Revision as of 10:54, 21 May 2022

Overview

Pamac (Add/Remove Software) is Manjaro's Package Manager. It is based on libalpm with AUR and Appstream support. It focuses on providing an easy to use interface while still providing a powerful set of features.

Installing Pamac

Pamac is pre-installed on many Manjaro Editions but if your system does not have it it can be easily installed. Pamac comes in several different packages:

pamac-gtk - The GTK version of pamac. Includes a tray icon for many desktops.
pamac-cli - The command line version of pamac.
pamac-tray-icon-plasma - A tray icon for KDE plasma

These packages can be installed using pacman. For example, to install the GTK version, you can use the command:

sudo pacman -Syu pamac-gtk

Tip

Both the GTK and Qt pamac packages will automatically install the CLI version as well

Using the Pamac GUI

Installing Software

To install packages, simply check the box next to the packages. Once you have selected all the packages you want to install, click the Apply button at the bottom of the page.

If any of the packages have optional dependencies (packages that enable additional functionality) you will see a window like the one to the left which allows to select the ones you would like to install.

After you have selected optional dependencies, you should see a window similar to the one pictured on the left. This lists all the packages that will be installed, upgraded or removed by the action. Once you have reviewed the list, press the Apply button to install the packages.

You may notice this list has more packages than you selected in the GUI. This is because many packages also have dependencies which are packages that must be installed in order for the software you selected to function properly. You may also notice that packages are being removed even though you didn't select any packages to remove. This is happening in the example to the left where you can see clutter and cogl are being removed. They are being removed because they conflict with deepin-clutter and deepin-cogl which provide the same functionality.

Removing Software

Removing software is as simple as unchecking the packages you want to remove and clicking the Apply button at the bottom of the page.

Once you do, you should see a screen similar to the one on the left which lists all the packages that are about to be removed. You may notice this list contains more packages than you selected. This is because when you remove a package that other packages depend on, those packages are also removed.

Warning

It is extremely important to carefully review the Transaction Summary before accepting the package removal. Some packages have many packages which depend on them and you don't want to inadvertently remove your whole desktop environment

Preferences

You can access the preferences by clicking on the three dots in the upper right corner and selecting preferences.

The General tab of preferences contains several settings, most of which are self-explanatory.

Remove unrequired dependencies - This removes dependencies which are no longer required by any package
Check available disk space - Checks to ensure you have sufficient disk space available before downloading and installing packages
Maximum parallel downloads - The number of concurrent downloads allowed
Enable downgrade - This allows packages to be downgraded as well as upgraded. This is important when switching branches.
Check for updates - Disabling this will stop pamac from looking for updates. In most cases, turning this off on a rolling release distro like Manjaro is a bad idea.
Ignore updates for - This is a list of packages that you don't want to be upgraded. This is inherently dangerous practice and should only be used by advanced users.

Warning

Ignoring updates for individual packages will leave you in an unsupported "partial upgrade" state. It is common for innocuous looking ignored packages to leave your system unbootable

Warning

DISCLAIMER: AUR scripts are created for Arch Linux by Arch Linux Users. AUR packages are user-produced content. These PKGBUILDs are completely unofficial and have not been thoroughly vetted. Any use of the provided files is at your own risk.

Pamac is also capable of using scripts from the Arch User Repository(AUR) to install or update packages. Please carefully read the considerations in the linked page prior to enabling support for AUR.

If you enable AUR support, you may also select, "Check for updates from AUR" so software you install from AUR won't become outdated. An alternative is creating an account on AURweb and subscribe to notifications for the scripts you are using on a permanent basis.

Checking for "development package" updates will allow updates on *-git packages which are built from the latest source code to also be updated.

The "Build directory" is where AUR packages will be built. Using "tmp" usually will provide the best performance but very large packages may fail to build. In this case, select a location with more available space.

When pamac installs packages, it keeps a copy of all the old packages you have downloaded. This cache can be very useful if you have to install older packages in an emergency. However, left unchecked, this cache will grow very large over time. These preferences allow your cache to be automatically managed based on your preferences.

The first option allows you to set a number for how many copies of each package are retained. In other words, if you have downloaded 25 versions of Firefox over the life of your install and you set this number to "3", only the most recent 3 versions will be retained. Unless you are very short on disk space, it is recommended to set this to at least 2.

