Reflector

Related articles

• Mirrors
• Pacman

Reflector is a Python script which can retrieve the latest mirror list from the Arch Linux Mirror Status page, filter the most up-to-date mirrors, sort them by speed and overwrite the file /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist.

Installation

Install the reflector package.

Usage

Warning:

• In the following examples, /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist will be overwritten. Make a backup before proceeding.
• Make sure the resulting /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist does not contain entries that you consider untrustworthy before syncing or updating with pacman.

To see all of the available commands, run the following command:

$ reflector --help

Examples

Verbosely rate and sort the five most recently synchronized mirrors by download speed, and overwrite the file /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist:

# reflector --verbose --latest 5 --sort rate --save /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist

Select the 200 most recently synchronized HTTP or HTTPS mirrors, sort them by download speed, and overwrite the file /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist:

# reflector --latest 200 --protocol http --protocol https --sort rate --save /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist

Select the HTTPS mirrors synchronized within the last 12 hours and located in either France or Germany, sort them by download speed, and overwrite the file /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist:

# reflector --country France --country Germany --age 12 --protocol https --sort rate --save /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist

Automation

systemd service

Since version 2020.9, Reflector ships with an enableable reflector.service.

The service will run reflector with the parameters specified in /etc/xdg/reflector/reflector.conf. This file accepts all of the reflector command-line arguments. Arguments may be grouped together on a single line or split across many lines, with optional blank lines and comment lines beginning with #. The default configuration file should serve as a good starting point and example.

For example, to select the 5 most up-to-date mirrors from France and Germany that support HTTPS and override /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist, use

/etc/xdg/reflector/reflector.conf

--save /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
--country France,Germany
--protocol https
--latest 5

Enable reflector.service to run Reflector on boot. To run it immediately, start the service.

systemd timer

Since version 2020.8, Reflector provides a systemd timer (reflector.timer) that starts the #systemd service reflector.service weekly. The schedule can be changed by editing reflector.timer.

First edit the configuration file as described in #systemd service. After you have updated the configuration file, start and enable reflector.timer.

To refresh the mirrorlist ahead of schedule, start reflector.service.

pacman hook

You can create a pacman hook that will start reflector.service and remove the .pacnew file created every time pacman-mirrorlist gets an upgrade.

/etc/pacman.d/hooks/mirrorupgrade.hook

[Trigger]
Operation = Upgrade
Type = Package
Target = pacman-mirrorlist

[Action]
Description = Updating pacman-mirrorlist with reflector and removing pacnew...
When = PostTransaction
Depends = reflector
Exec = /bin/sh -c 'systemctl start reflector.service; if [ -f /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist.pacnew ]; then rm /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist.pacnew; fi'

Set desired mirror options in /etc/xdg/reflector/reflector.conf as described in #systemd service.

Cron task

To update the mirrorlist daily, consider the following:

/etc/cron.daily/mirrorlist

#!/bin/bash

# Get the country thing
/usr/bin/reflector -c "India" -p http --sort rate > /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist

# Work through the alternatives
/usr/bin/reflector -p http  --latest 20 -p https -p ftp --sort rate >> /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist

See also

• Reflector thread on the Arch Linux Forums