ArchClean

A robust CLI tool for safely cleaning Arch Linux systems. ArchClean helps you maintain a tidy system by automating cache cleaning, removing orphans, and analyzing disk usage, all with safety checks and user confirmation.

Requirements

• Python 3.13+ (for now as it actually doesn't require exactly 3.13+)
• Arch Linux (or derivative)
• pacman
• ncdu (optional, for analysis)

Features

• System Cleaning:
  • Clean Pacman cache (pacman -Sc).
  • Clean AUR helper caches (yay, paru).
  • Remove orphan packages (pacman -Qtdq).
  • Vacuum systemd journals.
• Home Directory:
  • Clean thumbnail cache.
  • Empty Trash.
• Language Ecosystems:
  • Detects and cleans caches for Python (pip), Node.js (npm, yarn), and Go.
• Disk Analysis:
  • Integrates with ncdu to visualize and clean disk space.
• Safety First:
  • Interactive prompts for every action (unless --force is used).
  • Checks for binary existence before running commands.

Installation

From AUR (Arch Linux)

You can install archclean from the AUR using your favorite AUR helper:

yay -S archclean
# or
paru -S archclean

From PyPI

pip install archclean

From Source (Poetry)

1. Clone the repository.
2. Install dependencies:

   poetry install

3. Run the tool:

   poetry run archclean --help

Usage

ArchClean uses a command-based interface. The default command full runs the entire cleaning wizard.

# Run the full interactive wizard
archclean full

# Run only system maintenance
archclean system-clean

# Run only home directory cleaning
archclean home-clean

# Run only language cache cleaning
archclean lang-clean

# Run disk analysis (ncdu)
archclean analyze

Options

• --force: Skip confirmation prompts. Note that sudo will still ask for a password if required.

  archclean full --force

Disclaimer

This tool deletes files. While it aims to be safe by targeting known cache directories and asking for confirmation, always have backups. The authors are not responsible for any data loss.