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.
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)
Packages for every Arch installation.
base(Basic Utilities)linux(Kernel)linux-firmware(Firmware)grub(Bootloader)networkmanager(Networking)
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)
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)
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)
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)
ansible(IT automation, infrastructure as code)
traefik(Reverse proxy)nginx(Web server)samba(SMB server)postgresql(Database)shairport-sync(AirPlay server)
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)
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)
bluez(Bluetooth daemons)
okular(Document Viewer)xournalpp(Handwritten Notes)cups(Printing System)cups-pdf(PDF Printing)texlive-most(LaTeX)libreoffice-fresh(Office Suite)zotero(AUR) (Bibliography Manager)
ttf-liberation(Arial/Times New Roman/Courier New replacement)ttf-jetbrains-mono(Typeface for developers)ttf-font-awesome(Icon font)
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)
steam(Game Distribution Platform)multimc-bin(AUR) (Minecraft Launcher)