Arch Linux One Of The Easiest Distros To Install

Arch Linux now comes with the "archinstall" helper library which automates the installation of Arch. It is packaged with different pre-configured installers, such as a "guided" installer. "archinstall" makes Arch one of the easiest Linux distros to install.
REFERENCED:
► archlinux.org/
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[@cheflA1]

When I started with Linux I was told to take the time and install arch Linux from scratch. I took a whole Sunday for me not knowing anything. But you learn so much doing this that I still advice colleagues of mine to do it this way, if they want to learn more about Linux.

[@nosotrosloslobosestamosreg4115]

It took me a whole week of after work hours. It crashed after the first update, same with Manjaro. Only MABX and ArchCraft have been smooth experiences for me.

[@fsmoura]

>I still advice colleagues of mine to do it this way, if they want to learn more about Linux. Me too. In fact, I advise them to do it even when they _don't_ want to learn more about Linux. Heck, pretty much all my communication with them is sending them the installation wiki URL. ( o.o)

[@nosotrosloslobosestamosreg4115]

@@fsmoura You're evil...

[@yusefaslam9675]

I first read your comment as "When I started with Linux I was told to take the time and install Linux from Scratch." and was surprised that someone would tell a new Linux user to use that distro, as you waste your life for two weeks trying to install something that does not have a package manager, and you have to compile everything from scratch. Luckily that was not your comment lol I have tried to install LFS and I did not succeed after trying multiple times

[@jardah81]

ArcoHyprland one of best

[@sourcedecay]

I recently moved from Win11 to Arch after a very long break from linux (last time I used it, I was running gentoo in like 2008 as desktop, then centos in 2011 for a home server). I used archinstall because I just wanted something up and running fast and already know the linux guts so I wouldn't have been learning much doing it manually. Archinstall is great.

[@robotron1236]

calam-arch is pretty good too. it's almost like installing manjaro, that's how easy it is.

[@Fiftyblessings]

I’m still new to Linux and tried introducing myself to it by installing Linux mint, but trying to configure my hardware was a nightmare. After I heard about arch’s rolling release, I switched over to see how bad it could be, ran arch-install and everything’s been running fine since. I’ve learned more about Linux and have actually been running it through arch, it just works

[@dalfvideos]

I don't think installing arch the old way was such a big deal (it's mostly just reading along and following isntructions, if you can build an ikea table then you can install arch). But it was very time consuming, so this is a great change. Overall I think the main problem people run into with arch is after the install. Since it's so open to new things and lets you do whatever you want, if you don't know what you're doing and you just update all the time and install random aur packages you might end up "breaking it". I prefer to run fedora or debian based stuff because they tend to have a safety net for my own stupidity, haha.

[@TKing2724]

btrfs with snapshots easily mitigates random AUR packages breaking your system. The problem becomes letting people know such an option exists, archinstall certainly doesn't make it clear.

[@dalfvideos]

Yeah, of course once you know more its easier to plan ahead. On that regard I'm very happy that my first distro was mint because timeshift / btrfs snapshots are introduced to you on the welcome screen. But if you come straight from Windows breakage is just a couple clicks away...

[@TKing2724]

@deos I had the same experience with Manjaro. I switched from a decade of Ubuntu based distros, so Manjaro was an easy way to experience how a fully fledged Arch (based) system could be setup to be usable (this was pre-archinstall).

[@TheJayman213]

I think nowadays immutability is the core of user friendliness (ChromeOS and SteamOS do it, though that alone isn't a good argument). A more stable update stream sadly doesn't protect the machine from user error. astOS is a minimal, atomically updating Arch based distro. BlendOS comes with great container management and is going declarative (like the OG NixOS but probably more beginner friendly). There's Fedora Silverblue, OpenSuse microOS (rolling) and they're adding an immutable version of their point release soon too.

[@tachobrenner]

Dude. I can't see the complexity

[@gunnygordon]

I used this video to install Arch early this morning and learned about iwctl in the process. Thanks DT really like your content.

[@kennystrawnmusic]

The mirror selection menu allows you to only select American mirrors instead of foreign ones which IMO is highly recommended if you want faster downloads. Also, the bootloader selection only defaults to GRUB on systems that don’t have UEFI; it defaults to systemd-boot on systems that do.

[@peter_hauer]

Archinstall is a good option if you installed the manual way 100times or just have to quickly install some machines. The problem with Arch now easier and widely available is, that beginners should be aware how you update Arch in a safe way and debug if the system breaks. There were installer even with GUI before archinstall that is not the problem. If the user is not afraid of keeping his system running Arch in my opinion is the best Linux for everyone.

[@Kokuraman]

Mr. DT: Love your "strong and complicated" every time in all your vids!

[@cejannuzi]

I think for beginners it will still be daunting because they don't really know what each step is doing or what the choices are or why one would choose something.

