Arch Linux: My Basic Maintenance

NOTE 1: at 09:30 pacman -Qtdq or pacman -Qtdq doesn't make any difference. It's just the order of the switches are different, but the effect is the same.
NOTE 2: at 09:35 in the fish shell you can write sudo pacman -Rns (pacman -Qtdq) without the $ before the opening parenthesis.
In this video I am going through the tasks I perform to maintain my Arch Linux installation. These are just a few steps I perform regularly. It is important to read through the Arch Wiki and find which routine you need for your PC.
Commands List: gitlab.com/eflinux/arch-maint...
Arch Wiki Maintenance: wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/...
Arch Wiki Pacman: wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/...
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My Hardware:
AMD Ryzen 9
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Distro: Arch Linux
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Website: eflinux.com
#howto #archlinux #maintenance

[@eznix]

This video is fantastic. Thank you very much for the excellent instruction. Every Arch user should watch this video. :)

[@eflinux]

Thank you so much Eznix!

[@yukarings5855]

@@eflinux i only trust you for my arch Linux tutorials

[@aswinzero]

Huh...finally got this video...I'm obsessed with linux and now I'm in love with arch and surprisingly u released this video...a great thing for me sir💖

[@eflinux]

Glad you liked it!

[@FishCow]

This was great Ermanno, very helpful. I find it hard to remember all the pacman commands. Good to have it all in one spot to refer back to. Thanks for this! I know the Arch Wiki exists , but having a human explain things as well as reference the commands is better for me and the way I learn.

[@eflinux]

Thanks Brett!

[@sakuragi_hanamichi3263]

write a script and schedule it !

[@mr.lyrics4490]

I am new to Arch, so I started watching all of your videos to learn using it. Very helpful. Thanks a lot!! Please upload more.☺️

[@eflinux]

Thanks! I will!

[@savedr]

THANK YOU for this video! This kind of instruction, explaining everything you do as you go along and why you're doing it, is sorely lacking everywhere!

[@Nerkzor]

I was just thinking to myself how I wanted to watch a tutorial on how to use arch efficiently and maintain and and then you released this video! Thank you very much! I very much enjoy your videos :D!

[@eflinux]

Hey thanks! So glad it was helpful!

[@N3CDX09]

This is, without a doubt, *THE* best tutorial channel on KZbin! From installing Arch to doing maintence and everything else YOU are the best!! BY FAR MY FAVORITE KZbin CHANNEL!!

[@eflinux]

Thank you so much Chip!

[@philaug353]

I wanted to thank you for this splendid video that helps me to maintain an ArchLinux distribution (EndeavourOS) ... this Linux distribution is installed for about 8 months and i have been following your maintenance recommendations without breaking my system ... Thank you so much and long live to your channel ! Phil

[@molnarvencel419]

Since i have an arch linux on my laptop i always check your channel for anything useful to learn. Thanks for your effort sir!

[@eflinux]

Most welcome!

[@taidee]

Thank you Master Ermanno for the great service. Delivered with amazing clarity and rich with detail.

[@eflinux]

Thanks! Glad you liked it!

[@renealbrechtsen9743]

This is probably the most useful video you have uploaded. Thanks so much :)

[@eflinux]

Thanks René!

[@engageintellect]

Wow this video was PACKED with information I always assumed was much more difficult. This taught me a lot. Thank you. Subscribed.

[@eflinux]

Thanks for watching and subscribing!

[@rafaelfonseca7942]

Well guys, hands down... this is the best Arch Linux KZbin channel! Such a great content.

[@DevilDriver665]

No need for 'yay -Syu' just type in 'yay'. Great Vid btw

[@eflinux]

Thanks for pointing this out!

[@PedroMosqueda]

I do yay -Syu to update all in one command

[@cloud-forge]

@@PedroMosqueda I always do : "Sudo pacman -Syyu"

[@twb0109]

@@cloud-forge why Syyu though? ( I know what the command does, but I don't think it's necessary)

[@BrenoSilveira94]

Its good to remember to merge .pacnews and .pacsaves files with the respective configuration files. This is the cause of a lot of breakages that the people who doesn't like Arch use to say that Arch it is unstable.

[@eflinux]

Thanks for sharing this!

[@BrenoSilveira94]

@@eflinux No mate, thank you for this awesome channel.

