Are you eager to dive into the world of Arch Linux with dwm, but feeling overwhelmed by the installation process? Fear not! This step-by-step guide will walk you through the installation process, making it easy to set up your system and get started with your Arch Linux adventure.
1. Create a Bootable Disk
Begin by creating a bootable disk with the Arch Linux ISO. Use the lsblk command to identify your USB drive, then use dd to write the ISO to the disk:
lsblk
dd bs=4M if=path/to/archlinux-version-x86_64.iso of=/dev/disk/by-id/usb-My_flash_drive conv=fsync oflag=direct status=progress
2. Connect to the Internet
For wireless connection, use iwctl. List available networks, then connect to your desired network:
iwctl
station device get-networks
iwctl --passphrase passphrase station device connect SSID
3. Clear/Format Disk
Clear and format your disk using fdisk:
fdisk /dev/sda
g # create new gpt label
p # print the partition table
n # create a new partition
d # delete a partition
q # quit without saving changes
w # write the new partition table and exit
Format disk type:
mkfs.fat -F32 /dev/sda1
mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda2
4. Mounting and File Structure
Mount your partitions and create necessary directories:
mount /dev/sda2 /mnt
mkdir -p /mnt/{home,data,etc}
mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/data
5. Basic Setup
Generate fstab and chroot into the new system:
genfstab -U -p /mnt >> /mnt/etc/fstab
pacstrap -i /mnt base
arch-chroot /mnt
6. Install Software
Install necessary software packages:
pacman -S linux-lts linux-lts-headers base-devel linux-firmware vim networkmanager wpa_supplicant wireless_tools netctl dialog nvidia-lts nvidia-utils grub efibootmgr os-prober mtools dosfstools intel-ucode xorg-server xorg neofetch pulseaudio pamixer termite dolphin git vlc vifm i3
7. System Settings
Set up time and language:
ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/Asia/Kolkata > /etc/localtime
hwclock --systohc
vim /etc/locale.gen # uncomment desired locale
locale-gen
echo "LANG=en_US.UTF-8" > /etc/locale.conf
Initiate Linux:
mkinitcpio -p linux-lts
8. User Addition
Create a new user and enable them as admin:
useradd -m -g users -G wheel myusername
passwd myusername
visudo # enable wheel group
9. Install Grub
For UEFI systems:
mkdir /boot/efi
mount /dev/sda1 /boot/efi
grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --bootloader-id=grub --recheck
grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
10. Hostname and Host
Set hostname and hosts:
echo "mySystemName" > /etc/hostname
echo -e "127.0.0.1\tlocalhost\n::1\tlocalhost\n127.0.1.1\tmySystemName.localdomain\tmySystemName" > /etc/hosts
11. Enable Network
Enable NetworkManager:
systemctl enable NetworkManager
12. Reboot
Reboot your system:
reboot
13. After Installation
After reboot, connect to WiFi:
nmcli device wifi connect SSID password "password"
14. Additional Software Installation
Install additional software packages using yay:
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/yay.git
cd yay
makepkg -si
yay -S brave optimus-manager optimus-manager-qt code zsh vim vi unzip zsh-you-should-use zsh-syntax-highlighting wget pamixer libreoffice-still youtube-dl opusfile opus-tools libopusenc opus cmus openssh
15. Vim Plug
Install Vim Plug for neovim:
sh -c 'curl -fLo "${XDG_DATA_HOME:-$HOME/.local/share}"/nvim/site/autoload/plug.vim --create-dirs \
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/junegunn/vim-plug/master/plug.vim'
16. Install FiraCode
Download and install FiraCode:
mkdir /usr/share/fonts/firacode
# Copy FiraCode.zip to this directory
fc-cache -vf
17. Additional Configurations
Configure autologin for tty1:
sudo systemctl edit getty@tty1.service
# Paste the following:
#[Service]
#ExecStart=
#ExecStart=-/usr/bin/agetty --autologin username --noclear %I $TERM
#Type=idle
18. Grub Configuration
Modify Grub timeout:
vi /etc/default/grub
GRUB_TIMEOUT=0
sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
19. Timezone Configuration
Set timezone:
sudo timedatectl set-timezone Asia/Kolkata
20. Theme Installation
Install theme:
cd /usr/share/themes
# Copy Material-Black-/usr/share/themes to this directory
lxappearance
21. Additional Software
Install rclone:
yay -S rclone
rclone sync your_folder cloud:your_folder
Congratulations! You've successfully installed Arch Linux with dwm and configured your system. Enjoy your customized and efficient Linux setup!
# Last updated on .