Pacman is a well-known package manager integral to Arch Linux and its derivatives. Its functionality ranges from package installation, updates, removals, and searches to system upgrades.
With the release of Pacman 6.1.0, several new features and improvements have been introduced to enhance its functionality and user experience. Here they are.
Pacman 6.1.0 Highlights
One of the key features included in this update is the addition of cache server support via the “CacheServer” configuration directive in the “pacman.conf” file.
Another significant enhancement is the improvements to the --sysroot option. This change ensures that targets specified with the -U option are no longer interpreted relative to the sysroot, enhancing the tool’s usability and flexibility in various system management scenarios.
Pacman 6.1.0 also introduces more format specifiers for --print operations, extended data fields for arbitrary package data, and a directive to prevent hooks from running with the --dbonly option. These additions offer users more control and customization options when managing packages.
Regarding reliability and security, the update provides more detailed feedback when encountering file conflicts or corrupt packages. Additionally, it improves WKD (Web Key Directory) support and handling of malformed download headers, further bolstering the system’s robustness against potential threats and errors.
From a technical standpoint, Pacman 6.1.0 now utilizes OpenSSL interfaces for calculating sha256 and md5 sums, enhancing the security and efficiency of package verification processes.
The update also addresses issues with the multi-download bar display and introduces several improvements to makepkg package building script, including support for configuration via “makepkg.conf.d” drop-ins, the addition of a “GITFLAGS” environmental variable, and enhanced support for source verification and package signing.
For repository handling, repo-add, a package database maintenance utility, has been updated to exclude package signature details and md5sum from the repository database by default, with options to revert to previous behaviors if needed.
You can refer to the changelog for detailed information about all the novelties and improvements that Pacman 6.1.0 brings. Arch users will get it as an update in the coming days when they run the well-known pacman -Syu command.