By selecting "Remove only the versions of uninstalled packages", pamac will retain all versions of packages you still have installed.

Using the Pamac CLI

Pamac also includes a fully functional CLI for when you don't have a working GUI or for those that prefer to manage packages that way.

Locating and Installing Packages

To search for available packages you can use the command pamac search. For example, to search the repos for packages containing the word smplayer:

pamac search smplayer
smplayer
[Installed] 19.5.0-1    community 
  Media player with built-in codecs that can play virtually all video and audio formats
smplayer-skins
[Installed] 1:15.2.0-2  community 
  Skins for SMPlayer
smplayer-themes
[Installed] 1:18.6.0-1  community 
  Themes for SMPlayer

As you can see, this will also show you which packages are already installed. If you would like to search both the repos and AUR you add -a like this:

pamac search -a smplayer
smplayer
[Installed] 19.5.0-1         community 
  Media player with built-in codecs that can play virtually all video and audio formats
smplayer-skins
[Installed] 1:15.2.0-2       community 
  Skins for SMPlayer
smplayer-themes
[Installed] 1:18.6.0-1       community 
  Themes for SMPlayer
papirus-smplayer-theme-git
20181024-2       AUR 
  Papirus theme for SMPlayer (git version)
smplayer-svn
17.12.0.r8852-1  AUR 
  Advanced front-end for MPlayer/MPV
smplayer-svn-notitlebar
18.3.0.r8982M-1  AUR 
  Advanced front-end for MPlayer/MPV + Patch to disable titlebar in compact mode
smplayer-skins-svn
15.2.0.r8852-1   AUR 
  Skins for SMPlayer
smplayer-themes-svn
17.3.0.r8852-1   AUR 
  Themes for SMPlayer
smplayer-qt4
18.5.0-1         AUR 
  Complete front-end for MPlayer/MPV (Qt4)
rosa-media-player-plugin
1.0-2            AUR 
  The new multimedia player(based on SMPlayer) with clean and elegant UI (mozilla plugin only).
smplayer-theme-faenza (Out of Date: 09/15/2017)
2-2              AUR 
  Normal, dark and silver faenza theme for smplayer.
umplayer
0.98.2-2         AUR 
  An alternative to SMPlayer

Once you have identified the packages you wish to install, you can install them with command pamac install. For example, if we wanted to install smplayer and smplayer-themes we could use the command:

pamac install smplayer smplayer-themes

Tip

When using install, pamac will check to see if packages are installed and only install the ones not already installed

If you want to install packages from AUR you use the command pamac build. Sticking with the above example, if you decided you wanted to install umplayer instead you could use the command:

pamac build umplayer

Removing Packages

The command pamac remove can be used to uninstall packages installed from the repos or AUR. For example, if you wanted to remove all the packages installed above, you could use the command:

pamac remove smplayer smplayer-themes umplayer

Warning

It is extremely important to carefully review the list of packages pamac presents before confirming. Some packages have many packages which depend on them and you don't want to inadvertently remove your whole desktop environment

Identifying Installed Packages

To display a list of all installed packages, you can use the command:

pamac list -i

Displaying Detailed Package Information

To display detailed information on a package that is in the repos or installed on your system, use the command pamac info. Keeping with our example of SMPlayer :

pamac info smplayer

If you also would like to check packages in AUR, you could use:

pamac info -a smplayer

Updating the System

To check if updates are available, you can use the command:

pamac checkupdates -a

To update all installed packages installed from the repos or AUR, you can use the command:

pamac upgrade -a

Tip

pamac update and pamac upgrade are exactly the same. You can use them interchangeably.

Dealing with Orphaned Packages

To check to see if there any orphaned packages (packages which are no longer needed) installed, you can use:

pamac list -o

To remove all orphans use the command:

pamac remove -o

Cleaning the Cache

When pamac installs packages, it keeps a copy of all the old packages you have downloaded. This cache can be very useful if you have to install older packages in an emergency. However, left unchecked, this cache will grow very large over time.

