diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index a7aa707..f9f3d55 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # server-scripts
 
-Useful scripts for managing servers written in Bash. Supported OS includes only Ubuntu/Debian and Alpine.
+Useful scripts for managing servers written in Bash. Supported OS includes Debian/Ubuntu, Alpine, Arch, RHEL/Fedora/CentOS, openSUSE, Void, and Gentoo.
 
 In the past I was using it more for maintaining my home servers, bare metal with Docker, however when I changed to k3s, I started using it less. Now I'm using this as a collection of useful scripts that I can use when needed. Also `clean.sh` is still useful.
 
@@ -8,6 +8,16 @@ In the past I was using it more for maintaining my home servers, bare metal with
 
 This script is used to clean some of the files, docker dangling images, and docker stopped/unused containers.
 
+### `update.sh`
+
+Detects the running OS (Alpine, Arch, Debian/Ubuntu, RHEL/Fedora/CentOS, openSUSE, Void, Gentoo) and updates the **package list** only — it does not upgrade or install any packages. Useful for keeping package indexes fresh so that `upgrade` commands run faster later.
+
+Run with `curl | bash`:
+
+```bash
+curl -sSL https://git.ivanch.me/ivanch/server-scripts/raw/branch/main/update.sh | bash
+```
+
 ### `windows-backup.ps1`
 
 This PowerShell script is used to backup files from a Windows machine to a remote Samba server. It uses `7zip` to create the zip file, and then sends over the network using SMB protocol.
diff --git a/clean.sh b/clean.sh
index c052feb..481aba1 100644
--- a/clean.sh
+++ b/clean.sh
@@ -20,8 +20,9 @@ readonly YELLOW='\033[1;33m'
 # Cleanup configuration
 readonly LOG_RETENTION_DAYS=30
 readonly JOURNAL_RETENTION_DAYS=7
+readonly CACHE_RETENTION_DAYS=7
 readonly TEMP_DIRS=("/tmp" "/var/tmp")
-readonly CACHE_DIRS=("/var/cache" "/root/.cache")
+readonly CACHE_DIRS=("/var/cache/apt" "/root/.cache")
 
 #==============================================================================
 # UTILITY FUNCTIONS
@@ -56,6 +57,7 @@ get_dir_size() {
 }
 
 # Safe directory cleanup with size reporting
+# Deletes files older than CACHE_RETENTION_DAYS instead of wiping everything
 clean_directory() {
     local dir="$1"
     local description="$2"
@@ -74,16 +76,26 @@ clean_directory() {
     
     log_step "$description (was $size_before)..."
     
-    # Use find with -delete for safer cleanup
-    if find "$dir" -mindepth 1 -delete 2>/dev/null; then
-        log_success "$description: freed $size_before"
-    else
-        # Fallback to rm if find fails
-        if rm -rf "$dir"/* 2>/dev/null; then
-            log_success "$description: freed $size_before"
+    # Use find to delete files older than retention period
+    # -type f -mtime +N: only files older than N days (not directories)
+    local deleted=false
+    if find "$dir" -type f -mtime +"${CACHE_RETENTION_DAYS:-7}" -delete 2>/dev/null; then
+        deleted=true
+    fi
+    
+    # Clean up empty directories left behind (but don't remove the dir itself)
+    find "$dir" -mindepth 1 -type d -empty -delete 2>/dev/null || true
+    
+    if $deleted; then
+        local size_after
+        size_after=$(get_dir_size "$dir")
+        if [[ "$size_after" == "$size_before" ]]; then
+            log_info "$description: nothing old enough to clean (retention: ${CACHE_RETENTION_DAYS:-7}d)"
         else
-            log_warning "$description: partial cleanup completed"
+            log_success "$description: freed (was $size_before, now $size_after)"
         fi
+    else
+        log_warning "$description: partial cleanup completed"
     fi
 }
 
@@ -269,13 +281,19 @@ cleanup_cache_dirs() {
         fi
     done
     
-    # Clean additional cache locations
+    # Clean safe cache locations only
+    # NOTE: We do NOT recursively delete /var/cache or /root/.cache as a whole,
+    # as that can break package managers and remove important data.
     local additional_caches=(
-        "/var/lib/apt/lists"
+        "/var/cache/apt/archives"
+        "/var/cache/apt/archives/partial"
         "/var/cache/debconf"
+        "/var/lib/apt/lists"
         "/root/.npm"
-        "/root/.pip"
-        "/home/*/.cache"
+        "/root/.cache/pip"
+        "/root/.cache/npm"
+        "/home/*/.cache/pip"
+        "/home/*/.cache/npm"
         "/home/*/.npm"
         "/home/*/.pip"
     )
@@ -300,12 +318,16 @@ cleanup_logs() {
         
