Very dumb question, but I’m kinda new to Linux. Do I have to manually update that or does it just do it when I update packages and the like? I’m on Arch btw.
There’s no way you’re so new to Linux that you wouldn’t know if that would update automatically yet you’re running Arch btw. That’s like saying, “Do I need to do oil changes on my car? I built my engine, btw.”
Nah, there’s a bunch of people (even on Lemmy) that recommend Arch or Arch-derived distributions to newbies. Many mention they haven’t used any other distro themselves.
Depends. There’s also the included archinstall script, which skips all of that. Just some minimal configuration you find on most distros (Language/Time Zones/Mirrors…) and that’s it.
So yeah, nowadays it’s totally possible to end up with a working Arch installation without knowing anything about it besides that one command.
I once had someone tell me that they use Arch on there server since it is stable. If it works that is fine but don’t go around telling people that Arch is more stable than Ubuntu, Rocky or Debian.
all you have to do to “run” arch is type out some lines from a YouTube video and press enter. With all the people saying “Arch! Arch!” at every corner it’s totally understandable that someone would try it and still be confused on basic stuff.
Then Arch is kind of a terrible choice for you. I use it (btw), but I’ve been using linux since 2008.
The learning curve and constant need to troubleshoot things isn’t great for beginners.
EDIT: can someone explain why I’m getting downvoted? Isn’t this common knowledge that Mint and other begginner-friendly distros that don’t have complicated package managers and require less configuration and maintenance are better for someone who’s just starting with Linux?
I myself began with Ubuntu back in '08 but nowadays use both Arch and Mint.
That’s one of the reasons I chose arch. Because of the difficulty i can’t take shortcuts or be lazy and have to actually learn. When I tried something like Pop_OS I definitely enjoyed it but didn’t really learn anything because it was all done for me.
Arch Linux can be a bit overwhelming for newbies when trying out for the first time. Hey if you are comfortable with it then so be it. But if you have tried other friendly distros before this you can get an understanding of different package managers, arch packages, AUR etc. And to answer the question if you installed KDE through pacman or AUR helper, then it will be updated automatically when you update other packages through it.
I am not sure if anyone answered your question in a way that you were expecting so let me try
yes you will get the update but you might not know it because your config wont change, so you have to go into the theme settings and use the “default” to see the pretty
It does it automatically.
But make sure to read the Arch news before every update, especially when it’s a lot of packages. Something big like a new KDE Release might require minor manual intervention.
I’ve literally only read the news the 1 or 2 times there was a breaking change during an update. Blindly updating (non-AUR) has served me fine for over 10 years
Well everyone’s milage may vary. I have set up informant some time ago so I’m forced to read the news on updates. But much more importantly I’ve ignored .pacnew files for years till it bit me in the ass when a Pam config file change broke my login so now I’m not ignoring.pacnew but merging them every update.
As the other commenter said I use a diff tool (I use vimdiff but meld probably works easiest if your not used to vim).
I do a pacdiff after every upgrade that will prompt you for all the changed files (most of the times there are none or the changes are minor) and let you compare your version and the .pacnew file. If anything changes in the syntax in a major way (which it almost never does) you will should spot these differences and be able to amend any changes you made in that way.
The example I gave was when some pam config file syntax changed and since I had a custom pam config (because of an encrypted home) it didn’t update the syntax (creating a pacnew file) then I couldn’t login after reboot.
I would recommend doing it manually - you can get a GUI diff tool (I like Meld), run it with both the normal file and pacnew, and merge every change from the pacnew into the main file.
In general, almost everything you install with pacman will update when you do pacman -Syu (and restart, in case of kernel updates). The way packages work, all the files needed for a piece of software to function are installed from a package, and when you install a newer version, it removes all the files from the old version and puts in new ones. (Caveats apply to configuration files you can modify - those don’t get replaced if you do)
So after you update some software through pacman, it should be in an entirely clean state, just like if you just installed it. The main caveats apply to things like flatpak, which manage its own packages, and software like Steam and Discord, which have an additional auto-updater for some things that’s storing files separately.
On linux, generally everything you install is through a centralized repository, you can think of it as an app store, arch is all entirely updated through pacman, pacman is just a command line way to interact with the app store.
Very dumb question, but I’m kinda new to Linux. Do I have to manually update that or does it just do it when I update packages and the like? I’m on Arch btw.
There’s no way you’re so new to Linux that you wouldn’t know if that would update automatically yet you’re running Arch btw. That’s like saying, “Do I need to do oil changes on my car? I built my engine, btw.”
Arch stereotype is over with archinstall and direct step by step tutorial. You don’t need to know how new release get updated to install arch
Nah, there’s a bunch of people (even on Lemmy) that recommend Arch or Arch-derived distributions to newbies. Many mention they haven’t used any other distro themselves.
They would still have to go through that ridiculous install following the Wiki, so I think that they are be pretty well educated on updates.
