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Zil Norvilis
Zil Norvilis

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Arch Linux Running Slow? Here's How to Actually Fix It

#archlinux #linux #selfnote

Arch Linux Running Slow? Here's How to Actually Fix It

If your Arch Linux system is crawling along with maxed-out RAM and CPU usage even when you're not doing much, you're not alone. Let's cut through the noise and actually solve this problem.

First Things First: Diagnose Before You Clean

Before you start randomly cleaning files, you need to know what's actually eating your resources. Here's how to find out:

Check What's Consuming Your Resources 

# See top processes by CPU and memory (most useful)
htop

# Or if you don't have htop installed:
top

# Check memory usage breakdown
free -h

# See what's hogging your memory
ps aux --sort=-%mem | head -20

# See what's maxing your CPU
ps aux --sort=-%cpu | head -20
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Common Culprits (And How to Spot Them)

Desktop Environment Issues

Your DE might be the problem. Look for these processes in htop:

  • KDE Plasma: kwin_x11 or plasmashell memory leaks
  • GNOME: gnome-shell can get bloated over time
  • Compositors: picom, compton sometimes go rogue

Browser Tabs Are RAM Vampires

Firefox or Chrome with multiple tabs can easily consume several gigabytes. Check if your browser is the culprit before going further.

Background Indexing Services

These run constantly in the background:

  • baloo_file (KDE's file indexer)
  • tracker-miner (GNOME's indexer)

You can disable them if you don't use desktop search features.

Journal Logs Growing Out of Control 

# Check how much space your logs are using
journalctl --disk-usage

# If it's huge (multiple GB), clean it up:
sudo journalctl --vacuum-time=2weeks
# Or limit by size:
sudo journalctl --vacuum-size=100M
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Check System Health 

# See if swap is being hammered
swapon --show
vmstat 1 10

# Check for failing services
systemctl --failed
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The "System Cleaner" Question

You might be wondering: "Is there an app that can just clean everything and make my system fast again?"

GUI Cleaning Tools

Yes, there are tools, but they won't fix active performance issues:

BleachBit - The Linux equivalent of CCleaner

sudo pacman -S bleachbit
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Stacer - System optimizer with a nice GUI

yay -S stacer  # or paru -S stacer
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Manual Cleaning Commands That Actually Matter 

# Clean package cache (keeps only the 3 most recent versions)
sudo paccache -r

# Remove cached packages that are uninstalled
sudo paccache -ruk0

# Remove orphaned packages (dependencies no longer needed)
sudo pacman -Rns $(pacman -Qtdq)

# Clear user cache
rm -rf ~/.cache/*

# Clean systemd journal
sudo journalctl --vacuum-time=2weeks
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The Hard Truth About "Cleaners"

Here's what you need to understand: Cleaning files frees up disk space, but it won't fix slowness caused by active processes.

If your RAM and CPU are maxed out right now, it means:

  • Something is running that shouldn't be
  • You have a memory leak
  • Too many services are running at startup
  • Your desktop environment has issues
  • You genuinely don't have enough RAM for your workload

Cleaning cache files won't stop a runaway process from eating 4GB of RAM.

The Real Fix: Find the Problem Process

  1. Open htop
  2. Press F6 and sort by PERCENT_MEM
  3. Look at the top 5 processes
  4. Ask yourself: "Should this be using this much RAM/CPU?"

Common fixes once you identify the culprit:

  • Browser too heavy? Reduce tabs, use a lighter browser, add more RAM
  • Desktop environment leaking? Restart it or switch to something lighter (i3, dwm, XFCE)
  • Background service running wild? Disable or reconfigure it
  • Indexing services? Disable them if you don't use desktop search

Prevention: Keep Your System Lean 

# Set up automatic package cache cleaning
sudo systemctl enable paccache.timer
sudo systemctl start paccache.timer

# Limit journal size permanently
sudo vim /etc/systemd/journald.conf
# Set: SystemMaxUse=100M

# Review what starts at boot
systemctl list-unit-files --state=enabled
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My Recommendation

Don't chase "system cleaners" as a solution to performance problems. Instead:

  1. Use htop to identify the actual resource hog
  2. Deal with that specific issue
  3. Then use cleaning tools to free up disk space
  4. Set up automatic maintenance so you don't have to think about it

Your Arch system should be fast. If it's not, something specific is wrong, and finding that one thing will solve your problem better than any cleaner app ever could.

What processes are eating your resources? Drop them in the comments and let's troubleshoot together.

Running Arch Linux and want to keep it fast? The key is understanding your system, not just cleaning it blindly.

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