modular design docs under docs/design/ are the source of truth, every module has a documented owner and API, and the full test suite gates every change. Planned features live in ROADMAP.md.
Issues are the best channel for bug reports and feedback; pull requests are welcome too. See CONTRIBUTING.md, or run SysForge from a git checkout to try changes without the AUR.
Releases are GPG-signed; Verifying releases shows how to check one. SysForge follows XDG, FHS, SemVer, Keep a Changelog and REUSE, among others; the full list with how each is enforced is in DESIGN.md (§Standards & Specifications).
MIT licensed. See LICENSE.