I just love Manjaro Linux for all the awesome feature it provides! It just addicted me to the Arch environment. It’s super easy, it looks super cool and less troublesome than the classic Arch Linux. Moreover, it comes up with a ton of available tweaks and tools that’s only unique to Manjaro!

Such a tool is Octopi – a very powerful package manager for the Manjaro. If you’re familiar with Synaptic – the APT package manager, then you’ll find a lot in common. However, Octopi itself is a unique piece of software.

Today, let’s have a look at Octopi and how to get the most out of it.

Interface

Launch Octopi from the menu –

This is the Octopi interface.

Updating local database

Octopi makes the use of the local database generated from your Manjaro’s update server. That’s why every time you make the use of the tool, make sure that the database is updated to the latest.

The direct keyboard shortcut is “Ctrl + D”.

You need the “root” password, of course.

Voila! The database update is complete!

The interface

To be honest, the interface is pretty simple and self-explanatory. On the top, we got the ribbon buttons.

At the right side, we got the “Groups”. It actually makes it easier to find out your desired package(s) faster instead of using the search feature.

At the bottom, we got the summary.

The red icon is notifying me that my system is lacking one update.

Installing a package

Using Octopi for installing a package is pretty simple.

For example, “0ad” is a fun, exciting strategy game. As you can see, it’s already on the top of the list. Just right-click and select “Install”.

I’ve also selected a few more things to install.

After everything is complete, hit “Apply” button on the top ribbon.

Wait for the process to complete.

Voila! Everything is set!

Using Tools >> Repository Editor, you can select the source(s) of the system updates and make your desired changes.

From Tools >> Options, you can also make a ton of changes how Octopi should work.

Keyboard Shortcuts

All the keyboard shortcuts available for Octopi is available on the Manjaro Linux official guide.

Enjoy!