Arch Linux is an x86-64 Linux distribution that focuses on the KISS(Keep It Simple, Stupid) principle. This is achieved by using the rolling release model where each release has its own attached new packages. With this model, there is no “major release” of completely new versions of the system, and hence regular updates are required to get the latest versions. This adopted principle ensures that there are minimal and distribution-specific changes which in turn reduces breakage with updates.
The Arch project was started in March 2002 by Judd Vinet after inspiration from CRUX. Ever since its first release, Arch gained massive popularity and is currently among the best 10 Linux distributions.
Pacman, the default package manager for Arch Linux is used to install, remove and update packages. This installation covers steps you can use to install Arch Linux on your system.
You will need the following pre-requisites met before we install Arch Linux.
- A 64bit system
- At least 1GB of RAM and 20GB of free hard-drive space
- Knowledge of Linux command line utilities
- An internet connection
- USB/DVD drive
Having met the above requirements, proceed and install Arch Linux with the steps below:
Step 1 – Create bootable disk for Arch Linux
Download the Arch Linux ISO file from the official Arch Linux downloads page. There are several download options, choose one that works best for you.
To be able to install Arch Linux on a physical system, you need to create bootable media using one of the tools below:
- Ventoy: for Linux systems that accomodates multiple ISO files
- Rufus: this application is used to convert a disk into bootable media supported by Windows and maCOS operating systems.
- woeUSB for Linux users.
- Etcher Tool for macOS
On the Linux command line, you can create a bootable media using the below commands:
# Identify USB device
sudo lsblk
# Flash Arch Linux to USB drive
sudo dd bs=4M if=Arch_linux.iso of=/dev/sdX status=progress oflag=syncIn the command above, replace /Arch_linux.iso with the path of the downloaded ISO file and /dev/sdx with the path of your USB device.
Step 2 – Boot into Arch Linux installer
Insert the bootable USB disk on your system, Ensure that you modify boot options in BIOS to boot from the USB disk.
When the system boot into the USB disk, you will the below options.
Select the first option to install Arch Linux.
Step 3 – Set the preferred Keyboard Layout
The system will boot into a live mode, proceed and set the keyboard Layout to use during the installation.
The default layout is the US mapping. List the available options.
ls /usr/share/kbd/keymaps/**/*.map.gzYou can change the layout to a preferred one say Latin using the command below.
loadkeys de-latin1Step 4 – Verify internet access
Verify if you have a working internet connection using the ping command below.
ping -c 3 google.comWith a working internet, set the system time using the Network Time Protocol(NTP).
timedatectl set-ntp trueCheck the status:
$ timedatectl status
Local time: Wed 2022-02-09 11:33:26 UTC
Universal time: Wed 2022-02-09 11:33:26 UTC
RTC time: Wed 2022-02-09 11:33:26
Time zone: UTC (UTC, +0000)
System clock synchronized: yes
NTP service: active
RTC in local TZ: noStep 5 – Partition the Disk
List the available disks using the command:
lsblkSample Output:
NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
loop0 7:0 0 715.4M 1 loop /run/archiso/airootfs
sda 8:0 0 40G 0 disk
sr0 11:0 1 864.3M 0 rom /run/archiso/bootmntNow we will use cfdisk to create partitions for the system. Use the command below to create a partition.
cfdisk /dev/sdaRemember to replace sda with the disk you want to make partitions on. Now proceed and create a dos label type on the disk.
You will then be granted the available free disk to create partitions on.
Select New as shown above to create a new partition. Set the partition size in GB, but remember to leave some free space(two times the amount of RAM) for the swap partition.
Set this partition as your primary partition.
Now you will have your new partition created along with the remaining free space. Make this partition bootable as below
On the free remaining space, create another partition using similar steps but on this one, instead of making it bootable, select the type option.
In the type list, set the disk type to 82 Linux swap / Solaris.
Now apply the changes by selecting Write then type Yes.
Once the changes have been written to the disk, Quit.