Otherwise, to clear the cache completely, enter the following command (and use with care):

pamac clean

A safer way to remove old package cache files is to remove all packages except for the latest three package versions using:

pamac clean --keep 3

Other Useful Pamac Functions

To see which package owns a certain file on your system, use the command pamac search -f. For example:

pamac search -f /usr/bin/smplayer

To force a package to be installed even if it is already installed, use pamac reinstall. For example:

pamac reinstall smplayer

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 <!--T:7-->
-{{tip|Both the GTK and Qt Pamac packages will automatically install the CLI version as well}}
+{{tip|Both the GTK and Qt pamac packages will automatically install the CLI version as well}}
 =Using the Pamac GUI= <!--T:8-->
@@ Line 39: / Line 39: @@
 <!--T:11-->
-To install packages simply check check the box next to the packages.  Once you have selected all the packages all the packages you want to install, click the Apply button at the bottom of the page.
+To install packages, simply check the box next to the packages.  Once you have selected all the packages you want to install, click the Apply button at the bottom of the page.
 <!--T:12-->
-If any of the packages have optional dependencies(packages that enable additional functionality) you will see a window like the one to the left which allows to select the ones you would like to install.
+If any of the packages have optional dependencies (packages that enable additional functionality) you will see a window like the one to the left which allows to select the ones you would like to install.
 <div style="clear: both"></div>
 [[File:Pamac-gtk-transaction-summary.png|left|thumb|400px]]
@@ Line 49: / Line 49: @@
 <!--T:13-->
-After you have selected optional dependencies, you should see a windows similar to the one pictured on the left.  This lists all the packages that will be installed, upgraded or removed by the action.  Once you have reviewed the list, press the Apply button to install the packages.
+After you have selected optional dependencies, you should see a window similar to the one pictured on the left.  This lists all the packages that will be installed, upgraded or removed by the action.  Once you have reviewed the list, press the Apply button to install the packages.
@@ Line 68: / Line 68: @@
 <!--T:18-->
-Once you do you should see a screen similar to the one on the left which lists all the packages that are about to be removed.  You may notice this list contains more packages than you selected.  This is because when you remove a package that other packages depend on, those packages are also removed.
+Once you do, you should see a screen similar to the one on the left which lists all the packages that are about to be removed.  You may notice this list contains more packages than you selected.  This is because when you remove a package that other packages depend on, those packages are also removed.
 <!--T:19-->
-{{warning|It is extremely important to carefully review the Transaction Summary before accepting the package removal.  Some packages have many packages which depend on them and you don't want to inadvertently remove your whole Desktop Environment}}
+{{warning|It is extremely important to carefully review the Transaction Summary before accepting the package removal.  Some packages have many packages which depend on them and you don't want to inadvertently remove your whole desktop environment}}
 <div style="clear: both"></div>
@@ Line 87: / Line 87: @@
 <!--T:23-->
-The General tab of preferences contains several settings, most of which are self explanatory.
+The General tab of preferences contains several settings, most of which are self-explanatory.
@@ Line 95: / Line 95: @@
 * Maximum parallel downloads - The number of concurrent downloads allowed
 * Enable downgrade - This allows packages to be downgraded as well as upgraded.  This is important when [[Switching_Branches|switching branches]].
-* Check for updates - Disabling this will stop Pamac from looking for updates.  In most cases, turning this off on a [[The Rolling Release Development Model|rolling release]] distro like Manjaro is a bad idea.
+* Check for updates - Disabling this will stop pamac from looking for updates.  In most cases, turning this off on a [[The Rolling Release Development Model|rolling release]] distro like Manjaro is a bad idea.
 * Ignore updates for - This is a list of packages that you don't want to be upgraded.  This is inherently dangerous practice and should only be used by advanced users.
@@ Line 120: / Line 120: @@
 <!--T:29-->
-The "Build directory" is where AUR packages will be built.  Using "tmp" usually will provide the best performance but very large packages may fail to build.  In this case, select somewhere with more available space.
