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https://github.com/latitov/arch

Arch Linux Install Cheatsheet
https://github.com/latitov/arch

arch-linux arch-linux-installation archlinux cheatsheet

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Arch Linux Install Cheatsheet

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README 

          
# Arch Linux Install Cheatsheet



_Leonid Titov, 2024-08-08_



- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFXRFTrZ2Lk

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8T0vvf1xm58

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG-dGmvZHBo



# Part 1



## Create a bootable USB stick



## Boot & verify the boot mode



	# ls /sys/firmware/efi/efivars



If the command shows the directory without error, then the system is booted in UEFI mode.

If the directory does not exist, the system may be booted in BIOS (or CSM) mode.

If the system did not boot in the mode you desired, refer to your motherboard's manual.



	# efivar --list



## Connect to the Internet



	# ip link

	# ip a



## Check the internet is connected



	# ping archlinux.org

	# ping ya.ru



## Update the system clock



	# timedatectl set-ntp true



## Partition the disks and make filesystems



	# lsblk

	# fdisk -l



Suppose you have a single /dev/sda disk.



-- If automated, better dd random data into it first, to erase previous partitions.



You have to create at least two partitions, EFI system partition (260+ MiB), and Linux root partition.



	# fdisk /dev/sda

	m

	g

	w



then (approximate, be careful!):



	# fdisk /dev/sda

	n

	+300M           -- 100M min

	t

	1

	w



then (approximate, be careful!):



	# fdisk /dev/sda

	n

	t

	23

	w



The result must be:



	/dev/sda1 EFI system partition 300M

	/dev/sda2 Linux x86-64 root the remainder



Now, make filesystems:



	# mkfs.fat -F32 /dev/sda1

	# mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda2



The UEFI specification mandates support for the FAT12, FAT16, and FAT32 file systems[4].

To prevent potential issues with other operating systems and also since the UEFI specification only mandates

supporting FAT16 and FAT12 on removable media[5], it is recommended to use FAT32.



If you get the message WARNING: Not enough clusters for a 32 bit FAT!, reduce cluster size with

mkfs.fat -s2 -F32 ... or -s1; otherwise the partition may be unreadable by UEFI. See mkfs.fat(8)

for supported cluster sizes.



### Non-UEFI



- The same thing, except don't create the ESP/EFI/whatever partition.

- Also, don't bother creating GPT, stick with MBR.

- Don't forget to set bootable flag to main partition.



## Mount the file systems



First time, do this, in this order:



	# mount /dev/sda2 /mnt

	# cd /mnt

	# mkdir boot

	# mount /dev/sda1 boot



Next time, do this, in this order:



	# mount /dev/sda2 /mnt

	# mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/boot



## Swap partition (optional)



If you created a swap partition, e.g. /dev/sda3, then you can install it too into the system:



	# mkswap /dev/swap_partition

	

	# swapon /dev/swap_partition



# Part 2.



## Install essential packages



	# pacstrap /mnt base linux linux-firmware



	# pacstrap /mnt openssh rsync sudo iproute2 dhclient man-db man-pages texinfo nano socat netcat curl wget iptables nftables



Optional:



	# pacstrap /mnt ddrescue diffutils ethtool hdparm nmap

 	# pacstrap /mnt htop wireguard-tools nodejs



Also add grub, if you're installing non-UEFI system.



dhclient is ISC dhclient, specifically.



## Fstab



	# genfstab -U /mnt >> /mnt/etc/fstab



(!) This command must be called exactly __once__, or you'll need to edit the file manually.



Check the resulting /mnt/etc/fstab file, and edit it in case of errors.



__The "relatime" is not a typo!__


relatime updates the access time only if the previous access time was earlier than the current

modify or change time. In addition, since Linux 2.6.30, the access time is always updated if the

previous access time was more than 24 hours old. This option is used when the defaults option,

atime option (which means to use the kernel default, which is relatime; see mount(8) and

wikipedia:Stat (system call)#Criticism of atime) or no options at all are specified.



Note:


If you have several data volumes, and want them be included in fstab - please mount them

beforehand somewhere in the /mnt too.



E.g.:



	sda1 /mnt

	sda2 /mnt/data_volume_A

	sdb1 /mnt/data_volume_B



## Change root into the new system



	# arch-chroot /mnt



## Time zone



	# ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo// /etc/localtime



	# hwclock --systohc



## Hostname



	# echo  > /etc/hostname



Add matching entries to hosts(5):



	/etc/hosts

		127.0.0.1 localhost

		::1 localhost

		127.0.1.1 myhostname.localdomain myhostname



If the system has a permanent IP address, it should be used instead of 127.0.1.1.



