• Use “sudo pacman -Syu” to update all packages, ensuring you get the full upgrade.

• Although we don’t recommend it, you can use “sudo pacman -S package_name” to upgrade specific packages.

Is it time to update your Arch Linux system? Whether you’re using pure Arch or an Arch-based distribution like Manjaro and Garuda Linux, we’ll show you how to safely update your system with one or two simple commands.

Keeping packages up to date is important on any Linux distribution. Camber operates on a rolling release model, delivering cutting-edge updates to your virtual doorstep as soon as they are ready. For this reason, frequent updates (combined with effective backups) are necessary to avoid a broken system and corrupted packages.

Most Arch-based distributions use the Pacman package manager to download and install updates, a process technically called “syncing.” You will use pacman commands to keep your packages in sync and operational.

Your user account needs sudo access to follow these instructions.

Apply a system update on Arch Linux

To start an update of all installed packages, open any terminal emulator and place the following command:

sudo pacman -Syu

You will be prompted to enter your password before the command can be executed. This command checks for available updates. If there are any, pacman will list the packages along with their new version numbers.

You will then be asked to confirm that you want to apply a full upgrade. Type y and press Enter to confirm, or use n to cancel.

If you suspect corrupted packages, you can force download a database with your update to resolve these issues. Even if no updates are available, pacman will check the integrity of your currently installed packages. Add a second y to the chain to make this happen.

sudo pacman -Syyu

How to update a specific package in Arch Linux

We do not recommend upgrading specific packages often ignoring other available updates. Due to Arch’s continuous release process, cherry-picked updates can cause issues.

If you only want to update a specific package, use the same command you used to install it, replacing package_name with your choice.

sudo pacman -S package_name

If you are unsure of the name of a package, you can search for your installed packages using the tool -Qs flag.

pacman -Qs string

Be sure to replace string with your search term. This will search both package names and descriptions, so you should easily find what you’re looking for.

While you upgrade your Arch system, you may consider trying another package manager, like Yeah. It gives you easy access to AUR (Arch User Repository).