manjaro-expert

Manjaro Expert

Manjaro Linux is a rolling-release distribution based on Arch Linux. It inherits Arch's package manager (pacman), the AUR ecosystem, and systemd-based init, but adds its own tools for hardware detection (mhwd), kernel management, and curated stable/testing/unstable branches.

This skill covers the full breadth of Manjaro/Arch system administration: package management, AUR, systemd, filesystems, networking, user management, maintenance, and troubleshooting.

Package Management with pacman

pacman is the core package manager. All official Manjaro/Arch packages flow through it.

Install, Remove, Search

# Install packages
sudo pacman -S <package>                    # install from repos
sudo pacman -S <pkg1> <pkg2> <pkg3>         # install multiple
sudo pacman -S --needed <package>           # skip if already installed (idempotent)
sudo pacman -S --noconfirm <package>        # no prompts (scripting)
sudo pacman -U /path/to/package.pkg.tar.zst # install local .pkg.tar.zst file

# Remove packages
sudo pacman -R <package>                    # remove, keep dependencies
sudo pacman -Rs <package>                   # remove + unused dependencies
sudo pacman -Rns <package>                  # remove + deps + config files (clean)
sudo pacman -Rdd <package>                  # force remove, ignore dependency checks (dangerous)

# Search
pacman -Ss <query>                          # search remote repos (name + description)
pacman -Qs <query>                          # search installed packages
pacman -F <filename>                        # which package owns a file (needs pacman -Fy first)

# Info
pacman -Si <package>                        # remote package info (repo, size, deps)
pacman -Qi <package>                        # installed package info (size, install date, deps)
pacman -Ql <package>                        # list all files installed by a package
pacman -Qo /path/to/file                    # which installed package owns this file

System Update

Manjaro is rolling-release. Always do a full system upgrade, never partial:

sudo pacman -Syu                            # sync repos + upgrade all packages
sudo pacman -Syyu                           # force refresh + upgrade (after mirror change)

Never run pacman -Sy <package> (sync without upgrade) -- this causes partial upgrades and breaks shared library dependencies.

Cache Management

sudo pacman -Sc                             # remove cached packages not currently installed
sudo pacman -Scc                            # remove ALL cached packages (nuclear)
paccache -r                                 # keep last 3 versions (from pacman-contrib)
paccache -rk 1                              # keep only the latest version

Downgrading Packages

# From local cache
sudo pacman -U /var/cache/pacman/pkg/<package>-<old-version>.pkg.tar.zst

# Using the downgrade tool (AUR)
sudo downgrade <package>                    # interactive version picker
# Pin version: add to IgnorePkg in /etc/pacman.conf

pacman.conf Configuration

Edit /etc/pacman.conf for global settings. Key options:

[options]
ParallelDownloads = 5       # concurrent downloads (default 1, set 5-10)
Color                       # colorized output
VerbosePkgLists             # show old/new version on upgrade
CheckSpace                  # check disk space before installing
IgnorePkg = linux510 nvidia-utils  # hold packages at current version

Enable [multilib] for 32-bit support (Steam, Wine). Repositories are defined by priority order in pacman.conf.

Mirror Management

sudo pacman-mirrors --fasttrack 5           # top 5 fastest mirrors
sudo pacman-mirrors --geoip                 # mirrors by geolocation
sudo pacman -Syyu                           # always refresh after mirror change

pamac (Manjaro GUI/CLI Package Manager)

pamac wraps pacman + AUR in a single interface:

pamac search <query>                        # search repos + AUR
pamac install <package>                     # install from repos
pamac build <aur-package>                   # build + install from AUR
pamac update                                # full system update
pamac checkupdates                          # check for available updates

AUR (Arch User Repository)

The AUR contains user-submitted PKGBUILDs for packages not in official repos.

yay (AUR Helper)

# Install yay (if not pre-installed)
sudo pacman -S --needed base-devel git
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/yay.git && cd yay && makepkg -si

# Usage
yay -S <aur-package>                        # install AUR package
yay -Ss <query>                             # search repos + AUR
yay -Sua                                    # upgrade AUR packages only
yay -Syu                                    # upgrade everything (repos + AUR)
yay --devel --save                          # track -git packages for updates
yay --cleanafter --save                     # auto-clean build dirs
yay --removemake --save                     # remove makedeps after build
yay -Yc                                     # clean unneeded dependencies

paru (Rust-based Alternative)

# Install paru
sudo pacman -S --needed base-devel git
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/paru.git && cd paru && makepkg -si

# Usage is nearly identical to yay
paru -S <aur-package>
paru -Sua                                   # upgrade AUR only
paru --fm=vim                               # review PKGBUILD with vim before building

