This guide assumes you’re already familiar with arch or linux and should be used as a refresher for reinstallation.
There are two different guide modes: regular and veteran:
Reg: Good brief guide on installation with reference links and a bit of explanation.
Vet: Reminder and quick reference guide; Straight to the point and no screen bloat.
If you’re familiar with linux / arch, skip to the regular install guide.
If you’re an arch vet, skip to the vet install guide.
Linux noobs, read below before progressing.
Linux Noobs
I really do not recommend installing on dual boot with win***s, (do this at your own risk) nor do I recommend installing arch if you’re a noob to linux. No hate against noobs but it get’s annoying seeing the same stupid questions getting asked daily on arch forums, r/arch and r/archlinux.
If you want an introduction to linux, I recommend using debian or ubuntu to familiarise yourself, if you’re hard set on arch try an arch distro such as manjaro, garuda or endeavor.
If you’re still determined to download vanilla arch, I applaud and wish you luck. This guide will not go through archinstall and I advise against it; archinstall is meant to be used for users who already know what they are doing and manually installing is the best way to learn about the system. You will learn about very critical commands that will need to be used when repairing your system such as chroot or pacstrap.
For the love of god please RTFW and use it as your reference guide. The arch wiki will become your bible and it has EVERYTHING you need.
Veteran
- partition
- mkfs
- mount
- pacstrap
- fstab
- chroot
- grub-install & grub-mkconfig
- useradd & usermod
Regular
1. Preperation
1.1. Connect the USB
Connect the USB to your computer and boot into the iso. This shouldn’t need much explanation…
1.2. Verify Boot Mode
user@arch ~ # cat /sys/firmware/efi/fw_platform_size
It should return: 64 meaning 64 bit or 32 meaning 32 bit.
If it returns: No such file or directory, you’ve got a bios system.
Remember this as this will be important when partitioning the disks.
2. Connect to the Internet
This will go through two ways to connect: iwd and ethernet; Then when connected, ping to confirm the connection.
2.1. Connect with iwctl
Use iwd to connect to the internet. Type in iwctl.
user@arch ~ #
user@arch ~ # iwctl
The prompt will change to iwd.List the station then put it in scan mode.
[iwd]#
[iwd]# station list
Devices in Station Mode
Name State Scanning
wlan0 disconnected
[iwd]# station wlan0 scan
Once you’ve got the station name; wlan0 in this case, list the available networks.
[iwd]# station wlan0 get-networks
Available networks
Network name Security Signal
WIFI1 psk ****
WIFI2 psk ***
WIFI3 psk ****
After you get your network, connect to it and type in the password.
[iwd]# station wlan0 connect WIFI1
Type the network passphrase for ARCH5G psk.
Passphrase...
If you have a hidden network, connect to it:
[iwd]# station wlan0 connect-hidden [NETWORK_NAME]
2.2. Connect to the Internet via Ethernet
Connecting via ethernet should be automatic; you shouldn’t need to configure anything on arch. Find the setting in your android phone:
Settings > Connections > Mobile Hotspot and Teathering > USB Tethering
NOTE: The USB cable needs to be connected for this option to be toggled. If you can’t find the setting, look up ethernet connection for your specific device model.
2.3. Confirm Internet Connection
Ping the network to make sure you’re connected. You can use any address you want, e.g google’s public DNS: 8.8.8.8; cloudfare’s public DNS: 1.1.1.1. I usually use archlinux, so we’ll use it in the example below.
user@arch ~ # ping archlinux.org
4. Partition
List the disks on your system:
user@arch ~ # lsblk
NAME MAJ:MIN RO SIZE TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
nvme0n1 259:0 0 1.8T disk
Your disks can also be named sda; follow what is relevant. Anything that ends in rom, loop, airootfs can be ignored. See device file for more information.
The following will be going through GPT partitions, for more information on partitioning, view: Partition Types and GNU’s bios installation
4.1. Layouts
EFI:
| Partition | Partition Type | Recommended Size |
|---|---|---|
| /boot | EFI System | 1 GiB |
| [SWAP] | Linux swap | 4 GiB |
| / | Linux x86_64 root | 23-32 GiB |
BIOS:
| Partition | Partition Type | Recommended Size |
|---|---|---|
| - | BIOS Boot | 1 MiB |
| [SWAP] | Linux swap | 4 GiB |
| / | Linux x86_64 root | 23-32 GiB |
NOTE:
Home partition isnt required but it is usually created; especially if you’ll be using your pc as a daily and:
- So you’re not sharing the same userspace as root.
- Easier to distro hop or nuke your install to start over without wiping user configs.
Boot of 1 GiB is enough for multiple kernels; if you don’t plan on using more kernels on /boot, then 400 MiB should be enough. I usually just go for 1 GiB just in case
4.2. Partition Disk
user@arch ~ # fdisk /dev/sda
Create a new GPT partition.
Command (m for help): g
Create boot, swap, root and home.