[@Yogesh-kr7bo]

copium

[@hiroshimanagasaki616]

I think for beginners they shouldn't even be installing arch and should install something beginner friendly like Linux mint

[@buddha6659]

Problem with new users is fear of the terminal. In all honesty I think they'll find this less 'scary' than regular terminal commands are making it more accessible

[@dexmark5]

I like how arch is getting better for new users to linux for us. keep upo the good videos :)

[@gabrielbeaudin3546]

I had to install on my media center yesterday. I've already installed using the guide on different machines but yesterday I really didn't fell like going through it again. The install script worked perfect and it made my day.

[@GhostCoder83]

I love Arch and your contents.

[@bartek...]

I've tried this method half a year ago and I can confim, that it's way quicker and more user friendly than old, manual approach. With old way I was always forgetting something and was need to chroot again with the usb stick.

[@shutdowncnn6086]

DT Great video! Two thumbs up! The Archlinux script install has been out for a while and makes installing easy. I made exactly the same mistakes you did (if you didn't do it on purpose to make a point) with the partitioning and formatting the disk or disks. But I still like using my method of installing via ssh since I have several computers. Boot a Archlinux install thumb drive on the target machine to be installed, start sshd, then create passwd and copy the IP address. Then login from a second host machine into the target machine, use your text notes to copy and paste into a terminal once login for your custom install. One or more installs can be done this way. :)

[@jesse7631]

It has gotten better. I honestly love using it.

[@ringo8410]

I can understand that there might be practical reasons why going through the "full" Arch installation process might be better, but Linux becoming easier to use is a good thing. This comes across like Arch people being mad that the process is being democratized for people who don't want to bother with the entire installation process.

[@fsmoura]

>Linux becoming easier to use is a good thing Heck no, it's not. Once you start bringing in the riff raff, they stink up the place with their noobness, and pretty soon you need to move to an even more exclusive/elite distro.

[@F_Around_and_find_out]

I mean what does an install script have anything to do with other Arch users? We all have free will, choose what you want, don't question why someone would choose a different start.

[@lucas7061]

DIY distros require some level of knowledge that not everyone just selecting options in a TUI/GUI installer might have. Moreover, you get to know your installation better if you do it manually, which WILL come in handy when you have to do some troubleshooting. Archinstall is good if you are a seasoned user and know your preferences, not so much if it's your first time installing a DIY distro. If that's the case, you should face the complexity right off the bat because it pays off later on. Newbies and Arch wannabes don't have this knowledge and it only creates problems for the rest of the userbase because they don't even know the most basic steps to troubleshoot their systems, which means they often give the most bare and useless bug reports ever seen and waste countless hours of developer and community time. Arch is not a beginner distro and shouldn't be treated as such.

[@nishiko28]

​@fsmoura i take it you want linux to stay under 4% market share forever

[@ringo8410]

@@nishiko28Well....in fairness to them, I don't think it has to be a choice between DIY distros like Arch/Gentoo and attracting new users. We can do both and still gain people who are sick of Windows and Mac OS. But I agree with you that part of the problem with Linux getting taken up by "noobs" is people (not fsmoura necessarily) who think that Linux has to be a secret club that only people who compile their system from the ground up can enjoy.

[@grenvillephillips6998]

I have to say that I was very impressed by the install script, and it saved me (a bad typist) more than an hour.

[@CaribouDataScience]

Well DT you inspired me to install Arch

[@manee427]

I have installed it and that was easy like a piece og cake . amazing video DT :)

[@deathdrop]

How did you do it? Im trying to do it but the closest i can even get is getting to the white line blinking at me on a black screen also been trying for almost 3 hours at this point but cant get any further

[@manee427]

@@deathdrop you did maybe something wrong. for me worked very easy

[@deathdrop]

@@manee427 i dont think so but i also have no idea if i did it right

[@michaelkrailo5725]

Wow, that was an incredibly easy way to install Linux. I wish all the distributions had this way of installing. The only thing that screwed me up was forgetting about the iso file still selected as the boot device in virtualbox. After shutting down and removing it, all was well. There is a lot of stuff that needs to be installed though. Simple stuff like zip and unzip are missing and a lot of scripts depend on these utilities being there. I had to do a lot of research into configuring Alacritty and installing fonts. The newer version has a TOML config file and I just went straight to the documentation on it and learned how to configure everything but the default configuration for fonts was not to my liking so that was a must. I never had to mess with fonts in other distributions as the defaults were all great to work with. Now just to fill you in on the downside, I tried to do another install at work from memory because I thought it was so easy and neglected to select multilib and my Alacritty terminal had no visible characters in it, so the terminal was unusable! Had to Ctrl-Alt-F3 to do anything that required terminal. I didn't know how to enable the multilib from the command line, so I just did another re-install selecting mulitlib this time and then I couldn't log in! This turned out to be due to me selecting the "graphics acceleration" setting in the Virtualbox settings before booting up. My Intel video card did not like that setting and locked up the login screen when attempting to enter a password. After turning off that setting, everything started to work just like the installation that went well on my home setup.

[@user-dz3ph7dl4m]

Have done the normal installation in the past but used the install script for my more recent build. it is a handy time saver. nice to have the choice for the time poor.

