paccache

Clean Pacman's package cache

TLDR

Remove all but the 3 most recent package versions from the pacman cache

$ paccache [[-r|--remove]]

Set the number of package versions to keep

$ paccache [[-rk|--remove --keep]] [num_versions]

Perform a dry-run and show the number of candidate packages for deletion

$ paccache [[-d|--dryrun]]

Move candidate packages to a directory instead of deleting them

$ paccache [[-m|--move]] [path/to/directory]

-r, --remove
    Perform the removal of old package versions. This option must be specified for any files to be deleted.

-u, --uninstalled
    Remove all cached packages that are no longer installed on the system. Can be combined with -r.

-k , --keep
    Keep num versions of each installed package. The default is 3. A value of 0 means keep all versions (no removal). Only applies to installed packages when combined with -r.

-c

, --cachedir
    Specify an alternative package cache location to operate on, overriding the default.

-d , --dbpath
    Specify an alternative pacman database location, overriding the default. Useful for custom setups.

-s, --size
    Display the total size of the package cache before and after the operation. This provides a clear indication of disk space savings.

-v, --verbose
    Display the names of the files being removed during the operation, providing more detailed feedback.

-h, --help
    Show a help message and exit.

-V, --version
    Show version information and exit.

DESCRIPTION

The paccache command is a utility designed for managing the Arch Linux package cache, typically located at /var/cache/pacman/pkg/.

As packages are updated on a rolling-release distribution like Arch Linux, older versions of packages remain in the cache. While this allows for downgrades or reinstallation without re-downloading, it can consume a significant amount of disk space over time.

paccache helps to mitigate this by intelligently removing older package versions based on specified criteria, such as keeping a certain number of recent versions of installed packages or removing all cached packages that are no longer installed on the system. It's a crucial tool for maintaining disk space and system hygiene on Arch-based systems.

CAVEATS

Using paccache to aggressively prune the cache (e.g., -k 1 or removing uninstalled packages) can limit your ability to downgrade packages to older versions if a newer update causes issues. Once removed, a package must be re-downloaded if needed again.

COMMON USAGE EXAMPLES

Here are some common ways to use paccache:

To keep 3 latest versions of installed packages (default behavior for -r):
sudo paccache -r

To keep only the current version and one previous version of installed packages:
sudo paccache -r -k 1

To remove all uninstalled packages from the cache:
sudo paccache -r -u

To keep only the current version of installed packages and remove all uninstalled packages:
sudo paccache -r -uk 0

To display cache size before and after, and remove packages:
sudo paccache -r -s

HISTORY

paccache is not part of the core pacman package manager but is instead provided by the pacman-contrib package. It was developed as a complementary utility to address the common issue of ballooning package cache sizes in Arch Linux's rolling release model, where frequent updates can rapidly accumulate old package versions.