CachyOS Apps

rate-mirrors on CachyOS: install, first run, settings and fixes

Everyday-use client-side map-aware mirror ranking tool.

From the official CachyOS repo. Install with pacman, no AUR helper needed.

Written from the sources listed at the end · Nov 2, 2026 · rate-mirrors app page, reviews and trust score

Install rate-mirrors with pacman

  1. Install rate-mirrors from the official cachyos repo. pacman checks the package signature before it installs.
    sudo pacman -S rate-mirrors

First run

  1. rate-mirrors has a cachyos subcommand that ranks CachyOS mirrors. It does not need root, and it prints the ranked list.
    rate-mirrors cachyos
  2. The arch subcommand ranks Arch Linux mirrors and skips outdated or syncing ones. The README pipes it straight into the mirrorlist.
    rate-mirrors arch | sudo tee /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
  3. See every option, or the options of one subcommand.
    rate-mirrors arch --help

Key settings

  1. --save=FILE writes the output to a file instead of the terminal.
  2. --entry-country=CC sets the starting country (US by default), and --max-jumps=N the number of country hops (7 by default).
  3. --exclude-countries or --include-countries limit where mirrors come from. --protocol=https tests only HTTPS mirrors.
  4. --concurrency=N sets how many speed tests run at once (16 by default), and --max-mirrors-to-output=N caps the list.

Common fixes

rate-mirrors refuses to run as root

It is meant to run as a normal user. Use --allow-root only if you must run it as root.

Keep a backup of the current mirror list

The README saves to a temp file first and keeps the old list as mirrorlist-backup:

export TMPFILE="$(mktemp)"; rate-mirrors --save=$TMPFILE arch --max-delay=21600 && sudo mv /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist-backup && sudo mv $TMPFILE /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist

All speed tests fail

By default rate-mirrors then prints untested mirrors. Add --disable-untested-fallback to make it exit with an error instead.

Uninstall rate-mirrors

  1. Remove rate-mirrors and the dependencies nothing else needs.
    sudo pacman -Rns rate-mirrors

Sources