Step 6 – Create Filesystems
We will create filesystems for the two portions:
- Bootable partition(/dev/sda1)
- Swap partition(/dev/sda2)
# lsblk
NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
loop0 7:0 0 715.4M 1 loop /run/archiso/airootfs
sda 8:0 0 40G 0 disk
├─sda1 8:1 0 35G 0 part
└─sda2 8:2 0 5G 0 part
sr0 11:0 1 864.3M 0 rom /run/archiso/bootmntTo create an EXT4 file system for the bootable partition use the command.
mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda1Remember to replace sda1 with the appropriate partition.
Output:
mke2fs 1.46.4 (18-Aug-2021)
Discarding device blocks: done
Creating filesystem with 9175040 4k blocks and 2293760 inodes
Filesystem UUID: 17e814cd-b1c6-42fc-9d05-f911d5afcc07
Superblock backups stored on blocks:
32768, 98304, 163840, 229376, 294912, 819200, 884736, 1605632, 2654208,
4096000, 7962624
Allocating group tables: done
Writing inode tables: done
Creating journal (65536 blocks): done
Writing superblocks and filesystem accounting information: done Next, create a file system for the swap partition.
mkswap /dev/sda2Sample output:
Setting up swapspace version 1, size = 5 GiB (5367656448 bytes)
no label, UUID=be05235f-49eb-4d8f-a919-85778c6fa1f6Step 7 – Mount the filesystems
Now mount the created partitions using the below command.
mount /dev/sda1 /mnt
swapon /dev/sda2We have now mounted the bootable partition and activated the swap space filesystem.
Step 8 – Update the Arch Linux Mirror List
Updating the mirror list is so essential since the mirrors far away will slow down the process and can cause errors during the installation.
Begin by syncing the repository as below.
pacman -SyySample output:
:: Synchronizing package databases...
core 136.4 KiB 6.66 MiB/s 00:00 [######################] 100%
extra 1554.5 KiB 44.6 MiB/s 00:00 [######################] 100%
community 6.1 MiB 86.5 MiB/s 00:00 [######################] 100%In this guide, we will use reflector to update the mirror list. Install it as below.
pacman -S reflectorDependency tree:
resolving dependencies...
looking for conflicting packages...
Packages (1) reflector-2021.11-2
Total Download Size: 0.03 MiB
Total Installed Size: 0.10 MiB
Net Upgrade Size: 0.00 MiB
:: Proceed with installation? [Y/n] yTake a backup of the available mirrors.
cp /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist.bakNow update the Mirror list using reflector.
reflector -c "YY" -f 12 -l 10 -n 12 --save /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlistRemember to replace YY with the country code, for example, use KE for Kenya.
Step 9 – Install the Arch Linux Base System
To install the base system use the pacstrapcommand below.
pacstrap /mnt base linux linux-firmwaresample output:
.....
:: Retrieving packages...
linux-5.16.7.arc... 155.7 MiB 48.4 MiB/s 00:03 [######################] 100%
linux-firmware-2... 134.1 MiB 39.8 MiB/s 00:03 [######################] 100%
gcc-libs-11.1.0-... 30.3 MiB 27.8 MiB/s 00:01 [######################] 100%
icu-70.1-1-x86_64 10.7 MiB 27.4 MiB/s 00:00 [######################] 100%
glibc-2.33-5-x86_64 9.8 MiB 26.3 MiB/s 00:00 [######################] 100%
systemd-250.3-3-... 7.2 MiB 26.6 MiB/s 00:00 [######################] 100%
binutils-2.36.1-... 6.2 MiB 24.6 MiB/s 00:00 [######################] 100%
openssl-1.1.1.m-... 3.6 MiB 23.3 MiB/s 00:00 [######################] 100%
glib2-2.70.3-1-x... 2.8 MiB 16.3 MiB/s 00:00 [######################] 100%
gnutls-3.7.3-1-x... 2.8 MiB 19.7 MiB/s 00:00 [######################] 100%
coreutils-9.0-2-... 2.7 MiB 19.2 MiB/s 00:00 [######################] 100%
gnupg-2.2.32-2-x... 2.4 MiB 17.9 MiB/s 00:00 [######################] 100%
util-linux-2.37.... 2.3 MiB 17.6 MiB/s 00:00 [######################] 100%
gettext-0.21-1-x... 2.1 MiB 16.3 MiB/s 00:00 [######################] 100%
sqlite-3.37.2-1-... 1743.4 KiB 17.6 MiB/s 00:00 [######################] 100%
bash-5.1.016-1-x... 1667.7 KiB 16.8 MiB/s 00:00 [######################] 100%
libxml2-2.9.12-7... 1386.5 KiB 15.6 MiB/s 00:00 [######################] 100%
....