[@MacroAcc]

completely agree. i have installed arch thousands of times on different computers due to it's easiness. before archinstall it was a good distro, now it's the only distro that matters

[@bigmikeobama5314]

i wouldnt go so far as to say its the only one that matters. its good for sure, but it does break itself quite a bit, even if you dont have very much software on it. pacman tends to screw up randomly and require manual fixing in several different ways. in my opinion, arch is the best distro for being a base for another distro. garuda, majaro, arcolinux, those are better than arch in a great many ways. obviously they are not as stripped down, but for common users they are vastly superior. plus the chaotic aur with garuda updates with pacman and has most of the packages any regular user would want from the actual aur, and updates with pacman flawlessly. however debian distros, because they are more stable, will be relevant as far out in the future as anyone can see. debian was relevant before arch, and will be relevant if arch goes away.

[@kevinsteinman8967]

Ah another one of those I use Arch BTW crowd members. I use Gentoo BTW and the only install that matters to me personally.

[@MacroAcc]

@@bigmikeobama5314 once you are in, you will understand. everyone thinks like you at first, but then... you just can't stand anything else. pacman is ⛪. debian may be better for some kind of 'serious' personal use, and servers

[@anonymous_opinions1924]

Okay other distros definitely matter. Most people prefer something more hands off. Arch is amazing though, I absolutely agree

[@terrydaktyllus1320]

@@kevinsteinman8967 Me too, Gentoo since 2003. The only reason I ever found to use Arch during my Gentoo years was when it supported 32-bit CPUs that made compiling Gentoo on them a very long process. But they stopped supporting 32-bit Arch and after I did my first few "lean and mean" 32-bit Gentoo installations, I just keep one update and clone onto the rest.

[@Scottua]

Thank you for this!

[@GiorgioBeltrammi]

Very useful. Thanks

[@laurentiucalonfir]

I use arch linux as main distro, installed with archinstall. Works flawlessly. I used the archinstall script many times, to test various desktop environments or wm in archlinux and it's so easy

[@wantgoodvibes6166]

Good stuff, thanks dude, :)

[@Jackarius86]

I drink the salty tears of the fanboys who complain it's not easy enough - they just want a distro that proves they know something, and now Arch no longer gives them that XDDD. This is absolutely a win for linux and people should be happy for it.

[@repnzscasb560]

partially agree, still the btrfs partioning the way i wanted it, required a lot of trial error

[@NickyDekker89]

When I wanted to try Arch I used the install script but it failed and I'm happy it did. I learned so much from just going through the install manually a couple of times. In the end it made me feel much more comfortable with Linux as a whole.

[@JustVoylin]

Got into serious trouble with my current install so I have to re-install Arch again ... But seeing this I'm kind of looking forward to it XD

[@creepergd4884]

I really like the arch install command because it lets me just install a super minimal install with all the basics already set up and then I just build my system from that. For me it only saves time from what I would have done anyways, and then I just add only what I want and not what is preinstalled with the more bloated profiles.

[@avalagum7957]

Agreed. However, if the default look and feel of the DE/WM is not what you like, you might need to spend quite a lot of time and energy to understand and modify it.

[@flow5718]

Hey DT, hope to see an OpenSuse Tumbleweed review soon. The last one you did was 6 years ago 🤯

[@geoffk777]

I love Arch Linux and the install script is not too hard to use. But you missed a few important points: 1. The install script doesn't automatically connect to WiFi. So you need to run iwctl and connect your WiFi before you start. This s not at all obvious and the script probably ought to run it for you. 2. You need to partition your disk. Most newbies won't know how to do this properly, although I do think that there are defaults. 3. If you're trying to create a dual-boot system with an existing Windows partition, than archinstall won't recognize it and configure grub properly. A more sophisticated installer like Endeavor has will do this for you. None of these are killers and Arch is still my distro of choice for various reasons. But I don't recommend it to new users who aren't prepared to get their hands dirty. Even with the install script there's a lot that you need to know.

[@vwagenjetta]

I love this both for its convenience, and as a concept. I can show people who are interested in Linux how to install Arch this way, then they can get to learning Linux by using linux, and install it manually later if they so choose. It's convenient because I can have an Arch system with a full featured desktop environment like KDE up and running in less than 3 mintues, and I can do it on multiple computers back to back very quickly. Manual installation is good to know, but when you arleady know it, it's nice to have a way of doing it more efficiently when needed.

[@zeebpc]

4:36 what is the difference in Minimal and Xorg? I just want to have minimum required for graphics + a window manager and have it automatically log me into the 'desktop' . No desktop environment. which should I choose ?

[@JEgkt]

I'm glad Opensuse Tumbleweed Slow-roll was made for a laptops users and desktops that have limited bandwidth per month. I hope Arch Linux would do the same in the future. I have no cap for internet but once you start traveling other countries, you might not get good internet and so rolling release might not be a good option for some. My only wish is a slow rolling release of Arch would be great.