## Root password & add users



	# passwd

	

	# useradd -m op1

	# passwd op1



## Boot loader



	# bootctl --path=/boot install



Configure it:



	# nano /boot/loader/loader.conf



		timeout 3

		default arch.conf



	# nano /boot/loader/entries/arch.conf



		title Arch Linux

		linux /vmlinuz-linux

		initrd /initramfs-linux.img

		options root=/dev/sda2 rw



### Non-UEFI



	# pacman -S grub

	

	# grub-install --target=i386-pc /dev/sdX



where /dev/sdX is the disk (not a partition) where GRUB is to be installed.



Now you must generate the main configuration file.



	# grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg



## Exit & Reboot



	# exit



	# systemctl reboot



Exit the chroot environment by typing exit or pressing Ctrl+d.



Optionally manually unmount all the partitions with umount -R /mnt: this allows noticing any "busy" partitions,

and finding the cause with fuser(1).



Finally, restart the machine by typing reboot: any partitions still mounted will be automatically unmounted

by systemd. Remember to remove the installation medium and then login into the new system with the root account.



# Part 3.



## Network config



	# systemctl enable systemd-networkd

	# systemctl start systemd-networkd

	# systemctl status systemd-networkd



See the list of network interfaces:



	# ip a



Enable DHCP on enp1s0:



	# nano /etc/systemd/network/LAN1.network



		[Match]

		Name=enp1s0

		

		[Network]

		DHCP=yes



Enable static IP on enp2s0:



	# nano /etc/systemd/network/LAN2.network



		[Match]

		Name=enp2s0

		

		[Network]

		Address=10.50.0.67/8

		#Gateway=10.1.10.1

		#DNS=10.1.10.1

		#DNS=8.8.8.8



Restart networkd:



	# systemctl restart systemd-networkd



Install and start DHCP client on enp1s0:



	# systemctl enable dhclient@enp1s0.servive

	# systemctl start dhclient@enp1s0.servive

	# systemctl status dhclient@enp1s0.servive



Check:



	# ip a



While waiting for an IP to be assigned you can run something like:



	# ping 

	# watch -n 1 ping -c 1 archlinux.org



## Install xorg, firefox, x11vnc, nodm



	# pacman -S xorg firefox x11vnc nodm xterm



To test that X works, re-log as a user, then try:



	$ startx



The xterm must open. Note, the keyboard works only when mouse is over the window.



TIP:



- Ctrl+Alt+F1 to terminal

- Alt-F7 back to GUI



## Configure VNC server



https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/x11vnc



## Set up nodm & firefox



https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Nodm



After installing nodm, modify the /etc/nodm.conf file. Set the NODM_USER variable to the user which

should be automatically logged in, and change the NODM_XSESSION variable to point to the script that

starts your session. The NODM_XSESSION script must be executable!



Enable nodm.service so nodm will be started on boot:



	# systemctl enable nodm



Log in as a user, and:



	$ nano .xinitrc



		#! /bin/bash

		firefox



	$ chmod +x .xinitrc



Login session:


For proper session handling, create pam.d file with the following content:



	# nano /etc/pam.d/nodm

	

		#%PAM-1.0

		

		auth      include   system-local-login

		account   include   system-local-login

		password  include   system-local-login

		session   include   system-local-login



Edit the nodm.service, and add these lines:



	Restart=always

	RestartSec=5



(Look at /etc/systemd/system or /lib/systemd/system)



then



	# systemctl daemon-reload



## Set up SSH



https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/OpenSSH



	# pacman -S openssh

	

	# systemctl enable sshd

	# systemctl start sshd

	# systemctl status sshd



Config is in the:



	/etc/ssh/sshd_config



## To install the KDE



https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/KDE



	# pacman -Syu plasma-meta

 

 Optional:



 	# pacman -Syu kde-applications  -- can be huge, take care to select what you really want

	# pacman -Syu iw



Then:



  	# pacman -Syu networkmanager

   	# systemctl enable NetworkManager

	# systemctl start NetworkManager



https://www.reddit.com/r/archlinux/comments/vborwi/kde_plasma_on_arch_linux_not_showing_wifi/



Then:



  	# systemctl enable sddm

   	# systemctl start sddm



## Install from AUR, and yay



	# pacman -Syu git base-devel			-- could've been installed in the beginning



Then for any AUR package:



 	$ git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/yay-bin.git



  	$ cd yay-bin

   	$ makepkg -si



If you want to use yay instead (previously installed):



	$ yay -S google-chrome



Some links: https://github.com/Jguer/yay (written in Go BTW), https://aur.archlinux.org/packages



## Non-obviously useful software



- https://archlinux.org/packages/extra/x86_64/cherrytree/

- https://archlinux.org/packages/extra/x86_64/doublecmd-qt6/

- https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/amneziawg-go



## Troubleshooting



### Updating old system, "is of marginal trust" error



	# pacman -Sy archlinux-keyring



## .