Aur Pacman

Skill: aur-pacman

Purpose

Comprehensive guide for using pacman, the Arch Linux package manager. Covers package installation, removal, queries, database operations, and troubleshooting for both official repositories and AUR packages.

When to Use This Skill

This skill should be used when:

• Installing or removing packages
• Querying installed packages
• Managing repositories
• Troubleshooting pacman issues
• Working with package databases
• Syncing and upgrading the system

When NOT to Use This Skill

• For building packages (use aur-makepkg skill)
• For AUR package management (use aur-helpers skill)
• For non-Arch Linux systems

Overview

pacman is the official package manager for Arch Linux. It handles package installation, upgrades, and removal while resolving dependencies.

Key Concepts

• Sync - Download and install packages
• Upgrade - Update all system packages
• Query - Search installed packages
• Database - Manage package database

Package Installation

Basic Installation

# Install single package
pacman -S package-name

# Install multiple packages
pacman -S package1 package2 package3

# Install from specific repository
pacman -S extra/package-name
pacman -S core/package-name

# Reinstall package
pacman -S package-name

Dependencies

# Install with dependencies only
pacman -S --asdeps package-name

# Install as explicit dependency
pacman -S --asexplicit package-name

# Install without dependencies
pacman -U --nosave package.pkg.tar.zst

Groups

# Install group
pacman -S group-name

# See group members
pacman -Sg group-name

# Install only certain group members
pacman -S group-name package1 package2

Package Removal

Basic Removal

# Remove package (keep dependencies)
pacman -R package-name

# Remove package and dependencies
pacman -Rs package-name

# Remove package, dependencies, and config files
pacman -Rns package-name

# Remove orphaned packages
pacman -Rsn $(pacman -Qtdq)

Forced Removal

# Force remove (use with caution)
pacman -Rdd package-name

# Remove package even if required by others
pacman -Rc package-name

Package Upgrades

System Upgrade

# Sync and upgrade all packages
pacman -Syu

# Sync only (no upgrade)
pacman -Sy

# Download packages but don't install
pacman -Syuw

# Upgrade with ignore packages
pacman -Syu --ignore=package-name
pacman -Syu --ignoregroup=gnome

Package Upgrade

# Upgrade single package
pacman -Syu package-name

# Downgrade package (from cache)
pacman -U /var/cache/pacman/pkg/package-old.pkg.tar.zst

Querying Packages

Search

# Search by name
pacman -Ss keyword
pacman -Qs keyword

# Search by exact name
pacman -Qs "^package-name$"

# Search in descriptions
pacman -Ss "^extrepo-keyword$"

# Search installed only
pacman -Qs searchterm

Package Info

# Query package info (installed)
pacman -Qi package-name

# Query package info (not installed)
pacman -Si package-name

# Query file list
pacman -Ql package-name

# Query which package owns file
pacman -Qo /path/to/file

# Query explicit files
pacman -Qk package-name

List Packages

# List all installed packages
pacman -Q

# List explicitly installed packages
pacman -Qe

# List native packages
pacman -Qn

# List foreign packages (AUR)
pacman -Qm

# List package group members
pacman -Sg group-name

# List outdated packages
pacman -Qu

# List packages not required by others
pacman -Qtdq

Database Operations

Cache Management

# Clean package cache
pacman -Sc     # Remove old package versions
pacman -Scc   # Remove all cached packages

# Keep only installed packages in cache
paccache -r

# Keep last 2 versions
paccache -r -k 2

Repository Management

# Sync databases
pacman -Sy

# Force sync databases
pacman -Syy

# Check database integrity
pacman -Dk

# Repair database
pacman-db-upgrade

Configuration

/etc/pacman.conf

[options]
# Architecture
Architecture = x86_64

# Color output
Color

# Total download
TotalDownload

# Check space
CheckSpace

# ILoveCandy

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

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

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

# Custom repository
[myrepo]
Server = https://myrepo.example.com/$arch

Common Options

[options]
# Ignore upgrades for package
IgnorePkg = package-name

# Ignore upgrades for group
IgnoreGroup = gnome

# No upgrade (save new version as .pacnew)
NoUpgrade = /etc/pam.conf

# Don't extract specific files from packages
NoExtract = /usr/lib/modules/*

Mirror Management

Rank Mirrors

# Install reflector
pacman -S reflector

# Rank mirrors by speed
reflector --country US --latest 10 --sort rate --save /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist

# Simple ranking
rankmirrors -n 6 /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist

Manual Mirror

# Add custom mirror
Server = https://mirror.example.com/archlinux/$repo/os/$arch

Troubleshooting

Signature Issues

# Refresh keys
pacman-key --refresh-keys

# Reset pacman keys
rm -rf /etc/pacman.d/keyring
pacman-key --init
pacman-key --populate archlinux

# Temporarily disable signature checking (NOT RECOMMENDED)
# Add to /etc/pacman.conf under [options]:
# SigLevel = Never

Database Lock

# Check if pacman is actually running
ps aux | grep pacman

# Verify if lock file is in use before removing
fuser /var/lib/pacman/db.lck

# Remove lock file (only if pacman not running)
rm /var/lib/pacman/db.lck

Dependency Errors

# Check for broken links
ldd /path/to/binary

# Find missing dependency
pacman -Qo /usr/lib/libfoo.so

# Reinstall package
pacman -S package-name --overwrite "*"

Disk Space

# Check disk usage
df -h

# Check pacman cache size
du -sh /var/cache/pacman/pkg/

# Remove old packages
pacman -Sc

Failed Upgrade Recovery

# Boot from Arch ISO
# Mount filesystem
mount /dev/sdaX /mnt

# Chroot
arch-chroot /mnt

# Fix database
pacman -Dk

# Or reinstall core packages
pacman -Syu --ignore grub

AUR Packages

Manual AUR Install

# Download AUR package
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/package-name.git
cd package-name

# View PKGBUILD (ALWAYS REVIEW!)
less PKGBUILD

# Build and install
makepkg -si

Upgrading AUR Packages

cd package-name-git
git pull
makepkg -si

AUR Dependencies

# Build all dependencies
makepkg -s

# Install missing AUR deps
cd /path/to/aur-package
makepkg -s

Queries for Package Maintenance

Find Unused Dependencies

# List orphan packages
pacman -Qtdq

# Remove orphans
pacman -Rsn $(pacman -Qtdq)

Check Package Files

# List package files
pacman -Ql package-name

# Find file owner
pacman -Qo /usr/bin/program

# Check package dependencies
pacman -Qii package-name | grep DEPENDS

Verify Installation

# Verify installed files (check presence)
pacman -Qk

# Show pacman version
pacman -V

# Check for missing files (with count)
pacman -Qk package-name

Common Commands Summary

| Command | Purpose | |---------|---------| | pacman -Syu | Full system upgrade | | pacman -S package | Install package | | pacman -R package | Remove package | | pacman -Ss query | Search repos | | pacman -Qs query | Search installed | | pacman -Qi package | Package info | | pacman -Ql package | File list | | pacman -Qo file | File owner | | pacman -Sc | Clean cache |

Related Skills

• aur-guides - Main dispatcher
• aur-pkgbuild - PKGBUILD creation
• aur-audit - Validation
• aur-submission - AUR submission
• aur-makepkg - Building
• aur-helpers - AUR helpers

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: Pahheb
• Source: Pahheb/pahheb-skills
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.