How to Install Arch Linux 2022 [Step by Step Guide]

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Arch Linux is an open-source Linux distribution for x86-64 computers and is very popular among intermediate and advanced Linux users. It is developed with the KISS principle (“keep it short and simple”) driven by the community and core development circle.

Arch Linux uses a rolling release model, i.e., packages are provided throughout the day, and no major releases.

Here, we will see how to install the latest version of Arch Linux (v2022).

Requirements

You can install Arch Linux if your system meets the following criteria.

  • x86_64 (64 bit) processor
  • 512 MB of RAM
  • 2 GB of free disk space
  • An Internet Connectivity
  • USB flash drive or Blank CD for burning the installation image.

Try Arch Linux 2022 VM Images

If you do not have time to install Arch Linux 2022, use the below link to download ready-to-run Arch Linux 2022 VirtualBox and VMware images.

Install Arch Linux

Arch Linux ISO images do not support secure boot. You would need to disable the secure boot to the ISO image. If required, you can set up a secure boot post the installation.

Download Arch Linux ISO

First, click the below link to download the latest version of Arch Linux from the official website.

Download Arch Linux Latest Version

Create a Live USB / Write a Bootable CD

Then, create a live USB / write a bootable CD from the downloaded ISO image.

Create a live USB

Replace /path/to/archlinux.iso with the path to the downloaded ISO file and /dev/sdx with your USB drive name.

dd bs=4M if=/path/to/archlinux.iso of=/dev/sdx status=progress oflag=sync

Write a bootable CD/DVD

Replace /path/to/archlinux.iso with the path to the downloaded ISO file.

# CD 

cdrecord -v -sao dev=/dev/sr0 /path/to/archlinux.iso

# DVD or Blu-Ray Disc

growisofs -dvd-compat -Z /dev/sr0=/path/to/archlinux.iso

Boot from Live USB or CD/DVD/BD

Power on your system. Then, press F2, F10, or F12 to change/select the boot order.

USB: To boot from Live USB, you need to select boot from USB or removable drive.

CD / DVD: To boot from CD, you need to select boot from CD/DVD ROM drive.

You will get the Arch Linux menu screen once the system boots from Live USB or CD, like below.

Choose Arch Linux install medium (x86_64) and then press enter button.

BIOS

Arch Linux Booting in BIOS Mode
Arch Linux Booting in BIOS Mode

UEFI

Arch Linux Booting in UEFI Mode
Arch Linux Booting in UEFI Mode

Finally, after various checks, you will get the root prompt.

Arch Linux Root Prompt
Arch Linux Root Prompt

Boot Mode (BIOS or UEFI)

Booting into the right mode helps us create the required partitions for the system. You can easily determine whether the system is booted in BIOS or UEFI from the Arch Linux installer screen.

ls /sys/firmware/efi/efivars
Arch Linux Booting Mode Check
Arch Linux Booting Mode Check

If the above command lists the directory contents without an error, the system is booted in UEFI mode.

The system booted in BIOS mode if the directory does not exist.

Arch Linux Booting Mode Check
Arch Linux Booting Mode Check

If the system did not boot into the mode you desired, refer to the system manual to boot the system correctly.

Setup Network

In the case of a wired network interface, your system will automatically get an IP address from a DHCP server or a router. Else, use the iwctl utility to authenticate your system WIFI to the wireless network.

Check the internet connectivity to see if you need to configure the IP address manually.

ifconfig

ping -c 2 google.com
Internet Connectivity Check
Internet Connectivity Check

If your system does not get a reply, then configure the IP address so that your system can connect to the internet to download the necessary packages for Arch Linux installation.

ip addr flush dev ens33

ifconfig ens33 192.168.1.100 netmask 255.255.255.0

route add default gw 192.168.1.2

echo "nameserver 192.168.1.2" >> /etc/resolv.conf

echo "nameserver 8.8.8.8" >> /etc/resolv.conf

Replace the network card ane and IP address according to your requirements.

Partition Disk

We will now create partitions for Arch Linux installation. But, first, list the available disks using the fdisk command.

fdisk -l
Available Disks
Available Disks

The system has a 1 TB disk (/dev/sda) and will use that disk for OS installation. The name of the disk varies depending upon the system. The disks can have other names such as vda, hda, etc.

We will use the fdisk command to create partitions as per the requirement.

Partition details are shown below.

