Pamac will not load any apps

Question

So I did a fresh install of Arch Linux on my desktop and installed i3wm with it. After updating the repo's following the first reboot I began to add some packages I am familiar with that I can remember off the top of my head. After making sure my wireless internet was working I began to add apps to install to get me all set up and 'pamac-aur' was one of them. After I couldn't remember anymore apps to install I turned to pamac to help me with the rest, only it wouldn't start. I got a "Authentication failed" error. So I did some research and 95% of the posts I read mentioned adding 2 lines to my i3 startup config.

1. exec /usr/lib/polkit-gnome/polkit-gnome-authentication-agent-1 &
2. exec --no-startup-id /usr/lib/polkit-gnome/polkit-gnome-authentication-agent-1 &

I currently have tried both of those lines and each one separately as well since they are almost identical and pamac is still giving me the "Authentication failed" error message. I can 'sudo pacman -Syu' and 'yay -Syu' from the command line but since I am still new with i3 and linux in general, I like referring to an application that shows pictures of different packages and a 'one-stop-shop' to install everything in one go.

So beyond those two lines in my i3 config, I don't know what else to try. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Answer 1

Have you already checked if you have polkit-gnome installed? This is the package that provides the binary you are trying to execute with the lines you mentioned in you config:

pacman -Syu polkit-gnome

After installing it I would check if it works when starting the agent manually by executing the following in the terminal:

/usr/lib/polkit-gnome/polkit-gnome-authentication-agent-1

Then run pamac and try to install/remove/update a package with it. When a popup appears that wants you to authenticate yourself it was a success. Then you can add the line to your i3 config.

Also the the second line without the ampersand at the end is enough for your i3 config:

exec --no-startup-id /usr/lib/polkit-gnome/polkit-gnome-authentication-agent-1

For the new line in the config to take effect you would have to, after saving the file, logout and login again.