# Arch Sentry

> Arch Linux health audits for pacman cache, orphan packages, and pacnew drift.

- Skill: `sahit-sai/arch-sentry` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 7 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add sahit-sai/arch-sentry`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/sahit-sai/arch-sentry/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: sahit-sai (https://skillmd.com/u/sahit-sai)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/sahit-sai/arch-sentry

---


# arch-sentry

## Purpose

Arch Linux health audits for pacman cache, orphan packages, and pacnew drift.

## Runbook

1. Confirm `pacman`, `jq`, and the helper scripts in `scripts/` are available.
2. Abort before continuing if the current user cannot escalate with `sudo`; package cleanup and pacnew reconciliation are intentionally gated.
3. Run `scripts/audit.sh` to collect:
   - pacman package cache size
   - orphan package count and package list
   - `.pacnew` and `.pacsave` drift under `/etc`
4. Use `scripts/run.sh` as the convenience alias when you want the audit plus markdown summary in one step.
5. Review the JSON output and summarize high-signal findings with `scripts/report.sh`.
6. Ask for explicit approval before any cleanup action such as cache pruning, orphan removal, or config-file replacement.
7. If a pacnew file exists, compare it against the active config before recommending merge or replacement steps.

## Stop conditions

1. Abort if `pacman` or `jq` is missing.
2. Abort if the active variant is marked `unsupported`.
3. Abort if `sudo -n true` fails and the next step would require privileges.
4. Abort before any cleanup or file replacement that has not been explicitly approved.

## Output format

- Audit JSON with `cache_size`, `orphan_packages`, and `pacnew_files`
- A markdown summary of immediate issues
- Recommended next actions grouped into safe / needs approval

### Example output

```json
{
  "cache_size": "3.4G",
  "orphan_count": 2,
  "orphan_packages": ["python-jaraco.functools", "qt5-webkit"],
  "pacnew_count": 1,
  "pacnew_files": ["/etc/pacman.conf.pacnew"]
}
```

```md
## arch-sentry report

- pacman cache size: 3.4G
- orphan packages: 2
- pacnew / pacsave files: 1

### Recommended next actions
- Review orphan packages before removal.
- Review pacnew and pacsave files before replacing active configs.
```

## Example invocations

- `skills/arch-sentry/scripts/audit.sh`
- `skills/arch-sentry/scripts/report.sh`
- `skills/arch-sentry/scripts/run.sh`
- "Run arch-sentry and tell me whether pacman cache cleanup is worth doing today."