# mirrorlist-repo: the mirror list behind the Arch Linux CN community repository > The archlinuxcn mirror list is a README full of pacman mirrorlist snippets, one per mirror, with comments that record protocol support, IPv6 availability, the date a mirror was added and the mirrors that deliberately block or throttle traffic from mainland China. It also carries the tooling that keeps the list and a debuginfod configuration. **archlinuxcn/mirrorlist-repo** — Arch Linux CN Community repo mirrors list - Repository: https://github.com/archlinuxcn/mirrorlist-repo - Stars: 594 · Forks: 53 - Language: Python - License: not declared - Published: 2026-10-22 · Updated: 2026-10-22 · Language: en - Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/archlinuxcn-mirrorlist-repo ## A README that is really a mirrorlist The repository is described as an Arch Linux CN community repo mirrors list, and the whole of it is a list of public mirrors of the community repository. The main server comes first, and it is not in China: ```ini ## Our main server (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) (ipv4, ipv6, http, https) [archlinuxcn] Server = https://repo.archlinuxcn.org/$arch ``` Every entry follows the same shape, a comment line naming the operator and its location, a comment line listing the protocols and address families it supports, an optional line recording when it was added, then the mirrorlist section and the Server value. The server URL ends in $arch, the pacman variable that expands to the architecture, so the same snippet works for any machine. If you want to run a mirror of the repository yourself, the README asks you to open an issue or a pull request, or to write to repo@archlinuxcn.org and hope the mail arrives, which sets the tone for a community run operation. ## The comments are where the operational detail lives The value of this list is not the URLs, it is the annotations. Each mirror states whether it serves IPv4, IPv6, HTTP and HTTPS, so you can tell a full featured mirror from a partial one at a glance. The 163 mirror is listed as IPv4, HTTP and HTTPS with no IPv6, which means a host that depends on IPv6 will not work with it. The CERNET entry is special, since it redirects you to the nearest China educational mirror site, and the README adds the warning that some of those sites may not support IPv6 even though the entry header claims it, so the promise in the comment is not always kept by the redirect target. Most entries also carry an Added date, ranging from the Tencent Cloud CDN mirror added in 2018 to several universities added in 2023 and 2024, which gives you a rough sense of which entries are long established. ## Some mirrors throttle or block by geography A handful of entries carry notes about traffic policy, and those are the ones to read carefully. The CICKU entry describes itself as a global CDN without China, with a note that it rate limits mainland China traffic: ```ini ## CICKU (Global CDN w/o China) (ipv4, ipv6, http, https) ## Added: 2023-11-15 ## Rate limiting mainland China traffic [archlinuxcn] Server = https://mirrors.cicku.me/archlinuxcn/$arch ``` Then there is the xTom family, which runs eight servers in Hong Kong, Singapore, the United States, the Netherlands, Germany, Estonia, Japan and Australia, and every one of them repeats the same note that it blocks users in mainland China. That makes the xTom entries the fastest route for users outside the region and the wrong choice for users inside it. Since a mirrorlist snippet is usually copied once and then forgotten, this is the kind of information that gets missed, and the fact that it lives in comments rather than in structured data is a limitation of the format. ## The universities are the backbone of the list Most of the entries are academic mirrors, and they are geographically spread across the country, with Beijing Foreign Studies University, Peking University, Tsinghua University, the University of Science and Technology of China, Harbin Institute of Technology, Jilin University, Zhejiang University, SJTUG in Shanghai, Nanjing University, the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuchang Shouyi College, Lanzhou University, Xi'an Jiaotong University and Nanyang Institute of Technology among them, plus the the Institute of Software of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. Three commercial CDNs also appear, Tencent Cloud, Alibaba Cloud and Huawei Cloud, along with NetEase which uses a slightly different path segment, archlinux-cn rather than archlinuxcn, and the Taiwanese and Hong Kong entries, the NCKU CCNS mirror in Taiwan and the Taiwan Digital Streaming Co. mirror, plus the Open Computing Facility at UC Berkeley. Since the academic networks are fast inside the country and the overseas mirrors are the ones for users elsewhere. ## The tooling that keeps the list alive The repository is not only a README. The tree contains mirrors.yaml, geolocs.json with the geographic data used to place mirrors, and map.html, which is a map of