[@abidzaid3260]

Thank you

[@sayemoid]

Hey DT, what we're you thinking in your mind when you took photo for the thumbnail in your video? Might have been hilarious!

[@matthewmoore757]

The problem i always have, i put my Root partition and home partition on two separate drives. I can't ever figure out how to mount and configure those properly in the Arch setup. Setting the proper flags and mount options between both drives.

[@esra_erimez]

This video is interesting and informative. Thank you.

[@terrydaktyllus1320]

You're welcome, Mr. Artificial Intelligence person.

[@esra_erimez]

@@terrydaktyllus1320 Mr!!! WTF???

[@terrydaktyllus1320]

@@esra_erimez AI generated avatar also.

[@kevansmith5511]

I use Solus Budgie as a daily driver. I don't recall you demonstrating Budgie, but I could be wrong. I'd like to see your 2024 opinion of Budgie. SuSe and others have it, too.

[@heroclix0rz]

This is awesome. Yes, I think manually installing Linux is a good learning experience, but 15 years later I don't care about that, I just want to get the OS installed. We have the technology. I think this eliminates the need for endeavorOS for me. I could still see it useful for people who prefer a GUI to live boot from, but this is the installer I've been wanting for the longest time.

[@Florin76]

Easy! Well... every distro out there do a standard installation. But can you do an easy full disk encryption install?

[@TheSilverFX]

I should have watched your video yesterday before installing Arch OMG ... I did it with the installation guide and such, took me about an hour or two doing so, with the bad being unable to get my network working properly (it's odd that network works fine in terminal, but it doesn't replicate onto the install)

[@Ratel3000]

What Virtual Machine did you use for this, and is it available for Windows?

[@joechristo2]

while this DOES store passwords in plain text, that is only for the install portion just set a placeholder password and then change it once you have the os installed

[@rafaburdzy449]

Arch install is very nice, easy ,but also gives you a choice to manually change staff.

[@hotrodjones74]

It's good that using Linux has become easier. It still has it's difficult moments. Now it's usable by users with a medium level of skill. People always talk about installing it, when talking about Arch, which is pretty stupid IMHO. The more interesting part of using Linux is what we do and create with it. I completed my MBA in Russia on Linux. I recorded an Indy Rock album with friends on Linux. Man team penguin needs to make some strides with music production software. Using VSTs in Linux is a nightmare and doing the one man band thing with some guitars, a bass and a drum machine program is kinda difficult. I'm impressed with the strides in gaming thanks to Valve and Proton.

[@Jmvars]

I tried the automatic installer but it broke certain behaviors for some reason. Reinstalled it manually from scratch and everything works as it should.

[@CaribouDataScience]

Did the new install replace the old one?

[@schizofren_ia]

No you can still install the manual way

[@syscruncher]

I have a hard time letting go of my old manual install of Arch. I did archinstall one time and something went wrong and it wouldn’t boot. I didn’t spend any time troubleshooting, and just went back to the manual method. Is the manual install unnecessary these days, sure. But I just find comfort in it.

[@M4-PERFECT]

I think the script has bug when setting a manually partitioned LV as root in the disk configuration. Tried many times but the grub couldn't load the installation. I think it's fixed in some branch but never tried it.

[@plektosgaming]

Option 2 if you like Arch is to consider Garuda as it's point and click easy to get going. It works well for Steam Emulation - running 98% of the games, including some other titles with some fiddling like World of Warships and until the latest changes, League of Legends. My only gripe is that the person in charge is busy and very very slow on updating programs in the repository and I can see it very easily becoming a dead version at any time as there is no large team of devs behind it. So it's good.. but... I'd not use it for school or work or anything that is productivity based. That said, moving back from Windows to Linux ( 21 operating systems so far in my life, Windows being only 6 of those ) was literally ripping off the band-aid on that old wound and getting the pain over with. Windows 10 bricked itself three times in a year. The data was fine but the thing was unable to finish loading due to drivers or something. Recovery did nothing. I was looking at being forced into upgrading to Windows 11 and that would require a whole new motherboard and CPU as mine didn't support their latest DRM and anti-copying technology ( simplifying it a lot) Basically $600 and a new copy for $150 as sorry, too much would be changed to keep my old license as valid... to stay current as Windows 10 was constantly dying on me. So one day in a fit of anger at the third crash and no hope of recovery, after trying to recover the machine for three days ( thank god I had my Macbook as a spare ), I went out, spent $25 on the cheapest name-brand SSD I could and dropped Linux on it. Simple, works, and run modern games on my old hardware just as fast. Yes,k a bit of a learning curve, but no worse than moving Windows versions or hopping onto any new phone or something like a Chromebook where the OS is not the same as before. It crashes maybe once a month versus every 2-3 days. Huge win and aside from League and some specific games like Genshin, it all works. My take-away is that Linux is not what it was even two years ago and with installers like this, it is really never easier to cut that umbilical cord to the evil empire and gain your freedom. And save your pocketbook at the same time.