[@TheBlueThird]

I fix pacnew files every update

[@JohnLamontanaro]

3 years old and this helped me out a lot ty sir

[@user-ir1jp3yv2r]

Thanks! Great work as always 💙

[@eflinux]

Thanks for the support!

[@mtexaneel3769]

Loved the video and also the exhaustive list of commands without having to use any GUI..

[@gver5350]

I do not have sufficient good words to say about you. Arch is a great distro and you are making it better. Thank you.

[@eflinux]

So kind of you!

[@amarmisra9582]

Nice..Keeping us updated.. Thanks.

[@eflinux]

Will do!

[@archpenguin6646]

Great channel and video! thank you so much! Fantastic job!

[@LordHog]

Fantastic subject and video!

[@eflinux]

Glad it was helpful!

[@hectorselley]

Great video! Thanks. If you are in a country that doesn't have any Arch mirror you could use this command instead: su -c 'reflector --verbose --latest 10 --sort rate --save /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist'

[@eflinux]

Thank you so much for sharing this!

[@AndreyPeychev]

Excellent video! Thank you.

[@emvdl]

Thank you, danke dir 👍

[@eflinux]

You're welcome!

[@sarapambu1462]

i love your patience to reply all comments. ..no one did that :)

[@eflinux]

I love it and I enjoy the community:)

[@uffe1309]

Great Ermanno, your the best!!!

[@JM-sn5eb]

Great tips. I'll check my journals as soon as I seat in front of my laptop :D Little less aggressive (than pacman -Sc) is paccache (arch wiki) paccache -r deletes all cached versions of installed and uninstalled packages, except for the most recent 3 paccache -rk1 define how many recent versions you want to keep paccache -ruk0 Add the -u/--uninstalled switch to limit the action of paccache to uninstalled packages. For example to remove all cached versions of uninstalled packages If you have a time please make a video about arch security. There is one on the channel but maybe something more extended?

[@eflinux]

Thanks for sharing this!

[@imrokwasiba9027]

Keep it going like this!

[@eflinux]

Thanks! Will do my best :)

[@_Zabamund_]

Excellent video (again!), thank you!

[@eflinux]

My pleasure!

[@ArunBandara]

Thank you so much. This is very helpful

[@markrush2107]

Very helpful, thanks!

[@eflinux]

Glad it helped Mark!

[@davidterceiro]

Awesome stuff, keep it up!

[@eflinux]

Thanks!

[@HuntsFood]

@EF - Tech Made Simple Great video as always sir!

[@eflinux]

Glad you liked it!

[@peppe540]

Great, thanks again Ermanno!. I update once a week using Yay. Also cleanout orphaned packages and caches. Indeed, then Arch is a very stable system. Prior to the update I always check on which packages are being updated (read through the list, yes) so I can identify possible issues upfront. Works great.

[@eflinux]

Thanks for sharing!

[@peppe540]

@@eflinuxSome parts I forgot of course ;-) 1. I only use Pamac to 'browse' available software and get the right naming etc. Installation (or removal) I always do from the command line. 2. Updates and clearing caches etc I do by logging out, Ctrl+Alt+F2 and entering the console and then using the right yay commands. 3. When installing from the AUR I check in Pamac what the latest update date was > if too old (and depending on the type of software of course) I skip installation. Finally: when in the terminal and you don't exactly know what version to install just put in yay, followed by the name of the package, and hit Enter. You will get a list of all available packages, browse it and enter the number of the package you'd like to install. I usually don't go for the Git versions, but the stable or community ones. Cheers!

[@eflinux]

Thanks for sharing this also!

[@cyberagent009]

As usual #Ermanno you are a class apart. 🎉 Great informative video. 🎉 Looking forward for Gentoo Linux video's as well. Please post them when you are able to spare your time. 🙏

[@eflinux]

Thanks for the feedback! I was just thinking yesterday about Gentoo...

[@anweshbhattacharyya7763]

Very informative 🔥🔥❤️👌👍

[@JonathanBarquero]

Very useful video, thank you very much!

[@eflinux]

Glad it was helpful!

[@vikingwithwings]

At 09:33 looks like the correct comand is: # pacman -Qtdq | pacman -Rns - ( with the "-" at the end) . I tried both, and it only finds the packages with the "-" at the end. Thanks for a lot of great video's. Clear and to the point.

[@eflinux]

Thanks! Glad it was helpful.