         # Find and remove old log files
         while IFS= read -r -d '' logfile; do
-            rm -f "$logfile" 2>/dev/null && ((cleaned_count++))
+            if rm -f "$logfile" 2>/dev/null; then
+                ((++cleaned_count)) || true
+            fi
         done < <(find /var/log -type f -name "*.log" -mtime +"$LOG_RETENTION_DAYS" -print0 2>/dev/null || true)
         
         # Clean compressed logs
         while IFS= read -r -d '' logfile; do
-            rm -f "$logfile" 2>/dev/null && ((cleaned_count++))
+            if rm -f "$logfile" 2>/dev/null; then
+                ((++cleaned_count)) || true
+            fi
         done < <(find /var/log -type f \( -name "*.log.gz" -o -name "*.log.bz2" -o -name "*.log.xz" \) -mtime +"$LOG_RETENTION_DAYS" -print0 2>/dev/null || true)
         
         if [[ $cleaned_count -gt 0 ]]; then
diff --git a/update.sh b/update.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..be51bee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/update.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,269 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# Package List Update Script
+# Detects the running OS and updates the package index only (no upgrades).
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+#==============================================================================
+# CONFIGURATION
+#==============================================================================
+
+readonly NC='\033[0m'
+readonly RED='\033[1;31m'
+readonly GREEN='\033[1;32m'
+readonly LIGHT_GREEN='\033[1;32m'
+readonly LIGHT_BLUE='\033[1;34m'
+readonly LIGHT_GREY='\033[0;37m'
+readonly YELLOW='\033[1;33m'
+
+readonly SCRIPT_NAME="$(basename "$0")"
+
+#==============================================================================
+# UTILITY FUNCTIONS
+#==============================================================================
+
+log_info()    { echo -e "${LIGHT_GREY}[i] $1${NC}"; }
+log_success() { echo -e "${LIGHT_GREEN}[✓] $1${NC}"; }
+log_warning() { echo -e "${YELLOW}[!] $1${NC}"; }
+log_error()   { echo -e "${RED}[x] $1${NC}" >&2; }
+log_step()    { echo -e "${LIGHT_BLUE}[i] $1${NC}"; }
+
+die() {
+    log_error "$1"
+    exit 1
+}
+
+command_exists() {
+    command -v "$1" >/dev/null 2>&1
+}
+
+# Detect the running OS and its ID string.
+# Prints two values: the distro id (lowercase) and the family id (lowercase).
+detect_os() {
+    local id=""
+    local family=""
+
+    if [[ -f /etc/os-release ]]; then
+        # shellcheck disable=SC1091
+        . /etc/os-release
+        id="${ID:-unknown}"
+        family="${ID_LIKE:-}"
+    elif [[ -f /etc/alpine-release ]]; then
+        id="alpine"
+        family="alpine"
+    else
+        # Fall back to package manager detection
+        if command_exists apk; then
+            id="alpine"; family="alpine"
+        elif command_exists pacman; then
+            id="arch"; family="arch"
+        elif command_exists apt-get; then
+            id="debian"; family="debian"
+        elif command_exists dnf; then
+            id="fedora"; family="rhel"
+        elif command_exists yum; then
+            id="centos"; family="rhel"
+        elif command_exists zypper; then
+            id="opensuse"; family="suse"
+        elif command_exists xbps-install; then
+            id="void"; family="void"
+        elif command_exists emerge; then
+            id="gentoo"; family="gentoo"
+        else
+            id="unknown"; family="unknown"
+        fi
+    fi
+
+    echo "${id} ${family}"
+}
+
+#==============================================================================
+# OS-SPECIFIC UPDATE FUNCTIONS
+#==============================================================================
+
+update_alpine() {
+    if ! command_exists apk; then
+        log_warning "apk not found on Alpine-type system"
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    log_info "Running apk update..."
+    if apk update 2>&1; then
+        log_success "Alpine package index updated"
+    else
+        log_warning "apk update failed"
+    fi
+}
+
+update_arch() {
+    if ! command_exists pacman; then
+        log_warning "pacman not found on Arch-type system"
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    log_info "Refreshing pacman database (pacman -Sy)..."
+    # -S = sync, -y = refresh local database only (no package installation)
+    if pacman -Sy --noconfirm 2>&1; then
+        log_success "Arch package database refreshed"
+    else
