Installing Software

Three doors, one room. Pick whichever fits.

Door 1: pacman (native)

pacman -Ss <keyword>          # search
sudo pacman -S <name>         # install

Prefer this when the package exists here — best Cinnamon/system integration, fastest updates.

Door 2: AUR via yay

yay <keyword>                 # searches repos AND AUR interactively
yay -S <name>                 # installs from either

Use for proprietary apps (Chrome, Spotify…), niche tools, anything absent from repo-main. Safety habits: AUR & yay Guide.

Door 3: Flatpak

flatpak search kdenlive
flatpak install flathub org.kde.kdenlive

Best for always-latest GUI releases inside a sandbox. Setup steps: Flatpak & Sandbox Apps.

Choosing well

Rule of thumb: system tool → pacman, proprietary/niche → AUR, cutting-edge GUI app → Flatpak. When in doubt, pacman first.

Graphical options

Prefer clicking? Cinnamon’s Software manager frontends work too — they ultimately call the same sources. Terminal users usually end up memorizing just two lines:

yay -Syu                      # keep everything current
yay <search-term>             # find and install anything else