[@seanpaul7069]

Great video Sir

[@PavanKumar-jt5mq]

Nice video, keep them coming.

[@eflinux]

Thanks!

[@densyo1502]

Thank you for this!

[@Mikesco3]

Arch full system backup/restore would be good. Like in the scenario that mitigates hardware failure or the scenario of migrating to a new machine. (Tar backup/restore, clonezilla, etc?) An efficient way to avoid having to manually reinstall/reconfigure everything.

[@mrchuz0]

More videos like that!! Love them :)

[@eflinux]

Thanks!

[@Liv4IT]

Pretty informative thank you 😊

[@PavanKumar-qq3dn]

your god send for linux users, thank you

[@eflinux]

Hey thanks!

[@NerdistRay]

Oh, I'm loving your theming. Can you please consider making a customisation video?

[@eflinux]

Sure! I usually keep my desktop very minimal though.

[@NerdistRay]

@@eflinux I love to keep it minimal too. And so do many other people. But I don't have much experience in building a theme like yours, usually I just tinker with my XFCE themes and be done with it.

[@PhantomFist37]

That arch banner is awesome ngl

[@eflinux]

I love it :)

[@Miguel_GM]

Very useful, thnaks.

[@nejathakan5521]

I am verry new to Arch Linux. Until now I was using stable but unfortunatley boring Debian :-) As a freelancer Java developer I was interested in a „Stable“ Distribution so I can concentrate and be focused in my job without beeing disturbed by the operating System. Dear Ermanno, I must say that you are the most reason whyI felt in love with Arch Linux 😍 Now I learned that a boring Distribution makes a boring Live. First I tried Gentoo and become verry comfortable with it and liked it verry much. But the often and verry long compile times hurted me too much. Then I found your channel. Now my live is much more excited and I learned so much how Linux works 😍 Peace

[@Appalling68]

Nicely done video and very handy. Thank you, Ernano. I've been playing with Arch on a dedicated ssd on my home machine for about five months now. I love this distro but am a little frustrated by it's "high maintenance" requirements. So for now Linux Mint is still my main OS and daily driver. Ya know, I kinda see Arch Linux as that beautiful and sexy girlfriend requiring HUGE maintenance demands on my part. Yeah, she's fun to be with but really...what a pain in the ass sometimes! LOL!

[@eflinux]

Haha! So well said :)

[@micleh]

Hi. A very helpful video! You asked to add ideas or what we do to maintain our arch system. I have ideas on both: (1) I enable periodic trim (not discard in fstab) by enabling fstrim.timer (sudo systemctl enable fstrim.timer); (2) I don't want to keep any build files from aur, which is why I add this to my fstab: none ~/.cache tmpfs defaults 0 0; (3) I don't want any updates to clutter my system, so I edited /etc/pacman.conf and have "CacheDir=/tmp/pkg"; (4) I want to reduce wear of my ssd (as number 2-3 suggest) so I build packages in RAM by editing /etc/makepkg.conf and changing "BUILDDIR=/tmp/makepkg"

[@eflinux]

Fantastic! Thanks for sharing this!

[@ProEloVek-om3gz]

👏

[@Deegan_Prashanth]

Thank you great video!!

[@eflinux]

Glad you liked it!

[@nicoandresrodriguez]

Great explanation, I use the `duh` as an alternative to `du` to give more friendly output, you forget to talk about `systemd-analyze` is really useful to speed up your boot time and security issues

[@PendalfCell]

Would recommend 'ncdu' for fast and efficient check on your folders size. It's like an 'htop' for 'top'. With it you can navigate and delete unnecesary files very fast and easy.

[@eflinux]

Excellent point! Thanks for sharing!

[@rotflol6666]

a very nice GUI app is baobab! instant insights in where those disk hogs are

[@holahola6860]

Welcome to the elite Enjoy

[@jacobtb1]

best linux channel

[@lakshminarasimmanv]

Thank you so much for the video. Please upload lot of arch Linux videos. Also please make a video on arch Linux restore using timeshift from live arch usb.

[@eflinux]

Thanks! I'll have to look in the channel, but I believe I did already a video on that topic.

[@lakshminarasimmanv]

EF - Tech Made Simple I searched everywhere. You had a video on restoring arch using timeshift but from live Ubuntu not arch.

[@eflinux]

Alright thanks, well, the process is more or less the same, as the Arch ISO installer doesn't come with a GUI. It could be done with the cli, but with the GUI it's much easier.