[@danielhalachev4714]

DT, as a person who recently installed Arch using the terminal and a series of commands, I must say the problem doesn't really lie in typing in the terminal. It's about unexpected errors, thrown at you, that you can't resolve by yourself or the Arch guide, because you're stuck at a specific step - going back means scraping all your progress, while going forward is impossible.

[@emmanuelrousseau7889]

+1

[@fredwilson1191]

I've been trying for several days to get Arch installed and none of the various methods work. Gets humgup or flat out fails with keyring -sync. Even after doing pacman-key --init. I'll get a bunch of errors the so-and-so (names of people) authorizations failed and is correct, no packages installed.

[@spamcolector]

have they made it secure? it had problems with security bc paswd was in txt file that can be recovered

[@M1a2n3o43]

How user-friendly is Arch Linux when installed using the archinstall script compared to other distributions like Ubuntu, Debian, or Manjaro? While installations of those distributions may come preloaded with many essential tools, some might find them bloated. So, my question is, does archinstall provide everything a user needs during installation, or is additional setup required afterward? So basicallt, how minimal or bloated is the Arch Linux installation using archinstall?

[@Jackarius86]

its as minimal or as bloated as you want it to be, you can install it without any graphical desktop or with KDE or gnome if you want. Even if you don't know much about linux, I would wager that you, and anyone for that matter, would be able to install it just fine, and then be able to use the distro just fine straight after

[@peter_hauer]

The profiles are quite basic, archinstall shows you the packages or groups that it will install for each available desktop profile. Most of them just setup terminal, the desktop and a few tools like filemanager and lockscreen. Every user tools and programs you want to use you have to install your own. It is not prepacked like other distributions do it.

[@Zeioth]

I wish I installed arch many years ago.

[@anmolsekhon768]

here cuz of that thumbnail xD

[@FarEvilDee1974]

One thing DT with the graphic drivers there was a special setup in there for virtual machines too, just a FYI.

[@peter_hauer]

The default is that archinstall installs all free and opensource drivers. The option with the VMWare/VirtualBox driver is just a opt out for the other drivers so he then does not install AMD, Intel and Nouveau.

[@FarEvilDee1974]

@@peter_hauer it's special settings to better work with virtual machines.

[@peter_hauer]

@@FarEvilDee1974 Look it up in the sources of the script I am pretty sure, that the difference is that the said option only installs Mesa and xf86VideoVmware and the AllOpenSource options installs more like Vulkan and Libva and the drivers.

[@SB-qm5wg]

That install script is pretty cool

[@_boux]

it's not much that arch linux is hard to install anymore, it's just that the packages you install are often not configured, or optimized by default for your workflow. You're gonna have to figure out a few things on your own, like sysctl properties, kernel parameters for your gpu, fonts for non latin characters, icons, UTF icons in your terminal, configuring GTK and QT, desktop themes, configuring pipewire, battery and power saving scripts (maybe comes with some DEs), setting up flatpak with the correct permissions, setting up network shares with SMB, getting wayland to work at all on your nvidia GPU, notifications and polkit, etc. In a normal distro, most of these would already be configured in a sensible way (even some arch-based distros like endeavour and, god forbid, manjaro).

[@ChadsHobies]

Arch used to be the faster version of a souce linux install versus slow and tedious Gentoo or lfs install. But it still had the low level install cred from the source community. Especially if you compliled your own custom kernal. Now im not sure if Arch gets this cred if this becomes default. This install reminds me of an open suse install from 1996.

[@shellbackbeau7021]

I've no idea what I'm doing in the terminal, but it makes me feel like a decker, so let me pretend and feel the excitement!

[@CodeCube-rv1rm]

This is the EZ way for a standard install but if you want to use an LVM and/or encrypt your drive, it quickly gets a lot more involved with quite a few more steps and the archinstall script won't give you those options

[@alcedob.5850]

I cannot express how much pain this video saved me from

[@bes12000]

I love Arch, it's easy to use and the UI is like windows, runs windows apps easily via wine or proton runs 100% faster than windows, my only gripe is games with anticheat are still not running right.

[@TheBenSanders]

Rewatching this and trying to use archinstall after not using it for a while. I noticed the user and root password is stored in plaintext. there is currently an issue about that on the github as well.

[@praetorxyn]

The most difficult part of installing Arch is partitioning the disk and setting up file systems etc., especially if you're going to do something like LVM with volume groups and logical volumes or btrfs with multiple subvolumes. It doesn't seem like this really helps with that? Once you've go the disk partitioned, this seems like it would be pretty sweet though, would save you from the tedium of typing the other 10 or so commands.

[@emmanuelrousseau7889]

nah the hardest part of Arch is getting everything to work properly together once you've got a running desktop. It can take months to have these small scripts and missing integration parts to be manually made and maintaining them in sync with the rolling release process. This is what keeps me away from it, it takes a lot of time, its frustrating. You want to get work done, sundently, an update, something breaks... it's like working with neovim or Emacs. It's great if you like to waste 10% of your time fine tuning it.