the mirrors. There is a check-lastupdate script, an update-script, an application.md file, the archlinuxcn-mirrorlist directory that holds the package contents, and archlinuxcn.urls. The primary language is recorded as Python, which fits a set of scripts that fetch and validate mirror status. The presence of a last update check is the interesting part for a user, since a mirror can be listed and still be stale, and the tooling is there to catch that, although the README does not describe how the checking is scheduled or how a failing mirror is removed. ## The debuginfod side of the package The last section of the README covers the Arch Linux CN community repo debuginfod configuration, and notes that it is included in the archlinuxcn-mirrorlist-git package. The step itself is a single copy into the system directory: ```bash cp -v archlinuxcn.urls /etc/debuginfod/ ``` This is the one part of the repository that changes your system rather than your mirrorlist, and it is separate from the package manager configuration. For a team that wants gdb to resolve debug symbols against the community repository's build, copying the urls file is what points the debuginfod client at the right server, and the -v flag shows the copy happening. Everything else in the repository is advisory, in the sense that you can read the list and pick a line, but this one line has consequences if the file is wrong. ## A hand maintained list, updated when mirrors join The project is on master, is not archived, and the last push was on 2026-10-21, with no GitHub releases, which is expected for a list that is consumed as raw text rather than installed. The entries themselves are dated, and the most recent additions in the list are from 2024, including the Huazhong University of Science and Technology mirror added in May 2024 and the Taiwan Digital Streaming mirror added in July 2024, which tells you the list grows when a new volunteer mirror is signed up rather than on a schedule. No licence identifier is listed for the repository, which is a small oddity for a file that many people paste into their system configuration, and worth noting if you intend to redistribute the list inside an image you build. The practical habit is to treat the list as a starting point, pick a mirror that matches your network and your geography, and check that it is up to date before you rely on it in an unattended install. ## Conclusion Adopt this list if you install packages from the Arch Linux CN community repository and want to pick a mirror deliberately rather than at random, since the comments tell you which mirrors speak IPv6, which are HTTP only and which throttle or block traffic by geography. Do not treat it as a general Arch mirror list, because it covers only the community repository, and read the comments before you choose a mirror outside China, because several entries state that they block users in mainland China. Verify first that the mirror you pick still serves the repository, that your system can reach it over IPv6 if you rely on dual stack, and that the debuginfod step is optional in your setup, since copying the urls file into /etc/debuginfod/ is only needed if you want to resolve debug symbols from it. ## FAQ ### What is the archlinuxcn mirrorlist-repo? It is a list of public mirrors of the Arch Linux CN community repository, published as pacman mirrorlist snippets in the README. Each entry names the operator, its location, the protocols and address families it supports, and the Server URL ending in $arch. ### How do I add my own mirror to the list? The README asks you to open an issue or a pull request, or to contact the project at repo@archlinuxcn.org and hope the mail reaches. Entries carry an Added date, so the list grows as mirrors are signed up. ### Do all the Arch Linux CN mirrors support IPv6? No. Each entry states its support, and the NetEase mirror is listed as IPv4, HTTP and HTTPS only. The CERNET entry redirects to the nearest China educational mirror and the README warns that some of those sites may not support IPv6 even though the entry claims it. ### Which mirrors block or throttle traffic from mainland China? Every xTom server, in Hong Kong, Singapore, the United States, the Netherlands, Germany, Estonia, Japan and Australia, is noted as blocking users in mainland China, and the CICKU entry is noted as rate limiting mainland China traffic. ### What is the debuginfod configuration in this repository? It is an archlinuxcn.urls file that ships in the archlinuxcn-mirrorlist-git package and is copied into the system directory with cp -v archlinuxcn.urls /etc/debuginfod/, so the debuginfod client can resolve debug symbols from the community repository. ## Sources - [archlinuxcn/mirrorlist-repo on GitHub](https://github.com/archlinuxcn/mirrorlist-repo) - [Issues](https://github.com/archlinuxcn/mirrorlist-repo/issues) - [README](https://github.com/archlinuxcn/mirrorlist-repo/blob/master/README.md) --- Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/archlinuxcn-mirrorlist-repo