Arch Linux

Rolling release distribution focused on simplicity and user control.

Post-Install Essentials

Update System

sudo pacman -Syu

Essential Packages

sudo pacman -S base-devel git vim neovim htop tree wget curl

Enable Multilib (32-bit support)

Edit /etc/pacman.conf and uncomment:

[multilib]
Include = /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist

Then sync:

sudo pacman -Syu

Mirrors

Rank Mirrors by Speed

sudo pacman -S reflector
sudo reflector --country US --age 12 --protocol https --sort rate --save /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist

Automatic Mirror Updates

sudo systemctl enable --now reflector.timer

Maintenance

Clear Package Cache

# Keep only last 3 versions
sudo paccache -rk3

# Remove all uninstalled package cache
sudo paccache -ruk0

Find Orphaned Packages

pacman -Qtdq

Remove orphans:

sudo pacman -Rns $(pacman -Qtdq)

Check for Issues

# Failed services
systemctl --failed

# Journal errors
journalctl -p 3 -xb

Pacman Tips

List Explicitly Installed

pacman -Qe

List Foreign Packages (AUR)

pacman -Qm

What Package Owns File

pacman -Qo /usr/bin/vim

List Package Files

pacman -Ql vim

Pages

See Also