Keep Arch updated and pinky clean
I have started using Arch Linux as my daily-use desktop OS. Part of good system hygiene is keeping the system regularly updated.
This is how I do it ...
1. Lists of installed packages
Generate a list of packages found in the sync database (Arch official repositories) ...
$ pacman -Qqen > ~/arch_pkgs.txt
List of package not found in sync (e.g. AUR) ...
$ pacman -Qqem > ~/arch_foreign_pkgs.txt
If I ever need to re-install, or install these packages on another computer, simply run ...
$ sudo pacman -S --needed - < arch_pkgs.txt
2. Update package mirrors and upgrade
Generate a new list of package mirrors using reflector.
Example: Verbosely select the 5 most recently synchronized HTTPS mirrors located in either Canada or Germany, sort them by download speed, and overwrite the existing mirrorlist ...
$ sudo reflector --verbose --protocol https --latest 5 --sort rate --country Canada --country Germany --save /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
Perform a full system upgrade ...
$ sudo pacman -Syu
3. Search files from packages
pkgfile is a tool for searching files from packages in Arch's repositories.
Update the database by running ...
$ sudo pkgfile -u
4. Clean package cache
Remove all cached versions of uninstalled packages ...
$ sudo paccache -ruk0
Delete all cached versions of installed packages, except for most recent 3 ...
$ sudo paccache -rv
5. Orphans and dropped packages
Remove packages that were installed as dependencies, but are no longer required by any installed package ...
$ sudo pacman -Qtd
6. Logs
Check for any failed systemd services ...
$ systemctl --failed
Check for errors in logfiles ...
$ sudo journalctl -p 3 -b
When pacman removes or upgrades a package, it sometimes creates copies of the config files with extensions *.pacnew and *.pacsave.
Check to see if any of these files are present and generate a log ...
$ sudo updatedb && locate --existing --regex "\.pac(new|save)$" > ~/pacnew.log
7. Script
Above commands are saved to my pinky shell script (Pinky is one of the four main ghosts in the Pac-Man series). I run the script once or twice a week to keep things humming.
Sources: pinky and arch_pkglist (generate package lists) and lib_homebin.sh (provide ascii colour codes for scripts)
» Next: A(rch) to Z(ram): Install Arch Linux with (almost) full disk encryption and BTRFS
« Previous: Generate a list of installed Fedora packages on one device (and install on another)