checkupdates
safely check for Arch Linux package updates
TLDR
Synchronize database and list pending updates
$ checkupdates
List pending updates without syncing the database$ checkupdates -n
Display updates only if different from last check$ checkupdates -c
List updates and download packages to cache$ checkupdates -d
Use a specific pacman database$ CHECKUPDATES_DB=[path/to/directory] checkupdates
SYNOPSIS
checkupdates [options]
DESCRIPTION
checkupdates safely checks for pending updates in Arch Linux without requiring root privileges. It creates a temporary copy of the sync database to check for updates, avoiding any modifications to the system.
Part of the pacman-contrib package, it provides a safe way to check updates that can be used in scripts and status bars.
PARAMETERS
-n, --nosync
Don't synchronize the database, use cached data-c, --change
Only display if updates differ from last check-d, --download
Download packages to pacman cache while checking-h, --help
Display help message
ENVIRONMENT
CHECKUPDATES_DB
Path to use for the temporary database
CAVEATS
Arch Linux specific. Requires network access for database synchronization unless using --nosync. The temporary database is stored in a user-writable location.