+The "Build directory" is where AUR packages will be built.  Using "tmp" usually will provide the best performance but very large packages may fail to build.  In this case, select a location with more available space.
 <div style="clear: both"></div>
 [[File:Pamac-gtk-preferences-cache.png|left|thumb|400px]]
@@ Line 126: / Line 126: @@
 <!--T:30-->
-When Pamac installs packages, it keeps a copy of all the old packages you have downloaded.  This cache can be very useful if you have to download packages in an emergency.  However, left unchecked, this cache will grow very large over time.  These preferences allow your cache to be automatically managed based on your preferences.
+When pamac installs packages, it keeps a copy of all the old packages you have downloaded.  This cache can be very useful if you have to install older packages in an emergency.  However, left unchecked, this cache will grow very large over time.  These preferences allow your cache to be automatically managed based on your preferences.
 <!--T:31-->
-The first option allows you to set a number for how many copies of each package are retained.  In other words, if you have downloaded 25 versions of firefox over the life of your install and you set this number to "3", only the most recent 3 versions will be retained.  Unless you are very short on disk space, it is recommended to set this to at least 2.
+The first option allows you to set a number for how many copies of each package are retained.  In other words, if you have downloaded 25 versions of Firefox over the life of your install and you set this number to "3", only the most recent 3 versions will be retained.  Unless you are very short on disk space, it is recommended to set this to at least 2.
 <!--T:32-->
-By selecting "Remove only the versions of uninstalled packages" pamac will retain all versions of packages you still have installed.
+By selecting "Remove only the versions of uninstalled packages", pamac will retain all versions of packages you still have installed.
 <div style="clear: both"></div>
@@ Line 140: / Line 140: @@
 <!--T:34-->
-Pamac also includes a fully functional CLI for when you don't have a functional GUI or for those that prefer to manager packages that way.
+Pamac also includes a fully functional CLI for when you don't have a working GUI or for those that prefer to manage packages that way.
@@ Line 148: / Line 148: @@
 To search for available packages you can use the command {{ic|pamac search}}.  For example, to search the repos for packages containing the word smplayer:
 <pre>pamac search smplayer
-smplayer                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   [Installed] 19.5.0-1    community
+smplayer
+[Installed] 19.5.0-1    community
    Media player with built-in codecs that can play virtually all video and audio formats
-smplayer-skins                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             [Installed] 1:15.2.0-2  community
+smplayer-skins
+[Installed] 1:15.2.0-2  community
    Skins for SMPlayer
-smplayer-themes                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            [Installed] 1:18.6.0-1  community
+smplayer-themes
+[Installed] 1:18.6.0-1  community
    Themes for SMPlayer</pre>
@@ Line 159: / Line 162: @@
 As you can see, this will also show you which packages are already installed.  If you would like to search both the repos and [[Arch_User_Repository|AUR]] you add {{ic|-a}} like this:
 <pre>pamac search -a smplayer
-smplayer                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              [Installed] 19.5.0-1         community
+smplayer
+[Installed] 19.5.0-1         community
    Media player with built-in codecs that can play virtually all video and audio formats
-smplayer-skins                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        [Installed] 1:15.2.0-2       community
+smplayer-skins
+[Installed] 1:15.2.0-2       community
    Skins for SMPlayer
-smplayer-themes                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       [Installed] 1:18.6.0-1       community
+smplayer-themes
+[Installed] 1:18.6.0-1       community
    Themes for SMPlayer
-papirus-smplayer-theme-git                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        20181024-2       AUR
+papirus-smplayer-theme-git
+20181024-2       AUR
    Papirus theme for SMPlayer (git version)
-smplayer-svn                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      17.12.0.r8852-1  AUR
+smplayer-svn
+.12.0.r8852-1  AUR
    Advanced front-end for MPlayer/MPV
-smplayer-svn-notitlebar                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           18.3.0.r8982M-1  AUR
+smplayer-svn-notitlebar
+.3.0.r8982M-1  AUR
    Advanced front-end for MPlayer/MPV + Patch to disable titlebar in compact mode
-smplayer-skins-svn                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                15.2.0.r8852-1   AUR
+smplayer-skins-svn
+.2.0.r8852-1   AUR
    Skins for SMPlayer