Manual AUR Build

git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/<package>.git
cd <package>
# ALWAYS review the PKGBUILD before building
less PKGBUILD
makepkg -si                                 # build + install
namcap PKGBUILD                             # lint the PKGBUILD
namcap <package>.pkg.tar.zst                # lint the built package

PKGBUILD Basics

A PKGBUILD defines how to fetch, build, and package software. Key variables:

• pkgname, pkgver, pkgrel -- package identity
• source=() -- download URLs
• sha256sums=() -- integrity checksums
• depends=(), makedepends=() -- runtime and build dependencies
• build() -- compile step
• package() -- install into $pkgdir

System Management with systemd

Service Control

sudo systemctl start <unit>                 # start now
sudo systemctl stop <unit>                  # stop now
sudo systemctl restart <unit>               # restart
sudo systemctl reload <unit>                # reload config without restart (if supported)
sudo systemctl enable <unit>                # start on boot
sudo systemctl enable --now <unit>          # enable + start immediately
sudo systemctl disable <unit>               # don't start on boot
sudo systemctl mask <unit>                  # completely prevent starting (even manually)
sudo systemctl unmask <unit>                # reverse mask
systemctl status <unit>                     # show status, recent logs, PID
systemctl is-active <unit>                  # quick active check
systemctl is-enabled <unit>                 # quick enabled check
systemctl list-units --type=service         # all loaded services
systemctl list-unit-files --type=service    # all installed services
systemctl --failed                          # show failed units

systemd Unit Types

Common types: .service (daemons), .timer (scheduled execution, replaces cron), .socket (socket activation), .mount/.automount (filesystem mounts), .path (file watch triggers), .target (unit groups), .slice (resource control).

User Services

Run services as the current user (no sudo), managed in ~/.config/systemd/user/:

systemctl --user start <unit>
systemctl --user enable <unit>
systemctl --user status <unit>
systemctl --user daemon-reload              # after editing unit files
loginctl enable-linger <username>           # keep user services running after logout

See references/systemd-recipes.md for unit file templates and timer examples.

journalctl (Log Viewer)

journalctl -u <unit>                        # logs for a specific unit
journalctl -u <unit> -f                     # follow (tail) logs
journalctl -u <unit> --since "1 hour ago"   # time-filtered
journalctl -p err                           # only errors and above
journalctl -b -1                            # logs from previous boot
journalctl --disk-usage                     # journal disk usage
sudo journalctl --vacuum-size=500M          # shrink journal to 500MB

Bootloader (GRUB) and Initramfs

sudo vim /etc/default/grub                  # edit GRUB options
sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg   # regenerate GRUB config
sudo vim /etc/mkinitcpio.conf               # edit HOOKS, MODULES, FILES
sudo mkinitcpio -P                          # regenerate all initramfs images

Filesystem and Storage

Partitioning and Filesystems

lsblk                                       # list block devices with tree
lsblk -f                                    # show filesystems and UUIDs
blkid                                       # detailed block device attributes
sudo fdisk /dev/sdX                          # MBR/GPT interactive partitioning
sudo cfdisk /dev/sdX                         # ncurses partition editor
findmnt                                      # show mount tree
sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdXn                    # create ext4
sudo mkfs.btrfs /dev/sdXn                   # create btrfs
sudo mkfs.vfat -F32 /dev/sdXn              # FAT32 (EFI partition)

fstab

Edit /etc/fstab for persistent mounts. Always use UUID (from blkid):

UUID=xxxx-xxxx  /          ext4   defaults,noatime              0 1
UUID=yyyy-yyyy  /home      btrfs  defaults,noatime,compress=zstd 0 0
UUID=zzzz-zzzz  /boot/efi  vfat   umask=0077                    0 2

After editing: sudo systemctl daemon-reload && sudo mount -a to test.

BTRFS Operations

sudo btrfs subvolume list /                  # list subvolumes
sudo btrfs subvolume create /mnt/@snapshots  # create subvolume
sudo btrfs subvolume snapshot / /mnt/@snapshots/root-$(date +%F) # snapshot
sudo btrfs subvolume delete /mnt/@old        # delete subvolume
sudo btrfs scrub start /                     # verify data integrity
sudo btrfs filesystem usage /                # detailed space report

Disk Usage

df -h                                        # filesystem usage overview
du -sh /path                                 # size of a directory
ncdu /                                       # interactive disk usage explorer

Networking

NetworkManager (nmcli)

nmcli device status                          # list all network interfaces
nmcli connection show                        # list saved connection profiles
nmcli connection up <name>                   # activate a connection
nmcli connection down <name>                 # deactivate
nmcli device wifi list                       # scan Wi-Fi networks
nmcli device wifi connect <SSID> password <pw>  # connect to Wi-Fi
nmcli connection modify <name> ipv4.addresses 192.168.1.100/24  # static IP
nmcli connection modify <name> ipv4.method manual
nmtui                                        # ncurses TUI for NetworkManager

Firewall (ufw)

sudo ufw enable
sudo ufw allow 22/tcp
sudo ufw allow 80,443/tcp
sudo ufw status verbose

SSH

sudo systemctl enable --now sshd             # start SSH server
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "user@host"         # generate key pair
ssh-copy-id user@remote                      # copy public key
ssh -L 8080:localhost:80 user@remote         # local port forward

Key config files: /etc/ssh/sshd_config (server), ~/.ssh/config (client).

