Difference between revisions of "Pacman Overview"

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Pacman is a <u>'''pac'''</u>kage <u>'''man'''</u>ager developed specifically for use in Arch Linux. It is used to install, upgrade, configure and remove software (i.e. to manage software packages). Pacman is used through typing commands terminal; all the commands listed below to undertake various tasks assume that you have your terminal open.

~~= Basic Pacman Commands =~~

This section provides the most common Pacman commands used to manage your system. Learning these will also provide an excellent foundation to build upon, particularly by referring to the '''Intermediate Pacman Commands''' section, below.

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== Searching for Software ==

== Searching for Software Packages ==

It is also possible to use pacman to search Manjaro's software repositories for any desired software, provided you know the name of what you want. The ''sudo'' prefix is not required for this. To search for a software package in the Official Manjaro repositories, the basic syntax is:

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== Installing ~~Applications and~~ Software Packages ==

== Orphaned Software Packages ==

To list all ''orphans'' - that is, installed packages that are not used by anything else and that consequently serve no purpose - enter the following command:

pacman -Qdt

'''It is highly recommended to remove orphans from your system, as although harmless, they still serve no purpose other than to take up room and resources. Rather than having to remove them one-by-one, the following command will search for and remove them for you:

sudo pacman -Sc $(pacman -Qdtq)

== Listing Information about Installed Packages ==

To list all dependencies of a particular software package (i.e. other software that requires the specified software package in order to work), enter the following command:

pactree [software package name]

== Downloading and Installing Software Packages ==

===Packages from the Manjaro Repositories===

To install a software package, the basic syntax is:

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{{tip| many software packages (especially complex applications) will require other software packages - known as ''dependencies'' - to also be downloaded and installed in order to work. Fortunately, pacman will automatically detect and install these for you.}}

It is also possible to download software packages without actually installing them by entering the following command:

sudo pacman -Sw [software package name]

===Packages Located Locally or From the Internet===

To install a package already downloaded onto your system (the file name should end in '''pkg.tar.xz'''), the basic syntax is:

sudo pacman -U [/package_path/][software package name.pkg.tar.xz]

For example, to install a package located in the ''Downloads'' folder, the following command would be entered:

sudo pacman -U ~/Downloads/[software package name.pkg.tar.xz]

To install a package via a URL (i.e. located elsewhere on the internet), the basic syntax is:

pacman -U http://www.examplepackage/repo/examplepkg.tar.xz

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 Pacman is a <u>'''pac'''</u>kage <u>'''man'''</u>ager developed specifically for use in Arch Linux. It is used to install, upgrade, configure and remove software (i.e. to manage software packages). Pacman is used through typing commands terminal; all the commands listed below to undertake various tasks assume that you have your terminal open.
-= Basic Pacman Commands =
-This section provides the most common Pacman commands used to manage your system. Learning these will also provide an excellent foundation to build upon, particularly by referring to the '''Intermediate Pacman Commands''' section, below.
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-== Searching for Software ==
+== Searching for Software Packages ==
 It is also possible to use pacman to search Manjaro's software repositories for any desired software, provided you know the name of what you want. The ''sudo'' prefix is not required for this. To search for a software package in the Official Manjaro repositories, the basic syntax is:
@@ Line 64: / Line 59: @@
-== Installing Applications and Software Packages ==
+== Orphaned Software Packages ==
+To list all ''orphans'' - that is, installed packages that are not used by anything else and that consequently serve no purpose - enter the following command:
+ pacman -Qdt
+'''It is highly recommended to remove orphans from your system, as although harmless, they still serve no purpose other than to take up room and resources. Rather than having to remove them one-by-one, the following command will search for and remove them for you:
+ sudo pacman -Sc $(pacman -Qdtq)
+== Listing Information about Installed Packages ==
+To list all dependencies of a particular software package (i.e. other software that requires the specified software package in order to work), enter the following command:
+ pactree [software package name]
+== Downloading and Installing Software Packages ==
+===Packages from the Manjaro Repositories===
 To install a software package, the basic syntax is:
@@ Line 76: / Line 92: @@
 {{tip| many software packages (especially complex applications) will require other software packages - known as ''dependencies'' -  to also be downloaded and installed in order to work. Fortunately, pacman will automatically detect and install these for you.}}
+It is also possible to download software packages without actually installing them by entering the following command:
+ sudo pacman -Sw [software package name]
+===Packages Located Locally or From the Internet===
+To install a package already downloaded onto your system (the file name should end in '''pkg.tar.xz'''), the basic syntax is:
+ sudo pacman -U [/package_path/][software package name.pkg.tar.xz]
+For example, to install a package located in the ''Downloads'' folder, the following command would be entered:
+ sudo pacman -U ~/Downloads/[software package name.pkg.tar.xz]
+To install a package via a URL (i.e. located elsewhere on the internet), the basic syntax is:
+pacman -U http://www.examplepackage/repo/examplepkg.tar.xz