Arch Linux Package Cleaning Guide

Complete beginner-friendly guide to cleaning packages on Arch Linux, including cache cleaning, orphan removal, and package maintenance.

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Table of Contents

1. Package Cache
2. Orphan Packages
3. Unused Packages
4. Package Maintenance

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Package Cache

Clean Cache

Clean package cache:

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

# Remove old packages
sudo pacman -Sc

# Remove all cached packages
sudo pacman -Scc

Automatic Cleaning

Setup auto-clean:

# Create hook
sudo vim /etc/pacman.d/hooks/clean-cache.hook

Add:

[Trigger]
Operation = Upgrade
Type = Package
Target = *

[Action]
Description = Cleaning package cache...
When = PostTransaction
Exec = /usr/bin/pacman -Sc --noconfirm

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Orphan Packages

Find Orphans

List orphans:

# List orphan packages
pacman -Qdt

# List with details
pacman -Qdtt

Remove Orphans

Remove orphans:

# Remove orphans
sudo pacman -Rns $(pacman -Qdtq)

# Interactive removal
sudo pacman -Rns $(pacman -Qdtq) --noconfirm

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Unused Packages

Find Unused

List unused:

# List explicitly installed
pacman -Qe

# List as dependencies
pacman -Qd

Remove Unused

Remove unused:

# Review before removing
pacman -Qdt

# Remove if sure
sudo pacman -Rns package-name

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Package Maintenance

Update System

Regular updates:

# Update system
sudo pacman -Syu

# Check for updates
pacman -Qu

Verify Packages

Check packages:

# Verify all packages
sudo pacman -Qkk

# Verify specific package
pacman -Qkk package-name

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Summary

This guide covered package cache cleaning, orphan removal, unused packages, and package maintenance.

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Next Steps

• Arch Linux Package Management - Package management
• Arch Linux System Maintenance - Maintenance
• ArchWiki Package Cleaning: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Pacman#Cleaning_the_package_cache

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This guide is based on the ArchWiki. For the most up-to-date information, always refer to the official ArchWiki.