To add:
- Networking with systemd-networkd + iwd
- Update os-prober instructions
Wired connection is activated automatically. For wi-fi use the following.
iwctl
You will now be running the iwctl interactive prompt. To get your device name enter the following.
device list
To list available networks.
station [dev name] get-networks
Connect the device.
station [dev name] connect [SSID]
You can now exit the iwctl prompt.
quit
Use cfdisk to partition the drive as shown below. This allows easy creation and deletion of partitions. Be sure to write changes before exiting the program.
Ensure partition types are set as shown in table below.
Depending on the system the disk may not be called sda but this is what I'll be using fo the examples.
Note
Instructions on swap files are included further down the guide. Swap file elimintates the need for a swap partiton.
Note
If dual booting using a single disk, your existing EFI partition can be used instead of creating a new one.
A basic partition table is as follows:
| Partition | Mount point | Size | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| sda1 | /boot | 512M | EFI System |
| sda2 | NA | 8G | Linux swap |
| sda3 | / | 20-50G | Linux filesystem |
| sda4 | /home | Remainder | Linux filesystem |
If disk space allows I prefer 50G for root. Though this is not required.
| WARNING: The following is for example only. The names of partitions may vary. Ensure to remember which of your partitions corresponds to its respective partition in the guide when formatting and mounting. |
|---|
Running the following in order will format the paritions created earlier. sda1 is a FAT filesystem, this is required by boot partitions. sda2 is formatted as swap, this creates extra space for system memory. sda3 and sda4 are formatted as ext4, the default Linux filesystem.
mkfs.fat -F32 /dev/sda1
mkswap /dev/sda2
mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda3
mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda4
Firstly the root partition will need to be mounted. Denoted by /, this is the root of the filesystem from which the rest of the file system branches. During this stage of the installation we are working from outside of the installation, so root is mounted at /mnt rather than / for now. Once mounted we can begin to add our first directories to the system. Directories for UEFI and user files are then created and mounted to their respective partitions. Finally the swap partition is mounted.
mount /dev/sda3 /mnt
mkdir /mnt/boot
mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/boot
mkdir /mnt/home
mount /dev/sda4 /mnt/home
swapon /dev/sda2
Mirrors are copies of the Arch Linux server which are hosted throughout the world. Without this step the installation of packages in the following steps may be terribly slow.
This first command is not required, however the mirror list it provides is grouped by locale which I find makes it much easier to edit.
curl -o /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist https://archlinux.org/mirrorlist/all/
Determine which mirror locations are closest to you and uncomment them.
nano /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
As well as a few things required for networking and booting the system. Change cpu_manufacturer bellow to your match your cpu (amd or intel).
pacstrap -i /mnt base base-devel linux linux-headers linux-firmware cpu_manufacturer-ucode dialog nano wpa_supplicant wireless_tools networkmanager network-manager-applet
This generates instructions for the system to follow when mounting the system. It will mimic the manually mounted system from earlier.
genfstab -U /mnt >> /mnt/etc/fstab
This command means change root. The following will cause /mnt to become the root of the filesystem (/). Steps from this point will be executed within the new installation rather than the installation media.
arch-chroot /mnt
The purpose of a swap file is the same as a swap partiton only it eliminates the need to mount its own partition.
The following will create a swap file and give the appropriate permissions
fallocate -l 8GB /swapfile
chmod 600 /swapfile
mkswap -L swap /swapfile
swapon /swapfile
Add the following line to the end of /etc/fstab
/swapfile none swap defaults 0 0
Change "Australia" and "Brisbane" in the line bellow as required.
ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/Australia/Brisbane /etc/localtime
Uncomment your preferred language in the following file. In my case this is en_AU.UTF-8 UTF-8 for Australia. If you are unsure use U.S settings en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8.
nano /etc/locale.gen
Generate locale
locale-gen
Add language. Use the same language selected in /etc/locale.gen e.g LANG=en_AU.UTF-8
echo "LANG=en_AU.UTF-8" >> /etc/locale.conf
If you are running a system dual booted with Windows I recommend running hwclock --systohc --local This will prevent the clocks from interfering with each other and displaying incorrect times. The time will likely still be incorrect after completing the Arch installation. To fix this, boot into Windows. Type 'services' into the menu search bar and press enter. Scroll down to 'Windows time', right click and select 'start' or 'restart'. Wait for the time to update. Arch will now also display the correct time.
Otherwise, the default Linux clock setting is UTC. Enter hwclock --systohc --utc
Give the host machine a name, change <hostname> to what ever name you like.
echo <hostname> > /etc/hostname
Add the following to /etc/hosts.
127.0.0.1 localhost
::1 localhost
127.0.1.1 <hostname>.localdomain <hostname>
This will create the root password, required to login as the root user.
passwd
Choose a bootloader, systemd-boot or GRUB
pacman -S grub efibootmgr
For dual booted machines also install and run os-prober. This will ensure other operating systems are added to the GRUB menu.
pacman -S os-prober
To enable os-prober open /etc/default/grub for editing. Uncomment the following line from the end of the file.
GRUB_DISABLE_OS_PROBER=false
Run os-prober. Note that if the other OS is on another EFI partition, that partition will need to be mounted prior to running. e.g to /mnt.
os-prober
Configure GRUB.
grub-install --target=x86_64-efi bootloader-id=GRUB --efi-directory=/boot
grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
Install systemd-boot
bootctl install
Create boot config
nano /boot/loader/entries/arch.conf
Add the following. Use lsblk to get root device name. In this case / is mounted to sda3
title Arch Linux
linux /vmlinuz-linux
initrd /intel-ucode.img
initrd /initramfs-linux.img
options root=/dev/sda3 rw
Configure default
nano /boot/loader/loader.conf
Add the following
default arch
timeout 3
exit
umount -R /mnt
reboot
Remove the install media. Arch Linux is installed. It's now just a matter of creating users and configuring your desktop.
Log in as root and create your user.
First, give the wheel group sudoer access. This will allow members of the wheel group to use the sudo command.
Using the command EDITOR=nano visudo Uncomment the line %wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL DO NOT REMOVE THE %
Now we can create the user. -m creates a home directory for the user. -g adds the users primary group. -G adds any supplementary groups.
useradd -m -g users -G wheel <username>
passwd <username>
exit
login as with your user profile.
There are many different environments to choose from. Here are some popular options.
First re-connect to the internet.
sudo systemctl enable --now NetworkManager.service
To connect to Wi-Fi
nmcli device wifi connect <SSID> password <password>
Bare bones window manager.
Note: i3 comes with no programs installed. Be sure to install the basics such as a browser and terminal along with the line below.
sudo pacman -S i3-wm dmenu xorg xorg-xinit lightdm lightdm-gtk-greeter network-manager-applet
sudo systemctl enable --now lightdm
Or, start from terminal.
echo "exec i3" > ~/.xinitrc
startx
Simple, easy to use environment, Default display manager is gdm.
sudo pacman -S gnome
Start with display manager
sudo systemctl enable --now gdm
Or, start from terminal.
sudo pacman -S xorg-xinit
Add the following to ~/.xinitrc
export XDG_SESSION_TYPE=x11
export GDK_BACKEND=x11
exec gnome-session
start
startx
Highly configurable desktop environment. Default display manager is sddm.
sudo pacman -S plasma
Start with display manager
sudo systemctl enable --now sddm
Or, start from terminal.
sudo pacman -S xorg-xinit
Add the following to ~/.xinitrc
export DESKTOP_SESSION=plasma
exec startplasma-x11
start
startx
A lightweight desktop. Default display manager is lightdm
sudo pacman -S lightdm-gtk-greeter xorg xorg-xinit firefox xfce4 xfce4-goodies
sudo systemctl enable lightdm
reboot
Or, start from terminal.
echo "exec startxfce4" > ~/.xinitrc
startx