[@praetorxyn]

@@emmanuelrousseau7889 That has nothing to do with installing Arch, but I’ve never had a single issue with it as long as I checked the News before updating. Sometimes there will be a breaking change where you need to create a new symbolic link or something before the update.

[@emmanuelrousseau7889]

@@praetorxynIt is related to what in that case?

[@praetorxyn]

@@emmanuelrousseau7889 I don’t know exactly what you’re asking. If you’re asking what your point is related to, it’s related to maintaining Arch as opposed to installing it, which the video was about.

[@emmanuelrousseau7889]

​@@praetorxyn Following this logic, a distro that has a better integration between its application is doing maintenance during the installation phase? Or at least, a part of the maintenance is made prior installation? In my book, when I'm installing a graphic driver on Windows or Microsoft office, I'm still installing the computer, not maintaining it. I mean, maintenance starts when everything works as intended... I'm trying to understand why, linking and integrating software together is a distinct operation from installation...

[@KatriannaKook]

People say it's hard to install because there's no mention of the archinstall command after booting the iso, I didn't realize it existed before watching this video.

[@Ruonim]

Same. Mine vms are based on arch. And manually formating and doing standard configs was annoying. Now i can use archinstall to quickly setup vm and just add browser and guest additions in 1 menu.

[@javaman4584]

Would there be any real advantage in installing Linux from Scratch? Since I have a particular AMD system with X cores, might there be some optimizations I could apply to improve performance?

[@peter_hauer]

Linux from Scratch is just painfully to install. I don‘t think you want to give that a try. It is an interesting read, but in my personal opinion not worth the time. Gentoo is perhaps the more feasible approach and you could gain perhaps a little bit if you optimize the kernel and compile-options but in the end most what you safe is disk space. I have tinkered around with Gentoo several times and they just recently updated their binary repositories to have more packages, but in the end I came back to Arch as the package management and the timesaving by using pre-compiled packages just is way more beneficial for me then the gains I could perhaps get. If you don‘t aim for performance but instead you want to have control over the licenses the packages that you use applies, that is a much more interesting view on that approach. Remember that you could also under Arch swap kernels, search in the wiki I think for realtime and zen there should be packages available, but there are even unofficial kernels available as far as I remember. But if you want to give LfS a try don‘t be discouraged by me I just believe that Arch is the best option at the moment.

[@Jackarius86]

you would have to look up the docs online to make sure it supports however many cores you need to use, I would guess that it will work just fine straight out the box though

[@barutaji]

define advantage. In almost any case LFS is not the best option. The only place where it is the best is to teach the inner workings of the system and how to build a compiler from within. Other than that just find a pre-configured minimal system (if you want to put it in an embedded system, for example), or use Gentoo, that at least have a package manager and deals with dependencies really well.

[@Steerable6827]

You should do qtile next time you show archinstall on a video! :)

[@aqua-bery]

Before having watched the video: nothing is stopping you from doing it the hard way

[@3osufdh4rfg]

Which I do every time because I want to tweak a bunch of details, e.g. file system stuff. Though archinstall looks like it gets you something pretty reasonable, but I am a bit curious how hard the manual partitioning bit is to use to get things exactly like you want it wrt. filesystems, LVM, and encryption compared to doing a manual install.

[@balsalmalberto8086]

Time.

[@UltraZelda64]

I thought Arch used to have TUI "installation script" decades ago before they stopped supporting and eventually removed it, leaving a completely manual CLI installation method. This installation script obviously has similarities to how the way the old one worked, but it still seems quite different. I don't use Arch so I haven't given this a try yet, but it does look like a step in the right direction. I thought it was dumb to give up and just get rid of the installation script to begin with, instead of improving it and working out the bugs and problems it did have.

[@manee427]

awsome

[@peter_hauer]

One thing is clearly stated in the FAQ: „Why would I not want to use Arch? You may not want to use Arch, if: - you do not have the ability/time/desire for a 'do-it-yourself' GNU/Linux distribution. - you require support for an architecture other than x86_64 - you take a strong stance on using a distribution which only provides free software as defined by GNU. - you believe an operating system should configure itself, run out of the box, and include a complete default set of software and desktop environment on the installation media. - you do not want a rolling release GNU/Linux distribution. - you are happy with your current OS.“ If more users would follow that advise there would be much less friction with Arch in the forums and overall discussions in my opinion.

[@bigmikeobama5314]

i agree. i find that the people who whine about not being spoon fed the answers and get told to "rtfm" just need to find another distro. they believe they are entitled to explanations from others, and they arent.

[@peter_hauer]

@@bigmikeobama5314 That is a bit „harsh“ in my opinion, I personally find that „rtfm“ is also taken to negatively. Arch and Gentoo have really good manuals and if you tell someone to read into them, it is just most of the time much better, complete and updated then I could someone give a short answer. Most of the time I do it so, that I link to the part they need in the wiki. If they are then willing to read they have all they need. If you want to use arch then you need to have the mentality to be open to read a documentation and to get familiar with the terminal some times and that is something even a beginner can do or learn to do. I am not that type of person that condemns someone for asking. If the same questions get asked over and over again also the answers are available and easy to find that is when I think that beginner should overthink the generell approach.