Depends. There’s also the included
archinstallscript, which skips all of that. Just some minimal configuration you find on most distros (Language/Time Zones/Mirrors…) and that’s it.So yeah, nowadays it’s totally possible to end up with a working Arch installation without knowing anything about it besides that one command.
Fine, I’ll install Arch (btw). You can stop trying to convince me now.
People are nuts
I once had someone tell me that they use Arch on there server since it is stable. If it works that is fine but don’t go around telling people that Arch is more stable than Ubuntu, Rocky or Debian.
all you have to do to “run” arch is type out some lines from a YouTube video and press enter. With all the people saying “Arch! Arch!” at every corner it’s totally understandable that someone would try it and still be confused on basic stuff.
New to arch and new to Linux:
Install a yogurt, or yet another one!
You update and then the entire system breaks (because Arch)
😆
What’s so funny? Like I said, I’m new to Linux.
“I use Arch BTW” is a meme in the Linux community. It reflects the perceived urge of Arch users to boast about using it.
Welcome to Linux :)
Then Arch is kind of a terrible choice for you. I use it (btw), but I’ve been using linux since 2008.
The learning curve and constant need to troubleshoot things isn’t great for beginners.
EDIT: can someone explain why I’m getting downvoted? Isn’t this common knowledge that Mint and other begginner-friendly distros that don’t have complicated package managers and require less configuration and maintenance are better for someone who’s just starting with Linux?
I myself began with Ubuntu back in '08 but nowadays use both Arch and Mint.
What are y’all doing that you need to troubleshoot constantly? My experience with arch is about the same as my experience with Debian.
I had way more struggle and frustration using mint/ubuntu than arch/endevourOS/openSuse TW
🤷🏻♀️
Using old kernel and mix of flatpak/repo/snap etc. Is just unpredictable, what happens and why. At least for me.
I love, how in arch anything is verbose! Main reason I love linux and Arch especially.
That’s one of the reasons I chose arch. Because of the difficulty i can’t take shortcuts or be lazy and have to actually learn. When I tried something like Pop_OS I definitely enjoyed it but didn’t really learn anything because it was all done for me.
Arch Linux can be a bit overwhelming for newbies when trying out for the first time. Hey if you are comfortable with it then so be it. But if you have tried other friendly distros before this you can get an understanding of different package managers, arch packages, AUR etc. And to answer the question if you installed KDE through pacman or AUR helper, then it will be updated automatically when you update other packages through it.
Well then that’s a great approach and more power to you. Enjoy Linux!
https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/btw-i-use-arch
You may think you’re new…but clearly you have the spirit of a Linux veteran.
One of us! One of us!
I am not sure if anyone answered your question in a way that you were expecting so let me try
yes you will get the update but you might not know it because your config wont change, so you have to go into the theme settings and use the “default” to see the pretty
It does it automatically.
But make sure to read the Arch news before every update, especially when it’s a lot of packages. Something big like a new KDE Release might require minor manual intervention.
I’ve literally only read the news the 1 or 2 times there was a breaking change during an update. Blindly updating (non-AUR) has served me fine for over 10 years
Well everyone’s milage may vary. I have set up informant some time ago so I’m forced to read the news on updates. But much more importantly I’ve ignored .pacnew files for years till it bit me in the ass when a Pam config file change broke my login so now I’m not ignoring.pacnew but merging them every update.
Oh… Ohno
How safe is merging them?
As the other commenter said I use a diff tool (I use vimdiff but meld probably works easiest if your not used to vim). I do a pacdiff after every upgrade that will prompt you for all the changed files (most of the times there are none or the changes are minor) and let you compare your version and the .pacnew file. If anything changes in the syntax in a major way (which it almost never does) you will should spot these differences and be able to amend any changes you made in that way.
The example I gave was when some pam config file syntax changed and since I had a custom pam config (because of an encrypted home) it didn’t update the syntax (creating a pacnew file) then I couldn’t login after reboot.
I would recommend doing it manually - you can get a GUI diff tool (I like Meld), run it with both the normal file and pacnew, and merge every change from the pacnew into the main file.
I’m more of an “update first, care later” type of person
And it works great, 100% recommended to newbies
Oh and make a separate home partition, just in case
Live fast and die young 🤘
No separate home needed, just save important files in your nextcloud server
The server runs arch too x)
A separate harddrive for backups is lost technology apparently.
Yes 😆
In general, almost everything you install with pacman will update when you do
pacman -Syu(and restart, in case of kernel updates). The way packages work, all the files needed for a piece of software to function are installed from a package, and when you install a newer version, it removes all the files from the old version and puts in new ones. (Caveats apply to configuration files you can modify - those don’t get replaced if you do)So after you update some software through pacman, it should be in an entirely clean state, just like if you just installed it. The main caveats apply to things like flatpak, which manage its own packages, and software like Steam and Discord, which have an additional auto-updater for some things that’s storing files separately.
On linux, generally everything you install is through a centralized repository, you can think of it as an app store, arch is all entirely updated through pacman, pacman is just a command line way to interact with the app store.