[@kartikeykushwah3926]

Very nice.

[@eflinux]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@AlexSlaets]

Thank you again for this excellent video. In my setup, to remove orphans I needed to use the hyphen : root$ pacman -Qtdq | pacman -Rns - . The hyphen means to use stdin as input source for the command line.

[@eflinux]

Thanks for sharing Alex, this is also on the wiki.

[@machman23]

Cool Thankyou

[@eflinux]

Hi everyone, I created a list of updated commands. You can find it in the video description or by following this link: gitlab.com/eflinux/arch-maintenance-commands.git

[@caradebreno]

The site is off

[@eflinux]

Thanks, David, for the heads-up. I forgot to change the link when I changed site. I'll repost asap.

[@eflinux]

Hi David, the list of commands link is now in the video description.

[@caradebreno]

@@eflinux thanks

[@nemonada3501]

In Australia it seems that the servers offshore connect a hell of a lot faster than any on shore.

[@user-hy4ts8vu8n]

❤️❤️❤️

[@jimbakerforlinux]

Hey Ermanno! Question: What key combination do you use to clean up the terminal...? NIce video, as always. Thanks!

[@eflinux]

Thanks James! It's ctrl+L.

[@rocstar950]

Hey Ermanno! Question: What font do you use in the terminal...? NIce video, as always. Thanks!

[@eflinux]

Source Code Pro.

[@TheSergy12]

Hi, im quite new in linux and i 'm learning so much with your videos. Should i be worried about installing qt based applications in gnome or gtk based apps in plasma?

[@eflinux]

Thanks :) No, it is ok, no worries.

[@andril]

thanks for all the knowledge you share - can you also share that wallpaper?

[@eflinux]

Sure! Here it is: drive.google.com/file/d/1Xhcn9Zh3X8VPm3VAy1HEs213RRCWmueU/view?usp=drivesdk

[@mimbridnir]

Cool! I just cleared 10G of waste... Thank you sir!

[@eflinux]

Glad it helped!

[@madusan1]

Quite like the systemd method combined with the timed entry for updating mirrors i set to run 1 a week. Can always run manually also

[@madusan1]

Just look up reflector in the wiki to set up your specific params

[@blackbeard3449]

In fish you can do `pacman -Rns (pacman -Qtdq)`. Same as base but without the $ sign.

[@eflinux]

Yes I added a note the video description. Thanks.

[@aakashsingh5458]

Which fish theme and wallpaper are you using it looks cool

[@eflinux]

The fish theme is Pure, the wallpaper is here: drive.google.com/file/d/1Xhcn9Zh3X8VPm3VAy1HEs213RRCWmueU/view?usp=drivesdk

[@patriotic1526]

I was a bit confused on the Reflector command regarding " if you have a 2 word country such as United States,,," you said put it in quotations? So id go "UnitedStates" or United-states or what? i apologize as i am super new and just didn't understand what you meant. how to form the command? EDIT: everything else in the video was superb, TY

[@animegamesreviews5382]

How to enable command suggestions like you had in the video which file or program do i need to install or change please guide

[@eflinux]

I was using the Z shell (zsh) with auto-completion. I have a video for that on the channel.

[@released4pleasure]

Hi Ermanno, do you use cron tasks or systemd timers for these maintenance commands?

[@eflinux]

Cron.

[@kvngn]

I just installed Arch today, actually, and I was wondering how to get rid of my orphaned packages after floundering around with different graphics setups (Enlightenment with the Terminology emulator... never again). Nearly a gigabyte removed. Thank you!

[@eflinux]

Glad I could help!

[@bit2964]

What desktop environment do you use on your main machine?

[@eflinux]

On my production machine KDE, on my laptop GNOME (for now).

[@GooogleGoglee]

Can you explain me/us how to show the time of the last command you run, like in your prompt? How did you customized the prompt just for that feature?

[@eflinux]

Hi! That's the theme I have for the shell fish, it's called "pure".

[@GooogleGoglee]

@@eflinux thank you didn't know about it

[@thenextpoetician6328]

Handy indeed. Un gros merci. I use some aliases to speed things a bit. mr aliases the reflector update (it started as mirror), up (started as update) sudo pacman -Syu, and all (was upall in Arcolingo) for yay -Syu --no-confirm. This alias is from DT: alias ls='exa -al --color=always --group-directories-first'. Now if I could figure out why 90% of FontAwesome fonts are not showing in Polybar, which is finally behaving in Arco i3 ... It's a hair-puller right now. :)

[@eflinux]

Thanks! It's great info!