User and Permissions

# User management
sudo useradd -m -G wheel -s /bin/bash <user> # create user with home, wheel group
sudo usermod -aG docker,libvirt <user>        # add to groups
sudo userdel -r <user>                        # remove user + home
sudo passwd <user>                            # set password

# Groups
sudo gpasswd -a <user> <group>               # add user to group
groups <user>                                 # list user's groups
id <user>                                     # uid, gid, all groups

# sudo — edit with visudo or drop-in file: /etc/sudoers.d/<username>

# File permissions
chmod 755 /path                              # rwxr-xr-x
chown -R user:group /path                    # recursive ownership
setfacl -m u:user:rwx /path                  # ACL: grant user access
getfacl /path                                # show ACLs

Kernel and Hardware

Kernel Management (Manjaro-specific)

mhwd-kernel -li                              # list installed kernels
mhwd-kernel -l                               # list available kernels
sudo mhwd-kernel -i linux610                 # install kernel 6.10
sudo mhwd-kernel -r linux66                  # remove kernel 6.6
uname -r                                      # currently running kernel

Always keep at least two kernels installed as fallback.

Hardware Detection (mhwd)

mhwd -li                                     # list installed drivers
mhwd -l                                      # list available drivers
sudo mhwd -a pci nonfree 0300               # auto-install GPU driver (non-free)
sudo mhwd -i pci video-nvidia                # install specific driver
sudo mhwd -r pci video-nvidia                # remove driver

NVIDIA: mhwd handles driver selection; reboot after install; verify with nvidia-smi. AMD: video-linux (open-source) works out of the box.

Desktop and Display

# Display managers
sudo systemctl enable sddm                   # KDE default
sudo systemctl enable gdm                    # GNOME default
sudo systemctl enable lightdm                # XFCE/other default

# Check current session type
echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE                        # x11 or wayland

# Font management
fc-cache -fv                                 # rebuild font cache
fc-list                                      # list installed fonts

Environment variable locations: /etc/environment (system-wide), ~/.profile (login shell), ~/.xprofile (X11 session), ~/.config/environment.d/ (systemd user environment).

Maintenance and Troubleshooting

System Rescue

# From a live USB — chroot into installed system
sudo manjaro-chroot -a                       # auto-detect and mount
# Or manually:
sudo mount /dev/sdXn /mnt
sudo mount /dev/sdXn /mnt/boot/efi
sudo arch-chroot /mnt
# Now run repairs: pacman -Syu, grub-mkconfig, mkinitcpio -P, etc.

Common Repair Tasks

pacman -Qtd                                  # list orphaned packages
sudo pacman -Rns $(pacman -Qtdq)             # remove all orphans
pacman -Qk                                   # check all packages for missing files
sudo pacman -Syu --overwrite '*'             # force overwrite conflicts (last resort)
sudo rm /var/lib/pacman/db.lck               # remove stale lock (only if pacman NOT running)
systemctl --failed                           # list failed units
journalctl -u <failed-unit> -b              # check logs for failed service
sudo fsck /dev/sdXn                          # filesystem check (must be unmounted)

Timeshift (Snapshots)

sudo timeshift --create --comments "before update"  # create snapshot
sudo timeshift --list                                # list snapshots
sudo timeshift --restore                             # interactive restore

Timeshift works best with BTRFS (native snapshots) or RSYNC mode for ext4.

Boot Failures

Recovery steps from a live USB:

1. manjaro-chroot -a to enter the installed system
2. sudo pacman -Syu to fix partial upgrades
3. sudo mkinitcpio -P to rebuild initramfs
4. sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg to fix GRUB
5. Verify /etc/fstab UUIDs match blkid output

For kernel panic: boot an older kernel from GRUB advanced options, then install a known-good kernel with mhwd-kernel.

Additional Resources

• references/pacman-cheatsheet.md — Complete pacman and yay command reference with advanced query options, package signing, repository management, and hook configuration.
• references/systemd-recipes.md — systemd unit file templates, timer recipes, socket activation examples, and user service patterns.
• references/troubleshooting-guide.md — Common Manjaro issues with step-by-step fixes: broken boots, partial upgrades, GPU driver conflicts, audio problems, and dependency resolution.
• For Tailscale VPN on Manjaro: reference the tailscale-expert skill.