CheatPress

pacman Arch package manager

Version 7.1.0 · source

pacman, Postcard, light preview Light · Postcard 102 × 152 mm · PDF pacman, Postcard, dark preview Dark · Postcard 102 × 152 mm · PDF pacman, Postcard, ink saver preview Ink saver · Postcard 102 × 152 mm · PDF
pacman, A5, light preview Light · A5 148 × 210 mm · PDF pacman, A5, dark preview Dark · A5 148 × 210 mm · PDF pacman, A5, ink saver preview Ink saver · A5 148 × 210 mm · PDF
pacman, A4, light preview Light · A4 210 × 297 mm · PDF pacman, A4, dark preview Dark · A4 210 × 297 mm · PDF pacman, A4, ink saver preview Ink saver · A4 210 × 297 mm · PDF
pacman, A4 landscape, light preview Light · A4 landscape 297 × 210 mm · PDF pacman, A4 landscape, dark preview Dark · A4 landscape 297 × 210 mm · PDF pacman, A4 landscape, ink saver preview Ink saver · A4 landscape 297 × 210 mm · PDF
pacman, A3, light preview Light · A3 297 × 420 mm · PDF pacman, A3, dark preview Dark · A3 297 × 420 mm · PDF pacman, A3, ink saver preview Ink saver · A3 297 × 420 mm · PDF
pacman, A3 landscape, light preview Light · A3 landscape 420 × 297 mm · PDF pacman, A3 landscape, dark preview Dark · A3 landscape 420 × 297 mm · PDF pacman, A3 landscape, ink saver preview Ink saver · A3 landscape 420 × 297 mm · PDF
pacman, Letter, light preview Light · Letter 8.5 × 11 in · PDF pacman, Letter, dark preview Dark · Letter 8.5 × 11 in · PDF pacman, Letter, ink saver preview Ink saver · Letter 8.5 × 11 in · PDF
pacman, Tabloid, light preview Light · Tabloid 11 × 17 in · PDF pacman, Tabloid, dark preview Dark · Tabloid 11 × 17 in · PDF pacman, Tabloid, ink saver preview Ink saver · Tabloid 11 × 17 in · PDF

Start here

sudo pacman -Syu
Sync and upgrade everything
pacman -Ss <term>
Search the repositories
pacman -Si <pkg>
Show repo package info
sudo pacman -S <pkg>
Install a package
sudo pacman -Rns <pkg>
Remove with unused deps
pacman -Qs <term>
Search installed packages
pacman -Qo <file>
Which package owns a file
pacman -Qdt
List orphans

Concepts

  1. Repositories sync databases
  2. Package cache /var/cache/pacman/pkg
  3. Installed system local database
  4. Query results owners, files, orphans

Sync and upgrade

sudo pacman -Syu
Refresh databases and upgrade all
sudo pacman -S <pkg>
Install a package with deps
sudo pacman -S <pkg1> <pkg2>
Install several at once
sudo pacman -Sy
Refresh the sync databases only
Do not install afterwards without a full upgrade; it risks a partial upgrade.
sudo pacman -Syyu
Force-refresh, then upgrade
sudo pacman -S --needed <pkg>
Skip packages already current
sudo pacman -S <repo>/<pkg>
Install from a specific repo
sudo pacman -Sw <pkg>
Download only, do not install
sudo pacman -Syu --ignore <pkg>
Upgrade but skip a package
sudo pacman -S --asdeps <pkg>
Install and mark as dependency
sudo pacman -Syu --noconfirm
Upgrade without prompts
sudo pacman -Syuu
Upgrade and allow downgrades
sudo pacman -S --overwrite <glob> <pkg>
Overwrite conflicting files
Only for known file conflicts; the glob limits what may be replaced.

Remove

sudo pacman -R <pkg>
Remove just the package
sudo pacman -Rs <pkg>
Remove with unused dependencies
sudo pacman -Rns <pkg>
Also skip .pacsave backups
sudo pacman -Rsu <pkg>
Remove only if nothing needs it
sudo pacman -Rc <pkg>
Also remove dependent packages
Cascades to everything that depends on the target; read the list.
sudo pacman -Rdd <pkg>
Remove ignoring all dependencies
sudo pacman -R --dbonly <pkg>
Drop the db entry, keep files

Search and inspect

pacman -Ss <term>
Search repos by name and description
pacman -Si <pkg>
Show repo package details
pacman -Qi <pkg>
Show installed package details
pacman -Qs <term>
Search installed packages
pacman -Ql <pkg>
List files a package installed
pacman -Qo <file>
Which package owns a file
pacman -Q
List all installed packages
pacman -Qe
List explicitly installed packages
pacman -Qm
List foreign (AUR) packages
pacman -Qn
List packages from the repos
pacman -Qu
List out-of-date packages
Compares against the local sync databases, so run -Sy first.
pacman -Qk <pkg>
Check that a package's files exist
pacman -Qc <pkg>
Show a package's changelog
pacman -Sl <repo>
List all packages in a repo
pacman -Sg <group>
List members of a group
pacman -Qip <file>.pkg.tar.zst
Inspect a package file
pacman -Qq
Print names only, for scripts

Orphans and install reason

pacman -Qdt
List orphaned dependencies
pacman -Qdtq | sudo pacman -Rns -
Remove all orphans
Check the list first; an empty list makes pacman -Rns complain about missing targets.
pacman -Qet
Explicit packages nothing requires
pacman -Qt
Packages nothing requires
sudo pacman -D --asexplicit <pkg>
Mark explicit, protect from cleanup
sudo pacman -D --asdeps <pkg>
Mark as dependency
pacman -Dk
Check local database consistency

Files and local packages

sudo pacman -Fy
Refresh the file databases
pacman -F <file>
Which repo package ships a file
Searches repo packages you may not have installed; needs -Fy first.
pacman -Fl <pkg>
List files of a repo package
pacman -Fx <regex>
Search files by regex
sudo pacman -U <file>.pkg.tar.zst
Install a local package file
sudo pacman -U <url>
Install a package from a URL
sudo pacman -U /var/cache/pacman/pkg/<file>
Downgrade from the cache
pacman -T <dep>
Print unsatisfied dependencies

Cache and config

sudo pacman -Sc
Clean uninstalled packages from cache
sudo pacman -Scc
Empty the whole cache
Removes every cached package, so you lose the option to downgrade from it.
paccache -r
Keep the last 3 versions of each
paccache comes from the pacman-contrib package.
ls /var/cache/pacman/pkg
See cached package files
pacman -v
Show config, db and cache paths
pacman-conf
Print the effective pacman.conf
pacman --print --print-format '%n %v' -S <pkg>
Preview targets without acting
find /etc -name '*.pacnew'
Find config files to merge
pacdiff
Merge .pacnew and .pacsave files
pacdiff is part of pacman-contrib.
sudo pacman-key --init && sudo pacman-key --populate
Set up the signing keyring
sudo pacman -S archlinux-keyring
Refresh the keyring package

Recipes

Routine system update
sudo pacman -Syupacman -Qdtfind /etc -name '*.pacnew'
Find what owns a file or provides a command 
pacman -Qo /usr/bin/<cmd># not installed yet?sudo pacman -Fypacman -F <cmd>
Downgrade a package from the cache
ls /var/cache/pacman/pkg | grep <pkg>sudo pacman -U /var/cache/pacman/pkg/<pkg>-<ver>.pkg.tar.zst# then add it to IgnorePkg in pacman.conf
List packages you installed by hand
pacman -Qeqpacman -Qmpacman -Qeq > pkglist.txt