Arch Packages
A list of recommendations for Arch Linux packages I find useful. For general instructions on how to set up a new Arch installation, see the wiki's installation guide.
Useful Commands
pacstrap [root] [pkgs...]
(Install packages into new root)pacman -S [pkgs...]
(Install packages)pacman -Syu
(Update everything)pacman -Q
(List installed packages)pacman -Ql [pkg]
(List files in a package)pacman -Qo [file]
(Find out which package owns a file)
System
Packages for every Arch installation.
base
(Basic Utilities)linux
(Kernel)linux-firmware
(Firmware)grub
(Bootloader)networkmanager
(Networking)
Essential
neovim
(Text Editor)git
(Version Control)tmux
(Terminal Multiplexer)htop
(Process Manager)python
(Scripting Language)sudo
(Run as Root)zsh
(Shell)curl
(URL downloader)less
(Text Viewer)openssh
(SSH client)rsync
(File copying)avahi
(mDNS/DNS-SD/Bonjour stack)yay
(AUR) (AUR helper)reflector
(Arch mirror updater)
CLI Tools
trash-cli
(Trash helper)tree
(Directory listing)fzf
(Fuzzy finder)jq
(JSON processor)zip
(ZIP archiver)unzip
(ZIP unarchiver)whois
(Whois client)wget
(CLI downloader)rlwrap
(Readline wrapper)
Development
base-devel
(Basic Build Tools)visual-studio-code-bin
(AUR) (Editor/IDE)cmake
(Meta Build Tool)ninja
(Build System)clang
(C/C++/ObjC Compiler)sqlite
(Embedded Database)nodejs
(JS runtime)npm
(Node.js package manager)yarn
(Alternative to npm)jdk-openjdk
(Java)gradle
(JVM build tool)maven
(JVM build tool)ruby
(Scripting Language)rustup
(Rust Toolchain Installer)go
(Go compiler)stack
(Haskell Build Tool)dotnet-sdk
(.NET Core)swi-prolog
(Prolog Environment)valgrind
(Memory debugger)visualvm
(JVM profiler)strace
(Syscall tracer)patchelf
(ELF file patcher)sccache
(Shared compilation cache)intellij-idea-community-edition
(JVM IDE)pycharm-community-edition
(Python IDE)
Containers
podman
(OCI container runner)podman-compose
(Compose file runner)buildah
(OCI container builder)kubectl
(Kubernetes API client)k9s
(Kubernetes TUI)helm
(Kubernetes package manager)k3s-bin
(AUR) (Lightweight Kubernetes server)
Sysadmin
ansible
(IT automation, infrastructure as code)
Server
traefik
(Reverse proxy)nginx
(Web server)samba
(SMB server)postgresql
(Database)shairport-sync
(AirPlay server)
Desktop
xorg-server
(Display server)sddm
(Display manager)plasma
(Desktop environment, KDE)- Tip: Use Alt-Space to quickly open applications on Plasma
kde-applications
(Desktop apps, choose what you need)redshift
(Warm colors at night)mesa
(OpenGL implementation)barrier
(KVM)
Daemons
Internet
firefox
(Web Browser)thunderbird
(Mail Client)discord
(Voice and Text Chat)signal-desktop
(Messenger)mattermost-desktop-bin
(AUR) (Text Chat)zulip-desktop-bin
(AUR) (Text Chat)zoom
(AUR) (Video Conferencing)wireshark-qt
(Traffic analyzer)
Bluetooth
bluez
(Bluetooth daemons)
Productivity
okular
(Document Viewer)xournalpp
(Handwritten Notes)cups
(Printing System)cups-pdf
(PDF Printing)texlive-most
(LaTeX)libreoffice-fresh
(Office Suite)zotero
(AUR) (Bibliography Manager)
Fonts
ttf-liberation
(Arial/Times New Roman/Courier New replacement)ttf-jetbrains-mono
(Typeface for developers)ttf-font-awesome
(Icon font)
Audio/Video
pipewire
(Audio processor/router)pipewire-pulse
(PulseAudio replacement)pipewire-jack
(JACK replacement)pamixer
(CLI mixer)helvum
(PipeWire patchbay)ffmpeg
(Audio/video converter)vlc
(Multimedia player)mixxx
(DJing)spotify
(AUR) (Music streaming)audacity
(Audio editor)ardour
(DAW)kdenlive
(Video editor)obs-studio
(Broadcasting and Screencasting)
Graphics
Gaming
steam
(Game Distribution Platform)multimc-bin
(AUR) (Minecraft Launcher)