- replace fragile quoted test -z "$aur_qu" with count-based empty check for fish list handling
- separate success (code 0 + empty) vs error (code !=0 + empty) to avoid false up-to-date on network failures
- use string match -qr with explicit patterns for helpers messages instead of quoted glob checks
- fix global leak: use set -l answer and read -l, validate with string match -qr ^[Yy]$
- deduplicate and clarify error vs pending branches while keeping mandatory PKGBUILD review guard