Linux-Docs/Arch.md

tags

tags
Arch

• Arch Setup
• Local Host Names

Package Management

pacman

• The package manager for Arch distributions
• Graphical Software Management tools are not compatible and the command line must be used
• Packages are installed with pacman -S <package>
• pacman -Syu will update all the software on your system

pacnew

Sometimes while updating you system you may get a warning about a ".pacnew" file being created. This is because when a package updates it's default configuration file but you have changed the current config file to something other than the default pacman cannot automatically replace it with the new one.

So will keep your current config as it is and create a /path/to/config/file.pacnew file wth the new config.

Since sometimes updates bring new features that need to be configured, you should address this right away:

1. Run vimdiff /path/to/config/file /path/to/config/file.pacnew To view the differances between the files
   • This requires the vim package installed
2. Edit the current config as needed to add what is missing, either directly in vimdiff or with your text editor of choice.
3. Once you are happy you should delete the .pacnew file.

yay

• yay is a wrapper for pacman and uses pacman for normal package management
• yay additionally will automate the proccess of installing and updating packages from the AUR
• It functions the same but yay is a shortcut for yay -Syu (to update the system)
• Software from aur should not automatically be trusted (see below)
  • yay will ask if you want to "view diffs" when installing or updating, this is a quick way to check the pkgbuild and the differences to the new pkgbuild when updating

Arch User Repository

The AUR is a collection of packages uploaded and maintained by the Arch community, and not the offical Arch maintainers. It is a great resource as an easy way to install software not provided in the main Arch repos, but it is worth noting that anyone can upload anything, and there have been known cases of people uploading malware.

The nice thing is that the entire package format (known as the pkgbuild) is accessbale and human readable. This does mean that any issues are eventually caught, but as with any case of downloading software off the internet, sticking to well known packages with lots of eyes on them is usually a good idea. It is also a good idea to inspect the pkgbuild yourself, especially pay attention to the URLs within the file and ensure they are pointing to the correct place.

Packages in the AUR are not offically supported or considered by the Arch Maintainers when pushing updates, so if anything on your system will break from an update, it's more likely to be an AUR package.