[@hiroshimanagasaki616]

Agreed. it pains me seeing all the people on the forums trying to get help for silly things that could be found with a simple google search, looking through logs or looking up on the wiki.

[@minsekfau3218]

This is actually very solid advice

[@robotron1236]

I use arch and I honestly can’t stand how douchey the community is. So, I just ask chatGPT. Manjaro’s devs aren’t much better; they are so nasty to anyone who asks questions, or points out when they’re wrong.

[@metalfiregametime652]

The only thing I would have to make sure I do correctly is only install Arch on the correct hard drive. Mine is a duel boot and I have 3 hard drives :)

[@gondorianslayer4250]

The problem is arch server is with "no package found error".

[@FurqanHun]

i wanted to install archlinux but the only thing im afraid of is not finding the required drivers and not finding the programs i'd need in uni 💀 i only got 25gb free on ssd out of 128 and would probably need to format it before installing archlinux as i want to shift completely and only use windows in vm when i'll need to use it once in a while 🚶‍♂i want to manually install the stuff but that being said i am afraid of messing up on my only laptop and then getting fckd up by projects

[@F_Around_and_find_out]

Install Arch the original way is like a test of will. If you made it, booted into desktop, you're ready for Arch, you are a willing one. I won't judge so people who use the install script to install Arch for the first time are just as willing as those who went the long way, but I can only speculate they will have to learn Arch a bit harder.

[@jam560]

ive done both and id say installer is fine but you shouldn't use arch as your first linux anyway

[@matthewstott3493]

If the goal is to delve into Linux internals and learn how it all works. Then, I would recommend Arch to anyone wishing to learn Linux at a lower level. Don't use the archinstall installation script. Do it the hard way because that is how you learn. Nobody learns anything without significant struggles. What doesn't terminate you makes you stronger. Install, rinse repeat ad nauseam. Someday you will thank yourself when you solve a really difficult Linux problem, merely because you gained insight into the way things work under the hood. Also advise a learner start with a virtual machine and later on physical hardware. VM snapshots can help you revert to a known good state. But hey, if you just want a really quick and easy Linux install, perhaps consider a non-rolling release distribution such as Linux Mint / Ubuntu / Pop_OS, etc. Especially if it's your first foray into Linux. Arch is more for the bleeding edge. Rolling releases tend to break frequently so you need to pay attention to the Arch wiki announcements and watch out for breaking changes that require manual intervention. You'll struggle far more with Arch.

[@Snipe942]

Installed arch via archinstall recently and it bugged on me by creating ~16Gb of empty space betveen sda1 and sda2 and around 5Gb of empty space after last partition. Fixing was annoying but other than that worked great

[@emmanuelrousseau7889]

It's easier to install, but the problem with Arch is, once you're finished installing it, its still not installed, you still have a lot of work to do in order to get everything to work properly. I made the tour once, I had it working correctly, I have better things to do than being the elected maintainer of a desktop environment for only one person...

[@jeremiahp7572]

🔥🔥🔥

[@the1trancedemon]

9:49 could you do a video on saving the install to config file and using that file to install?

[@peter_hauer]

Just save the file locally or online and then the next time you want to install import it by appending --config and then the path or url to a website with the config.json.

[@the1trancedemon]

@@peter_hauer noted thanks!

[@danielton9577]

I will never understand why anyone would continue to buy nvidia after switching to Linux. But archinstall is great. Just keep in mind that things like Bluetooth, TRIM support for SSDs, and printing (and Avahi/mdns for wireless printers) still need to be set up after installation, since Arch just ships everything as-is with nothing enabled by default. Which is a good thing, but it might trip new users up.

[@RobMax622]

Arch linux is hard to Install?? I'll say I never installed Direct arch But Hell Manjaro is easy as pie to install.. My Question is, Is that install Script now In the Arch ISO itself?? If so Might try it out..

[@TKing2724]

Does the archinstall script set up wifi these days, or does the user still have to manually connect with the command line?

[@peter_hauer]

That is not a thing archinstall does. If you boot the Arch-ISO you first have to connect yourself to the internet. That is still a manual process if you are not on a wired connection. The install script gives you several possibilities. First you could copy over the ISO networkconfiguration to the installed system, second you can install and use networkmanager for gnome or kde for example or you can do the configuration manually. So no change there, but in my opinion the install article in the wiki really explains that in detail and iwctl is not rocket science. If you want the „just“ boot and it works experience perhaps look for an arch based distro.

[@Jackarius86]

@@peter_hauer can confirm, the wifi support is pretty good, but it is something you need to set up manually still. Once you've done that simply run archinstall and away you go

[@TKing2724]

@@peter_hauer I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you didn't mean me specifically when you said "you." I run Arch, on a laptop, so I'm well acquainted with iwctl. My point was to raise a counterargument to DT insisting that archinstall makes installing Arch noob-friendly. That's only the case if one can manage to connect to the internet.

