Arch Maintenance

Resources

• ArchWiki system maintenance
• systemd/Journal
• Downgrading packages

It is always advisable to read the latest updated ArchWiki articles.

Introduction

Arch is a rolling release distro meaning that there are updates often every day. In order to have a properly functioning system you need to maintain and update your system regularly. Although, it is easy enough to run,

sudo pacman -Syu

to upgrade/update your system, there are best practices. Since, the Arch repo includes the latest versions of programs, occasionally one can have issues with dependencies. E.g., one application might require a version .X.2 of a program, but that program is now updated to .X.3. Thus, there are scenarios where a system update can break your system.

Best practices

• Before upgrading check archlinux.org.
• Before upgrading kernel, xorg, systemd, etc check bbs.archlinux.org/.
• Upgrade your system after important task have been done, such that you have time to fix potential errors.
• Always run pacman -Syu before installing a package.
• Read the cli messages/alerts when upgrading.
• You may have to reboot after upgrading, especially the kernel is difficult to patch without reboot.
• Be careful when using packages from the AUR. Avoid AUR helpers and check the package before installing.
• Upadate your mirrors regularly. Fetch best mirrors for your region from Pacman Mirrorlist Generator.
• Clean up and sync your ~/.config once in a while.
• If you want less frequent kernel upgrades you can install linux-lts (long term support).
• Check for Orphans pacman -Qtd, and remove them with pacman -Qtdq | pacman -Rns -.
• Backup your important data regularly.

Problems and how to fix them

You can check if there are any failed systemd services with,

systemctl --failed

and you can look for errors in the logs located at /var/log and errors with systemd journal,

journalctl -p 3 -b