==> Generating module dependencies
==> Creating zstd-compressed initcpio image: /boot/initramfs-linux-fallback.img
==> Image generation successful
(12/12) Reloading system bus configuration...
Skipped: Running in chroot.
pacstrap /mnt base linux linux-firmware 16.14s user 11.34s system 40% cpu 1:08.66 totalThis process may take quite some time depending on your internet speed.
Step 10 – Configure the Arch Linux System
With the base system installed, we need to make a few configurations. First, generate the fstab file with the mount points:
genfstab -U /mnt >> /mnt/etc/fstabNow navigate into the mounted disk using the command:
arch-chroot /mntNow make the below configurations:
Set the TimeZone
List available timezones:
timedatectl list-timezonesSe the appropriate timezone.
timedatectl set-timezone Time/ZoneReplace Time/Zone with the appropriate timezone. Example:
timedatectl set-timezone Africa/NairobiSet the Locale
this is used to determine your language, numbering, and currency format. Set the preferred locale in the below file by uncommenting it.
# pacman -S vim
# vim /etc/locale.genOnce preferred changes have been made, save the file and proceed. For US English.
en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8 Create system users
Create a password for the root user:
$ passwd
New password:
Retype new password:
passwd: password updated successfullyCreate a standard system user.
useradd -m -G wheel,users -s /bin/bash user1
passwd user1Install required packages:
pacman -S bash-completion openssh zsh xterm chromium sudo dhclient networkmanager --noconfirm
pacman -S xorg --noconfirmAllow the created user to execute commands.
echo "export EDITOR=vim" >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
visudoUncomment the below lines:
%wheel ALL=(ALL) ALLSet Hostname
Begin by creating the hostname for the system.
echo arch.localhost > /etc/hostnameCreate the hosts file as below.
vim /etc/hostsIn the file, add the below lines:
127.0.0.1 localhost
::1 localhost
127.0.1.1 arch.localhostStep 11 – Install Grub Loader on Arch Linux
Depending on your system, there are two methods:
Non-UEFI system
For a non-UEFI system, proceed as below.
pacman -S grub os-prober
grub-install /dev/sdaCreate a config file for the GRUB.
grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfgUEFI system
For a UEFI system, proceed as below.
pacman -S grub efibootmgr
mkdir /boot/efi
mount /dev/sda1 /boot/efiNow install GRUB.
grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --bootloader-id=GRUB --efi-directory=/boot/efiCreate a config file for the GRUB.
grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfgStep 12 – Install the Desktop Environment on Arch Linux.
Those who need GUI on Arch Linux need to install a desktop environment.
##For KDE
pacman -S plasma kde-applications-meta
systemctl enable sddm.service
##For Gnome
pacman -S gnome gnome-extra
pacman -S gdm
systemctl enable gdm
##For XFCE
pacman -S xfce4 xfce4-goodies xfce4-mixer gstreamer0.10-good-plugins \ libxnvctrl xscreensaver # pacman -S lightdm lightdm-gtk-greeter
systemctl enable lightdm.service
##For Cinnamon
pacman -S cinnamon
pacman –S gdm
systemctl enable gdmReboot the system.
exit
umount -R /mnt
rebootStep 13 – Post Arch Linux installation configurations
Once your system reboots, you should be able to see the login window as below.
On successful authentication, you will see the below dashboard.
Verify your installation under system settings-> About the system.
Launch the terminal and start and enable the Networking manager.
sudo systemctl start NetworkManager.service
sudo systemctl enable NetworkManager.serviceYou can also edit your connection using the nmtui tool
nmtuiSwitch between static and DHCP configurations.
Conclusion.
At this point, it is safe to assume that this guide on how to install Arch Linux – Step by Step With Screenshots has been a success. In case you find any problem with this setup, let us know.