[@thenextpoetician6328]

@@eflinux You're welcome. :)

[@ravipratapmishra7013]

How you are getting suggested command in your terminal sir.

[@Fuxy22]

apparently there is a reflector timer systemd service you can enable

[@ProEloVek-om3gz]

More comments like Michael 👍

[@twb0109]

Your accent is satisfactory

[@eflinux]

I am trying to improve :)

[@twb0109]

I mean, I like the way it sounds

[@eflinux]

oh thanks! :)

[@MrOlegrom]

Thank you for the video! Could you please make a link to the commands you show in this video?

[@eflinux]

Will do first thing tomorrow! Thanks!

[@MrOlegrom]

@@eflinux Thank you, Ermanno! By the way, thanks to your videos, I've installed arch linux on my pc, which is so great! Thanks for your work!

[@eflinux]

Thank you so much! I'm very happy to hear that I could help!

[@Pillgar]

I feel I could ask you any Arch question, and you'd have the answer for me. Do you have a Discord channel?

[@eflinux]

No I don't, yet.

[@m3hdim3hdi]

how can i have command autocompletion like you?

[@CesarPeron]

du -sh /var/log/journal/ cannot access '/var/log/journal/': No such file or directory

[@eflinux]

That directory does not exist by default. You have to create it to make systemd journal permanent.

[@ashishthapa529]

We can just type yay and hit enter to update yay.

[@rotflol6666]

Why not configure the journal vacuuming automatically, configuring with sane defaults will prevent the dreaded "partition full" (that's why /var should live on its own partition (or have a quota on btrfs)) HTH, systemd has a lot of neat features for us admins!

[@eflinux]

That’s also a great idea :)

[@AdamDaviesSussex]

Great video. Well worth understanding what you're doing before deleting random stuff though :)

[@eagle2com]

9:06 You should be able to just remove the dollar sign for it to work in fish.

[@eflinux]

Thanks for sharing this. I'll check it out.

[@analisisk2104]

many thanks for this useful video, while I remain connected to wifi I can't open any application directly, by shortcut or through link, so I have disable wifi to open any app, I'll appreciate your solution suggestion, regards

[@sharjeel_mazhar]

Very informative video💯 but there's one problem I've seen with your website is that most of your link when opened, give a message that basically says that the file doesn't exist, I've tried several times with this video and others as well but the file cannot be found on your website, other than that your videos are great sir❤

[@eflinux]

Hi! Thanks for the feedback, yes, the link was still pointing to my old website. I will post a new one next week for the file on GitLab. Thanks for pointing this out.

[@sharjeel_mazhar]

No problem sir and do let us know about the links, thank you sir!

[@eflinux]

Will do!

[@petermiller8068]

Nice one, buuuu...t recently a update chanced my Desktop-Settings on Manjaro. Set timeshift-snapshot back, helps only if One finds out what coursed it. Or??? Anyway went back to Arch. (-;

[@adityasoni8113]

are you using zsh?

[@eflinux]

In this video I was using fish.

[@varun199700]

Can we have something like this for debian?

[@eflinux]

Oh interesting! Sure! Bit it's going to be more or less the same.

[@varun199700]

That is true.

[@rotflol6666]

apt autoclean && apt autoremove, latest debian also uses systemd so journalctl is the same, bleachbit is your friend!

[@gprozac]

I did full system upgrade and now I can't connect to internet.

[@eflinux]

How is the status of network manager?

[@gprozac]

@@eflinux started my system today evening and now I can connect to internet.didn't check the status of NetworkManager when the problem was there but the network connection icon on the bottom right kept refreshing again and again.will let you know if I have the same probelm again after next full system upgrade.

[@a_maxed_out_handle_of_30_chars]

9:30, isn't it supposed to be "pacman -Qtdq"

[@eflinux]

I just put a note on the video description. It doesn't actually make any difference. It's just the order of the switches are different, but the effect is the same.

[@a_maxed_out_handle_of_30_chars]

@@eflinux oh, learnt something new today :)

[@mzakyr342]

i dont maintan my arch linux but i use rm -rf *

[@danielcordero901]

I use arch, btw...