+        log_warning "pacman -Sy failed"
+    fi
+}
+
+update_debian() {
+    if ! command_exists apt-get; then
+        log_warning "apt-get not found on Debian-type system"
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    log_info "Running apt-get update..."
+    if apt-get update 2>&1; then
+        log_success "Debian/Ubuntu package index updated"
+    else
+        log_warning "apt-get update failed"
+    fi
+}
+
+update_rhel() {
+    if command_exists dnf; then
+        log_info "Running dnf makecache..."
+        if dnf makecache 2>&1; then
+            log_success "RHEL/Fedora metadata cache refreshed (dnf)"
+        else
+            log_warning "dnf makecache failed"
+        fi
+    elif command_exists yum; then
+        log_info "Running yum makecache..."
+        if yum makecache fast 2>&1; then
+            log_success "CentOS/RHEL metadata cache refreshed (yum)"
+        else
+            log_warning "yum makecache failed"
+        fi
+    else
+        log_warning "No DNF or YUM found on RHEL-type system"
+    fi
+}
+
+update_suse() {
+    if ! command_exists zypper; then
+        log_warning "zypper not found on openSUSE-type system"
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    log_info "Running zypper refresh..."
+    if zypper --non-interactive refresh 2>&1; then
+        log_success "openSUSE repositories refreshed"
+    else
+        log_warning "zypper refresh failed"
+    fi
+}
+
+update_void() {
+    if ! command_exists xbps-install; then
+        log_warning "xbps-install not found on Void system"
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    log_info "Running xbps-install -S (sync repository index)..."
+    if xbps-install -S 2>&1; then
+        log_success "Void package index synced"
+    else
+        log_warning "xbps-install -S failed"
+    fi
+}
+
+update_gentoo() {
+    if ! command_exists emerge; then
+        log_warning "emerge not found on Gentoo system"
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    log_info "Running emaint sync -a..."
+    if emaint sync -a 2>&1; then
+        log_success "Gentoo Portage tree synced"
+    else
+        log_warning "emaint sync failed"
+    fi
+}
+
+#==============================================================================
+# MAIN EXECUTION
+#==============================================================================
+
+main() {
+    log_step "Starting package list update (${SCRIPT_NAME})"
+    echo
+
+    # Detect the OS
+    local distro_info distro_id family_id
+    distro_info="$(detect_os)"
+    distro_id="${distro_info%% *}"
+    family_id="${distro_info##* }"
+
+    log_info "Detected OS: ${distro_id}"
+    if [[ -n "${family_id}" && "${family_id}" != "${distro_id}" ]]; then
+        log_info "OS family: ${family_id}"
+    fi
+    echo
+
+    # Dispatch to the correct handler based on distro family
+    # Check distro_id first, then fall back to family_id for aliases
+    case "${distro_id}" in
+        alpine)
+            update_alpine
+            ;;
+        arch|artix|manjaro|garuda)
+            update_arch
+            ;;
+        debian|ubuntu|linuxmint|kali|raspbian|pop)
+            update_debian
+            ;;
+        fedora|rhel|centos|rocky|almalinux|amazon|oracle|clear-linux-os)
+            update_rhel
+            ;;
+        opensuse*|suse|sles)
+            update_suse
+            ;;
+        void)
+            update_void
+            ;;
+        gentoo|funtoo)
+            update_gentoo
+            ;;
+        *)
+            # Try matching on family ID as fallback
+            case "${family_id}" in
+                *alpine*)
+                    update_alpine
+                    ;;
+                *arch*)
+                    update_arch
+                    ;;
+                *debian*|*ubuntu*)
+                    update_debian
+                    ;;
+                *rhel*|*fedora*|*centos*)
+                    update_rhel
+                    ;;
+                *suse*|*opensuse*)
+                    update_suse
+                    ;;
+                *void*)
+                    update_void
+                    ;;
+                *gentoo*)
+                    update_gentoo
+                    ;;
+                *)
+                    die "Unsupported OS: ${distro_id} (${family_id}). Cannot update package index."
+                    ;;
+            esac
+            ;;
+    esac
+
+    echo
+    log_success "Package list update completed!"
+}
+
+main "$@"