Arch Installation Guide
Table of Contents
This is a minimal guide to install Arch Linux. I used these steps to install Arch Linux on my device. I hope this guide will help you guys. So, let's begin right away!
If you are reading this guide, then I assume you are already booted into Arch and following these steps. I've used nano as a text editor during the installation, but you can use any text editor you like: nano, vim, vi etc.
ToC
Pre-installation
Grab the Arch Linux ISO file from their Download page and boot your USB drive with any bootable software you like. I've used Balena Etcher in this tutorial.
Verify signature
It is recommended to verify the image signature before use, especially when downloading from an HTTP mirror, where downloads are generally prone to be intercepted to serve malicious images
gpg --keyserver-options auto-key-retrieve --verify archlinux-version-x86_64.iso.sig
Alternatively, from an existing Arch Linux installation run:
pacman-key -v archlinux-version-x86_64.iso.sig
Connect to the internet
Ensure your network interface is listed and enabled, for example with ip-link(8)
ip link
Verify the connection with ping
ping archlinux.org
Or make sure your device is connected to the Internet with Ethernet Cable.
Update the system clock
Use timedatectl(1) to ensure the system clock is accurate:
timedatectl set-ntp true
To check the service status, use:
timedatectl status
Partition the disks
Use cfdisk to partition the disk. We'll be using cfdisk in this guide. It's super easy to partition the disks with cfdisk. Seriously! Try it once.
Format the partitions
As you are done making partitions, now let's format them to make them usable.
mkfs.ext4 /dev/root_partition
mkfs.fat -F32 /dev/efi_system_partition
If you created an EFI system partition, format it to FAT32 using mkfs.fat(8).
mkswap /dev/swap_partition
Mount the file systems
mount /dev/root_partition /mnt
Now let's create some directory inside the /mnt partition to mount the efi system.
mkdir -p /mnt/boot/efi
mkdir /mnt/home
And now mount the EFI system:
mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/boot/efi
If you created a swap volume, enable it with swapon(8):
swapon /dev/swap_partition
Select the mirrors
Packages to be installed must be downloaded from mirror servers, which are defined in /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist. On the live system, after connecting to the internet, reflector updates the mirror list by choosing 20 most recently synchronized HTTPS mirrors and sorting them by download rate.
The higher a mirror is placed in the list, the more priority it is given when downloading a package. You may want to inspect the file to see if it is satisfactory. If it is not, edit the file accordingly, and move the geographically closest mirrors to the top of the list, although other criteria should be taken into account.
This file will later be copied to the new system by pacstrap, so it is worth getting right.
Install essential packages
Use the pacstrap(8) script to install the base package, Linux kernel and firmware for common hardware:
pacstrap /mnt base linux linux-firmware vim nano linux-headers base-devel
Tip:
You can substitute linux for a kernel package of your choice, or you could omit it entirely when installing in a container.You could omit the installation of the firmware package when installing in a virtual machine or container.
The base package does not include all tools from the live installation, so installing other packages may be necessary for a fully functional base system. In particular, consider installing:
Configure the system
Generate an fstab file (use -U or -L to define by UUID or labels, respectively):
genfstab -U /mnt >> /mnt/etc/fstab
Check the resulting /mnt/etc/fstab file, and edit it in case of errors.
Chroot
Change root into the new system:
arch-chroot /mnt
- Now let's install some necessary packages which we need to complete the install process
pacman -S grub efibootmgr efivar networkmanager intel-ucode amd-ucode
if you device is support Intel microcode then install intel-ucode or if you device support AMD micorcode then install amd-ucode.
Time zone
Set the time zone:
ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/Region/City /etc/localtime
Change the Region & City according to your location.
ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/Asia/Dhaka /etc/localtime
Or check all the available regions
cd /usr/share/zoneinfo && ls
Select the one you need.
Run hwclock(8) to generate /etc/adjtime:
hwclock --systohc
Localization
- Create the locale.conf(5) file, and set the LANG variable accordingly:
nano /etc/locale.conf
Enter the followings in locale.conf file
LANG=en_US.UTF-8
Edit /etc/locale.gen and uncomment en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8 and other needed locales. Generate the locales by running:
locale-gen
Network configuration
- Create the hostname file:
nano /etc/hostname
Edit /etc/hostname and add this line:
myhostname
Alternatively, Using hostnamectl(1):
hostnamectl set-hostname myhostname
- Some software may however still read
/etc/hostsdirectly. To prevent them from potentially breaking or delaying operation, configure thehosts(5)file:
nano /etc/hosts
127.0.0.1 localhost
::1 localhost
127.0.1.1 myhostname
Complete the network configuration for the newly installed environment. That may include installing suitable network management software.
Initramfs
Creating a new initramfs is usually not required, because mkinitcpio is run automatically during the kernel package installation.
For LVM, system encryption, or RAID, modify mkinitcpio.conf(5) and regenerate the initramfs image:
mkinitcpio -P
Root password
Set the root password:
passwd
Install GRUB bootloader
Install GRUB in the EFI directory:
grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=/boot/efi --bootloader-id=GRUB
Generate the GRUB configuration file:
grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
Enable NetworkManager
systemctl enable NetworkManager
Exit chroot
exit
Unmount
Unmount all partitions:
umount -R /mnt
Optionally, use
fuserto identify any busy partitions before unmounting.
Reboot
reboot
If you see the login screen, congratulations—you've successfully installed Arch Linux!
Username: root
Password: YourRootPassword
Post-installation
A new installation only includes the root account. It is best to create an unprivileged user account for daily use.
Create a new user:
useradd --create-home myuser
passwd myuser
Add the user to common groups:
usermod -aG wheel,users,power,storage myuser
Enable sudo access for your user:
nano /etc/sudoers
Uncomment the following line:
%wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL
Install GUI
Xorg (Display Server)
Install Xorg:
pacman -S xorg
Install some basic fonts:
pacman -S ttf-dejavu ttf-droid ttf-font-awesome otf-font-awesome ttf-lato ttf-liberation ttf-opensans ttf-ubuntu-font-family
Edit FreeType configuration:
nano /etc/profile.d/freetype2.sh
Uncomment this line:
export FREETYPE_PROPERTIES="truetype:interpreter-version=40"
KDE Desktop Environment
Install KDE and SDDM (Display Manager):
pacman -S sddm plasma
(Optional) Install all KDE applications:
pacman -S kde-applications
Enable and start the display manager:
systemctl enable sddm.service
systemctl start sddm.service
And you're done! Enjoy your Arch Linux setup.
Here is the Official Arch Linux Install Guide.