Has the time come to update your Arch Linux system? Whether you’re on pure Arch or an Arch-based distro like Manjaro and Garuda Linux, we’ll show you ways to securely update your system with one or two simple commands.
Keeping packages up-to-date is vital on any Linux distro. Arch operates on a rolling release model, delivering bleeding-edge updates to your virtual door as soon as they’re ready. due to that, frequent updates (combined with effective backups) are necessary to avoid a broken system and corrupt packages.
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Most Arch-based distros use the pacman package manager to download and install updates, a process technically mentioned as “syncing.” You’ll use pacman commands to stay your packages synced and operational.
Note: Your user account needs sudo access to follow these instructions.
Apply a System Update on Arch Linux
To begin an update of all installed packages, open any terminal app and pass the subsequent command:
sudo pacman -Syu
You’ll be prompted for your password before the command can proceed. This command checks for available updates. If there are any, it’ll list the packages, along side their remake numbers.
You’ll then be prompted to confirm that you want to apply a full upgrade. Type y and hit Enter to confirm, or use n to cancel.
If you’ve got packages that you simply suspect are corrupt, you’ll force a database download together with your update to require care of these issues. Albeit no updates are available, pacman will verify the integrity of your currently installed packages. Add a second y to the string to form that happen.
sudo pacman -Syyu
How to Update a Specific Package in Arch Linux
If you only want to update a specific package, use the same command that you used to install it, replacing package_name with your choice.
sudo pacman -S package_name
Warning: We don’t recommend upgrading specific packages while ignoring other available updates often. due to Arch’s rolling release process, cherry-picking updates can cause issues.
If you’re not sure what the name of a package is, you can search your installed packages using the -Qs flag.
pacman -Qs string
Be sure to exchange string together with your search term. This may search both package names and descriptions, so you ought to find what you’re trying to find easily.
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