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.
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 ==


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. To search for a software package, the basic syntax is:
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, the basic syntax is:


  sudo pacman -Ss [software package name]
  pacman -Ss [software package name]




For example, to search the repositories to see if a text editor called Leafpad is available, the following command would be entered:
For example, to search the repositories to see if a text editor called Leafpad is available, the following command would be entered:


  sudo pacman -Ss leafpad
  pacman -Ss leafpad
 
 
In addition, it is also possible to search for packages that have already been installed on your system. For basic information, enter the following command:
 
pacman -Q [software package name]
 
 
Otherwise, to gain far more comprehensive about an installed package, enter the following command:
 
pacman -Qi [software package name]




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== Learning pacman's options ==
= Learning pacman's options =


It is a very good idea to become familiar with the varied and powerful uses of pacman. A comprehensive list of options that can be used with pacman can be found by entering the following command:
It is a very good idea to become familiar with the varied and powerful uses of pacman. A comprehensive list of options that can be used with pacman can be found by entering the following command:
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To exit out of the list, simply press '''q'''.
To exit out of the list, simply press '''q'''.
= Intermediate Pacman Commands =
Once the pacman basics have been mastered, a few extra tricks can be learned in order to undertake a wider variety of tasks.