pacreport

Generate a summary of installed packages

$ pacreport

$ pacreport --unowned-files

$ pacreport --missing-files

$ pacreport --backups

$ pacreport --group [group_name]

pacreport [options] [packages...]

-h, --help
    Display help and exit

-V, --version
    Display version information and exit

-q, --quiet
    Produce minimal output

--color
    Force colored output

--nocolor
    Disable colored output

--orphans
    List orphan packages (not required by others)

--unrequired
    List packages not required by any installed package

--diskspace
    Show disk usage report for all packages

--top[=N]
    List top N largest packages by size (default 20)

The pacreport command is a powerful tool from the pacutils package for Arch Linux and derivatives, designed to generate detailed reports on the Pacman package database. It helps system administrators and users analyze package installations, identify issues like orphan packages (those no longer required by any other package), unrequired packages, and disk space usage.

Common use cases include cleaning up orphans with pacreport --orphans, checking disk usage with pacreport --diskspace, or listing the largest packages via pacreport --top. It provides concise, sortable output ideal for scripting and maintenance tasks. Unlike core pacman commands, pacreport focuses on introspection and reporting rather than modification, making it safer for diagnostics.

Output can be customized with color options and verbosity levels, supporting both interactive and automated workflows. It's particularly useful on systems with many packages to prevent bloat and optimize storage.

Requires pacutils package installed; not part of core pacman. Output assumes localdb access; run as root for full accuracy on some reports.

0 on success, 1 on error or invalid options.
Non-zero if no packages match criteria in some modes.

Reads from /var/lib/pacman; no files modified.

Developed by Andrew Gregory as part of pacutils suite, first released in 2014 to complement pacman with advanced reporting. Evolved with Arch Linux packaging ecosystem for better maintenance tools.

pacman(8), paccache(8), pacutils(7)