-smplayer-themes-svn                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               17.3.0.r8852-1   AUR
+smplayer-themes-svn
+.3.0.r8852-1   AUR
    Themes for SMPlayer
-smplayer-qt4                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      18.5.0-1         AUR
+smplayer-qt4
+.5.0-1         AUR
    Complete front-end for MPlayer/MPV (Qt4)
-rosa-media-player-plugin                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          1.0-2            AUR
+rosa-media-player-plugin
+.0-2            AUR
    The new multimedia player(based on SMPlayer) with clean and elegant UI (mozilla plugin only).
-smplayer-theme-faenza (Out of Date: 09/15/2017)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   2-2              AUR
+smplayer-theme-faenza (Out of Date: 09/15/2017)
+-2              AUR
    Normal, dark and silver faenza theme for smplayer.
-umplayer                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          0.98.2-2         AUR
+umplayer
+.98.2-2         AUR
    An alternative to SMPlayer</pre>
 <!--T:39-->
-Once you have identified the packages you wish to install you can install them with command {{ic|pamac install}}.  For example, if we wanted to install {{ic|smplayer}} and {{ic|smplayer-themes}} we could use the command:
+Once you have identified the packages you wish to install, you can install them with command {{ic|pamac install}}.  For example, if we wanted to install {{ic|smplayer}} and {{ic|smplayer-themes}} we could use the command:
   pamac install smplayer smplayer-themes
 <!--T:40-->
-{{tip|When using install pamac will check to see if packages are installed and only install the ones not already installed}}
+{{tip|When using install, pamac will check to see if packages are installed and only install the ones not already installed}}
@@ Line 201: / Line 216: @@
 <!--T:43-->
-The command {{ic|pamac remove}} can be used to uninstall packages installed from the repos or [[Arch_User_Repository|AUR]].  For example if you wanted to remove all the packages installed above you could use the command:
+The command {{ic|pamac remove}} can be used to uninstall packages installed from the repos or [[Arch_User_Repository|AUR]].  For example, if you wanted to remove all the packages installed above, you could use the command:
   pamac remove smplayer smplayer-themes umplayer
@@ Line 207: / Line 222: @@
 <!--T:44-->
-{{warning|It is extremely important to carefully review the list of packages pamac presents before confirming.  Some packages have many packages which depend on them and you don't want to inadvertently remove your whole Desktop Environment}}
+{{warning|It is extremely important to carefully review the list of packages pamac presents before confirming.  Some packages have many packages which depend on them and you don't want to inadvertently remove your whole desktop environment}}
@@ Line 213: / Line 228: @@
 <!--T:46-->
-To display a list of all installed packages you can use the command:
+To display a list of all installed packages, you can use the command:
   pamac list -i
@@ Line 220: / Line 235: @@
 <!--T:48-->
-To display detailed information on a package that is in the repos or installed on your system use the command {{ic|pamac info}}.  Keeping with our example:
+To display detailed information on a package that is in the repos or installed on your system, use the command {{ic|pamac info}}.  Keeping with our example of SMPlayer :
   pamac info smplayer
 <!--T:49-->
-If you also would like to check packages in [[Arch_User_Repository|AUR]] you could use:
+If you also would like to check packages in [[Arch_User_Repository|AUR]], you could use:
   pamac info -a smplayer
@@ Line 232: / Line 247: @@
 <!--T:51-->
-To check if updates are available you can use the command:
+To check if updates are available, you can use the command:
   pamac checkupdates -a
 <!--T:52-->
-To update all installed packages installed from the repos or [[Arch_User_Repository|AUR]] you can use the command:
+To update all installed packages installed from the repos or [[Arch_User_Repository|AUR]], you can use the command:
   pamac upgrade -a
 <!--T:53-->
-{{tip|pamac update and pamac upgrade are exactly the same.  You can use them interchangably.}}
+{{tip|pamac update and pamac upgrade are exactly the same.  You can use them interchangeably.}}
@@ Line 248: / Line 263: @@
 <!--T:55-->
-To check to see if there any orphaned packages(packages which are no longer needed) installed you can use:
+To check to see if there any orphaned packages (packages which are no longer needed) installed, you can use:
   pamac list -o
@@ Line 279: / Line 294: @@
 <!--T:63-->
-To force a package to be installed even if it is already installed use {{ic|pamac reinstall}}.  For example:
+To force a package to be installed even if it is already installed, use {{ic|pamac reinstall}}.  For example:
   pamac reinstall smplayer
 </translate>
 [[Category:Contents Page{{#translation:}}]]