BIOS

/boot1024 MB

swap4 GB (min 512 MB)

/ ~ 1000 GB (remaining space)

UEFI

/efi – 1024 MB

swap4 GB (min 512 MB)

/~ 1000 GB (remaining space)

fdisk /dev/sda

/boot:

Create Boot Partition
Create Boot Partition

/efi:

Create EFI Partition
Create EFI Partition

SWAP:

Create SWAP Partition
Create SWAP Partition

/ (root):

Create Root Partition
Create Root Partition

Once you have created partitions, use p to confirm the creation of partitions and then w to save the changes.

Save Partition Layout
Save Partition Layout

Verify parttions using the fdisk -l command. We now have three partitions.

/dev/sda1/boot or /efi

/dev/sda2 swap

/dev/sda3/ (root)

Arch Linux Partitions
Arch Linux Partitions

Create Filesystem

Now, its time format the created partitions with the required file systems. You can format /boot or /efi (/dev/sda1) as EXT2 or EXT3 for BIOS and Fat32 for UEFI, Swap (/dev/sda2) as swap and / (/dev/sda3) as EXT4 filesystem.

BIOS

mkfs.ext2 /dev/sda1

mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda3

mkswp /dev/sda2

UEFI

mkfs.fat -F32 /dev/sda1

mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda3

mkswp /dev/sda2

Step 7: Mount Partitions

Once formatted the partitions, use the mount command to mount them. / (root) partition must be mounted on /mnt directory.

Then, additional partitions need to be mounted on the respective directories on /mnt. For Ex: /boot partition needs to be mounted on /mnt/boot.

Also, you would need to initialize the swap partition.

BIOS

mount /dev/sda3 /mnt

mkdir /mnt/boot

mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/boot

swapon /dev/sda2

UEFI

mount /dev/sda3 /mnt

mkdir /mnt/efi

mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/efi

swapon /dev/sda2

Select Arch Linux Package Mirrors

Arch Linux’s packages are downloaded from internet mirrors defined in /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist file. The mirror that tops in the file is prioritized for downloading packages, which may not be ideal for all situations considering geographical, availability, and out-of-sync issues.

Use the reflector command to retrieve the latest mirror from the Arch Linux mirror status, filter the up-to-date mirrors, sort them by speed and update the mirror list file.

First, back up the existing mirror list.

 cp /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist.backup

Then, update the mirror list file with ten mirrors by download speed.

reflector --verbose --latest 10 --sort rate --save /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist

Install Arch Linux Base System

Now, it’s time to install the Arch Linux base system.

pacstrap /mnt/ base linux linux-firmware net-tools networkmanager openssh vi

The installation will take at least 15 to 30 minutes to complete depending upon your internet speed.

The below message confirms that the Arch Linux Installation has been completed successfully.

Arch Linux Installation Completed
Arch Linux Installation Completed

Create fstab

After the base installation, generate the fstab file for the system using the genfstab command.

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

Verify the fstab entries using the below command.

cat /mnt/etc/fstab
Generate fstab Entries
Generate fstab Entries

Arch Linux System Configuration

To configure Arch Linux further, you must chroot to the new system.

arch-chroot /mnt

Set System Language

You can configure the system language by uncommenting the required languages in the /etc/locale.gen file.

vi /etc/locale.gen

Uncomment en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8 for American-English and then generate locales by running.

locale-gen

Set the LANG variable in /etc/locale.conf file.

echo "LANG=en_US.UTF-8"  > /etc/locale.conf

Set Timezone

Now, configure the system time zone by creating a symlink of your timezone to the /etc/localtime file.

ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/US/Central /etc/localtime

All the available timezones are found under the /usr/share/zoneinfo directory.

Also, set the hardware clock to UTC.

hwclock --systohc --utc

Set Hostname

Place the system hostname in the /etc/hostname file.

echo "archlinux-2022.itzgeek.local" > /etc/hostname

Set root password

Use the passwd command in the terminal to set the root password.

passwd

Install GRUB Boot Loader

Arch Linux requires a boot loader to boot the system. You can install the grub boot loader using the below commands.

BIOS

pacman -S grub

grub-install /dev/sda

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

UEFI

pacman -S grub efibootmgr

grub-install --efi--directory=/efi

grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
Install GRUB Boot Loader
Install GRUB Boot Loader

Reboot

Exit from the chroot system and then reboot.

exit

reboot

Log in to Arch Linux

Once the reboot is complete, you will get the Arch Linux login prompt. Log in as the root user and the password you set during the OS installation. To have a graphical desktop, you can install GNOME or KDE desktop environment on Arch Linux.

Arch Linux Login
Arch Linux Login

Conclusion

That’s All. You have learned how to install Arch Linux 2022. Follow the post-installation recommendations to get the most out of the installation.

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