Command (m for help): n
Partition number (1-4, default 1): [ENTER]
First sector (2048-3907026943, default 2048): [ENTER]
Last sector, +/-sectors or +/-size{K,M,G,T,P} (2048-3907026943, default 3907026943): +1G
Do not type +1G for all partitions… make sure the size is relevant to the partition type. Review 4.1. Layouts.
BIOS does not need /boot, do not create it.You’ll need an extra partition called bios boot, with no file system and +1M ~ it can be in any position but needs to be on the first 2 TiB of the disk. This partition also needs to be created BEFORE grub is installed.
Change the partition types.
Command (m for help): t
Quick partition type reference guide for GPT:
| Alias | Type | GUID |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | EFI System | C12A7328-F81F-11D2-BA4B-00A0C93EC93B |
| 4 | BIOS Boot | 21686148-6449-6E6F-744E-656564454649 |
| 19 | Linux Swap | 0657FD6D-A4AB-43C4-84E5-0933C84B4F4F |
| 20 | Linux Filesystem | 0FC63DAF-8483-4772-8E79-3D69D8477DE4 |
| 23 | Linux Root x86_64 | 4F68BCE3-E8CD-4DB1-96E7-FBCAF984B709 |
| 42 | Linux Home | 933AC7E1-2EB4-4F13-B844-0E14E2AEF915 |
When finished, write the disk and exit.
Command (m for help): w
4.3. Format Partition
For boot partition, create the efi file system.
user@arch ~ # mkfs.fat -F 32 /dev/[EFI PARTITION]
Create the swap file system.
user@arch ~ # mkswap /dev/[SWAP_PARTITION]
Create a filesystem for root and home if you’ve created one. I always use ext4, view file systems for more information on different types.
user@arch ~ # mkfs.ext4 /dev/[ROOT_PARTITION]
user@arch ~ # mkfs.ext4 /dev/[HOME_PARTITION]
5. Mount
Mount the partitions you’ve created.
user@arch ~ # mount /dev/[ROOT_PARTITION] /mnt
You’ll need to run mkdir with other mount points.
user@arch ~ # mount --mkdir /dev/[BOOT_PARTITION] /mnt/boot
user@arch ~ # mount --mkdir /dev/[HOME_PARTITION] /mnt/home
NOTE: Do not mount BIOS boot partition.
Turn on swap.
user@arch ~ # swapon /dev/[SWAP_PARTITION]
6. Pacstrap
Install the base packages, kernel and firmware. See kernel for more information on different kernel types and options.
user@arch ~ # pacstrap -K /mnt base linux linux-firmware
It’s best to download the rest of your packages now, you could also do this when you’ve chrooted.
NOTE: Nothing except for /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist will be carried over from the live install to the installed system.
6.1. Things to Consider
CPU Microdes:
Firmware:
Text Editors:
7. Change Root
7.1. Pre-Chroot
Before you chroot you must generate fstab.
user@arch ~ # genfstab -U /mnt >> /mnt/etc/fstab
7.2. Chroot
Chroot into the system at your chosen mountpoint; it should be /mnt for a general new install if you followed this guide or archwiki.
user@arch ~ # arch-chroot /mnt
7.3. Post-Chroot
7.3.1. Bootloader
This will run through installing grub, for other bootloader options see boot loader comparison.
EFI:
chroot@arch ~ # grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=boot --boot-loader-id=GRUB
BIOS:
grub-install --target=i386-pc /dev/sdx
/dev/sdx is the disk not the partition for grub to be installed e.g. /dev/sda /dev/nvme1n1 are disks; /dev/sda1 /dev/nvme1n1p1 are partitions.
Generate grub config. The file for both EFI and BIOS will be generated in /boot/grub/grub.cfg.
chroot@arch ~ # grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
7.3.2. Initramfs
Mkinitcpio was run during the pacstrap; To create a new initramfs for any reason:
chroot@arch ~ # mkinitcpio -P
7.3.3. Network
Create a hostname file in /etc; I use nano.
chroot@arch ~ # nano /etc/hostname
yourhostname
7.3.4. Time & Localisation
Set the time zone:
chroot@arch ~ # ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/Region/City /etc/localtime
chroot@arch ~ # hwclock --systohc
Set the locale:
chroot@arch ~ # locale-gen
Set the LANG in /etc/locale.conf:
chroot@arch ~ # LANG=en_US.UTF-8
7.3.5. Users & Login
Create the root password, you will need this when you reboot and you will not be able to log in without it. If you skip this step, you’ll need to chroot back in and add the password.
chroot@arch ~ # passwd
Create a user; You will need to create a user if you want to use a desktop environment; You will not be able to login with root.
chroot@arch ~ # useradd -m -s /usr/bin/bash [USERNAME]
-m / –create-home: User home dir is created as /home/[USERNAME].
-s / –shell: Path to the login shell. Make sure you’ve got the shell you want to use installed…
Add a password for the user account you’ve just created.
chroot@arch ~ # [USERNAME] passwd
8. Reboot
CTRL + D to exit chroot, then type reboot.
user@arch ~ # reboot