Arch Linux User Repository

The package version is the version of the launcher bootstrap - the part that actually downloads and updates the launcher.

That means the version number of the actual launcher (2.x.xxx) is different from the version here (9xx+) on a fundamental level, and should not be compared.

The package is outdated only when the bootstrap version you get here is different from the bootstrap version you would get from minecraft.net when using the raw tarball.

I just took the time to review this package and check if there is anything to the out-of-date flag.

1. the launcher bootstrap (that's what this package actually installs) is still up to date with version 1.0.1221, I just downloaded the latest version from the website and compared the hashes, they match.
2. @virtualsid is right, the dependency list of the package was a major mess. I reduced it to the minimum set of dependencies that still satisfies all dynamically linked libraries. 3. I've added org.freedesktop.secrets which covers gnome-keyring or what ever you might want to use for secrets

You can use the following PKGBUILD to install the latest Minecraft launcher. Note that game updates will be provided through the launcher itself. I have updated the pkgrel accordingly.

pkgname=minecraft-launcher
pkgver=1.1.26
pkgrel=2
pkgdesc="Official Minecraft Launcher"
arch=('x86_64')
url="https://mojang.com/"
license=('All Rights Reserved')
depends=('alsa-lib' 'at-spi2-core' 'cairo' 'dbus' 'expat' 'fontconfig' 'gcc-libs' 'gdk-pixbuf2' 'glib2' 'glibc' 'gtk3'
         'jre-openjdk' 'libcups' 'libdrm' 'libx11' 'libxcb' 'libxcomposite' 'libxdamage' 'libxext' 'libxfixes' 'mesa'
         'nspr' 'nss' 'pango' 'util-linux-libs' 'xorg-xrandr' 'zlib')
optdepends=('flite: narrator support'
            'org.freedesktop.secrets: store credentials across sessions')
source=("https://launcher.mojang.com/download/Minecraft.tar.gz"
        "minecraft-launcher.desktop"
        "https://launcher.mojang.com/download/minecraft-launcher.svg")

sha256sums=('c1d213e40825d87a9a554a8356b81a6a03fc692e0fbe3f85e580df7fc8c34010')

package() {
  install -Dm644 "minecraft-launcher.svg" "$pkgdir/usr/share/icons/hicolor/symbolic/apps/minecraft-launcher.svg"
  install -Dm644 "minecraft-launcher.desktop" "$pkgdir/usr/share/applications/minecraft-launcher.desktop"
  install -Dm755 "minecraft-launcher/minecraft-launcher" "$pkgdir/usr/bin/minecraft-launcher"
}

Alternatively, if you're not concerned about tracking system packages, as most dependencies are likely already installed, you can directly install the package using the following command:

sudo pacman -S --needed --noconfirm jre-openjdk
wget -q -nc --show-progress https://launcher.mojang.com/download/Minecraft.tar.gz
tar -xf Minecraft.tar.gz
sudo cp minecraft-launcher/minecraft-launcher /usr/bin/
sudo wget -q -nc https://launcher.mojang.com/download/minecraft-launcher.svg -P /usr/share/icons/hicolor/symbolic/apps/
echo -e "[Desktop Entry]\nType=Application\nVersion=1.0\nName=Minecraft Launcher\nComment=Official Minecraft Launcher\nExec=minecraft-launcher\nIcon=minecraft-launcher\nTerminal=false\nCategories=Game;Application;\nStartupWMClass=minecraft-launcher" | sudo tee /usr/share/applications/minecraft-launcher.desktop > /dev/null

Note: This is a code from a script I made for gaming in archlinux.

@Lyr1cal: At the very least, it should be updated with a new pkgrel with the dependency changes suggested below. Microsoft’s launcher bundles its own Java runtime just for Minecraft, and gnome keyring is used to store credentials across sessions.

Edit: As in, it fetches a Minecraft version specific runtime when installling a given version, rather than requiring the distribution packaging.

Why is this marked as out-of-date? The launcher is very much up to date and the game updates are provided through the launcher.

I'm very new to Arch (I just installed today!), apologies if I'm missing something obvious.

I noticed some odd dependencies - dependencies that don't seem to be needed for the modern launcher. In particular, the java-runtime one - I edited PKGBUILD on my machine to remove java-runtime, with no ill effect.

Also, is it worth putting in optional: gnome-keyring? That way the login could be saved between sessions?

Is it possible to disable the bootstrap launcher updates?

Alright, I've figured it out. I used helvum to connect my headphone 'playback_FL' and "playback_FR' to channel 1 and channel 2 and now I can hear ingame sounds, great.

Yeah, maybe that's fine, now that I'm not really using Bluetooth audio, one thing PulseAudio doesn't really do properly. PulseAudio just has SBC, and all other codecs are pending a potential future release of GStreamer that may or may not come in the next decade.

@kode54 Or maybe just ditch that shit and switch to PulseAudio. Some time ago, audio on Linux was a nightmare. Then PulseAudio came and fixed it. Everything was working fine until someone decided a working system needed fixing. Now Pipewire is here to bring the nightmare back.

Anyway, this has nothing todo with this launcher, which is in fact just an updater and launcher for the launcher.

@sparkys: It's an artifact of having pipewire-jack installed. Somehow, the default jack device doesn't pick any sound devices for OpenAL outputs, so you end up with silence.

The annoying workaround is to use the graph in something like Carla, qpwgraph, or Helvum, to connect the OpenAL sound source to your sound output device. Or your output graph, if you're using EasyEffects.