[@peter_hauer]

@@TKing2724 Ah ok, yes I did understand your question in a different way. At least the ISO tells everyone that "they" need to do WiFi-Setup with iwctl, that is that info text that will show at the start.

[@mafsi]

I'm pretty sure that your partition scheme doesn't look like the as you set it in archinstall. I would love to see how you create a complicated partition scheme because on this step archinstall most of the time fails.

[@ethanissac5510]

now do hyprland on arch virtualbox good vid btw

[@wimhuizinga]

I know very well what the commands do. I started using FreeBSD, then SuSe, Fedora, Ubuntu, Debian and some fumbling around with Antergos and Arch. It's not that I don't respect Arch. I love it. Running Endeavour OS as a daily driver. But I think a powerful installer is underestimated. I don't use Arch because I don't want to learn a specific order of commands just install an operating system. I'm a user that wants an operating system to install and work. Of course I want to understand what I'm doing. But often you need a KZbin video or guide to do all kinds of stuff in a specific order, just installing an operating system. It's just not that interesting to me.

[@dazoedave]

Arch now includes time zones US/... it has US/Central US/Eastern etc. I prefer using actual time zone names them rather than using the city names.

[@Light-ib7fg]

does it have secure boot?

[@AdityaRajSingh-xy6gt]

how to use xinti file to start window manager in arch i am stuck in between diplay manager and xinit. Like i have installed arch linux with window manager "DWM" and i create two user and now i want to try other window manager like "xmonad , awesome ,etc " and some desktop enviornment so when i use a dispaly manager like "lightdm" it does show me xmonad but not showing DWM in user session and i tried to download other like "xfce4 " lightdm show me xmonad and lightdm in user-session but not showing me my dwm . I want to keep dwm as my default and want to use other user for using other desktop enviornment and window manager what should i do . And i also tried it with xinitrc file but in second user xmonad does not work and dwm does for that . Need help any one i am new to arch linux

[@lucolesco]

I am not sure about the DWM package on Arch's repositories, but if you installed DWM by building it from source, there will be no .desktop file in your xsessions folder, therefore you will not be able to choose DWM from your display manager. In order to be able to do that, you will have to create a .desktop file for DWM in '/usr/share/xsessions'. You can make a script somewhere in your system called 'startdwm', then you'll put this inside of it: #!/bin/sh # before the next line, put the programs that you want to autoinit such as ' &' exec dwm After that, you'll type, in your terminal, this: chmod +x Then you're going to create a file called 'dwm.desktop' in '/usr/share/xsessions'. In this file, you'll put this: [Desktop Entry] Name=DWM Exec=sh Type=Application After this, you'll start your display manager and, theoretically, the DWM session should be listed in there.

[@AdityaRajSingh-xy6gt]

​@@lucolesco Thanks brother i got it later that day i saw your comment now,

[@AndrewErwin73]

honestly, even for a n00b it isn't that bad... once you have done a few times, it becomes second nature! EVEN WITHOUT THE NEW INSTALLER!

[@inononeeee]

why disk configuration is skipped

[@1400Lines]

wth😂, I just learned and understood how to install arch thru wiki 3 weeks ago. and learned the fastest way last sat, thru your video from 2020. now there's an easy mode 🤣🤣🤣

[@juipeltje]

I've tried the archinstall script multiple times in VMs and i haven't gotten it to work so far. I tried it over a span of almost a year or something with multiple months in between. The first two attempts after pressing install the script would just exit and kick me back to the tty. The third time was very recently, and it finally started installing this time, but failed when configuring grub because there wasn't enough space, eventhough i had a 1gb efi partition. Maybe i did something wrong the last time, but i'm still hesitant to trust the script at this point over a manual install. I don't use arch anymore at the moment though.

[@Jackarius86]

I find that odd - I have used the script 4 times so far and it has worked perfectly every time

[@juipeltje]

@@Jackarius86 yeah i don't know what's going on there. Like i said, maybe the last time i tried it it might have been an error on my part, but the other times it would just exit to tty without any error message. I tried it a few times in a row making sure i didn't accidentally skip an option or something, but it kept exiting.

[@Jackarius86]

@@juipeltje it always exits to tty after the install. Are you sure it didn't actually install it without realising?

[@juipeltje]

@@Jackarius86 no it happened literally immediately after pressing install, just exited out to tty right away. At first i thought maybe there was some delay before it starts but nothing happened.

[@Jackarius86]

@@juipeltje its odd, but IDK what else to tell you other than try again, there may have been something you missed, maybe your network isn't set up, or you haven't configured it properly?

[@HikaruAkitsuki]

Last time I used archinstall on my VMWare WS Pro, the script won't start. I don't know why.

[@halfsourlizard9319]

Sounds like a skill issue.

[@juipeltje]

​@@halfsourlizard9319nah the script just doesn't work really well i think, i've tried it 3 times, the first two times i just kicked me back to the tty without doing anything.