How to use the command 'reflector' (with examples)

The ‘reflector’ command is a script designed specifically for Arch Linux that fetches and sorts mirrorlists. It can be used to retrieve mirrors and sort them by download speed, filter for mirrors from specific countries or protocols, and select a specific number of recently synchronized mirrors.

Use case 1: Get all mirrors, sort for download speed and save them

Code:

sudo reflector --sort rate --save /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist

Motivation: This use case is useful when you want to update your mirrorlist to include the fastest mirrors for downloading packages. By sorting the mirrors by download speed and saving them to the mirrorlist file, you ensure that your system will use the fastest available mirrors for package updates.

Explanation:

• sudo: This command requires root privileges to modify the mirrorlist file.
• reflector: The command itself.
• --sort rate: This argument specifies that the mirrors should be sorted based on their download speed.
• --save /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist: This argument specifies the location where the sorted mirrorlist should be saved.

Example output:

Sorting mirrors by download speed...
Saving sorted mirrors to /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist...
Mirrorlist updated successfully.

Use case 2: Only get German HTTPS mirrors

Code:

reflector --country Germany --protocol https

Motivation: This use case is useful when you want to filter mirrors based on specific criteria. By specifying the country and protocol, you can narrow down the mirrors to only German mirrors that support the HTTPS protocol. This can be beneficial for users in Germany who prioritize security and speed for their package downloads.

Explanation:

• reflector: The command itself.
• --country Germany: This argument specifies that only mirrors from Germany should be included.
• --protocol https: This argument specifies that only mirrors supporting the HTTPS protocol should be included.

Example output:

Fetching German HTTPS mirrors...
Mirrors retrieved successfully.

Use case 3: Only get the 10 recently sync’d mirrors

Code:

reflector --latest 10

Motivation: This use case is useful when you want to prioritize recently synchronized mirrors for package updates. By specifying the number of mirrors to retrieve using the --latest argument, you can ensure that your system uses the mirrors that have been most recently synchronized. This can help avoid potential issues with outdated mirrors.

Explanation:

• reflector: The command itself.
• --latest 10: This argument specifies that only the 10 most recently synchronized mirrors should be retrieved.

Example output:

Fetching the 10 most recently synchronized mirrors...
Mirrors retrieved successfully.

Conclusion:

The ‘reflector’ command is a powerful tool for managing mirrorlists in Arch Linux. Whether you need to sort mirrors by download speed, filter for mirrors from specific countries or protocols, or select a specific number of recently synchronized mirrors, ‘reflector’ provides the necessary functionality. By using these examples, you can optimize your mirrorlist and improve package update performance on your Arch Linux system.