Removing Software Cleanly

Uninstalling is where distros differ. Do it right and your disk stays lean for years.

Remove a package completely

sudo pacman -Rns <package>

Flag anatomy: -R remove · -n delete saved config files · -s strip now-unused dependencies.

Find what’s worth removing

pacman -Qdt                    # orphans (installed as deps, nothing needs them)
pacman -Qe                     # explicitly installed by you
pacman -Qeq | sort             # same, alphabetical
du -sh /var/cache/pacman/pkg   # how much cache you're hoarding

Then act:

sudo pacman -Rns $(pacman -Qdtq)   # purge all orphans at once

Removing an AUR package

Same command — yay builds real pacman packages:

yay -Rns <package>
yay -Yc                        # also drop unneeded AUR deps

Flatpak cleanup

flatpak uninstall <app>
flatpak uninstall --unused     # drop runtimes nothing uses anymore

Full reset checklist

Before wiping an entire app ecosystem (e.g., "all Python stuff"), list first, then delete:

pacman -Qs python
pacman -Qg gnome               # group members

And remember the safety net: big removal sprees are exactly when a fresh Timeshift snapshot pays for itself.