using the Arch Linux Archive as a timeless mirror
I previously wrote about how installing packages on Arch Linux can surprisingly require a reboot. After sharing this post I found out about the Arch Linux Archive, which actually stores historical copies of all packages, backed by archive.org.
Cool! But kind of impractical to use.
Today I introduce my solution: redir-to-ala, which allows you to use the ALA as a normal package repo.
Basically, you can put this as the second or third entry in your mirrorlist, and it will alleviate the dreaded pacman "error: failed retrieving file : The requested URL returned error: 404". After your first couple of mirrors fail, pacman will fall back to redir-to-ala, which should work. (Since it can handle old packages that normal mirrors have removed.)
To be clear, THIS IS A HACK, and it is not a substitute for updating your system regularly. If widely adopted, it will also put undue load on the archive.org servers, which are not designed to be used as package repositories.
But, it was a quick idea to solve a problem I had, so I thought I'd share it.
If you post a reply on another blog or social media, or just want to chat, email me! christopher@cg505.com