CR-2026-03-12: Arch Linux System Upgrade — Implementation

Implementation Plan

Phase 1: Pre-Upgrade Review

# Check Arch Linux news for manual interventions
# https://archlinux.org/news/

# Check current system state
uname -r
pacman -Q linux
df -h /

Phase 2: Refresh Keys (If Needed)

# If you see keyring errors, run:
sudo pacman -Sy archlinux-keyring

Phase 3: Full System Upgrade

# Sync and upgrade all packages
sudo pacman -Syu
Read the output carefully. Watch for:

  • .pacnew files (config changes)

  • Kernel upgrades (requires reboot)

  • Manual intervention warnings

  • Replaced packages

Phase 4: Handle .pacnew Files

# Find all .pacnew files
find /etc -name "*.pacnew" 2>/dev/null

# Compare and merge (example)
diff /etc/pacman.conf /etc/pacman.conf.pacnew
sudo nvim -d /etc/pacman.conf /etc/pacman.conf.pacnew

Phase 5: Clean Package Cache

# Remove old package versions (keep last 3)
sudo paccache -r

# Remove uninstalled packages from cache
sudo paccache -ruk0

# Check orphaned packages
pacman -Qdt

Phase 6: Reboot (If Kernel Updated)

# Check if kernel was updated
pacman -Q linux

# Compare with running kernel
uname -r

# If different, reboot required
sudo reboot