• Table of contents
• Prepare the partition
• Install the Base System
  • Setup the Environment
  • Add an Administrative User
  • Install the bootloader

This is a simple guide to setup a base minimal Arch Linux installation.

Prepare the partition¶

• Format the hard drive using cfdisk:
  

  cfdisk /dev/sda
  

• Create the filesystem:
  

  mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda1
  

• Mount the partition:
  

  mount /dev/sda1 /mnt
  mkdir /mnt/etc
  

Install the Base System¶

• Generate an fstab:
  

  genfstab -p /mnt >> /mnt/etc/fstab
  

• Now its time to install the base system:
  

  pacstrap /mnt base base-devel grub openssh sudo
  

Setup the Environment¶

• chroot into the newly installed system:
  

  arch-chroot /mnt
  

  • Write your hostname to /etc/hostname:
    

    echo 'archlinux' >> /etc/hostname
    

  • Symlink /etc/localtime to /usr/share/zoneinfo/Zone/SubZone:
    

    ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/America/Los_angeles /etc/localtime
    

  • Uncomment the selected locale:
    

    vi /etc/locale.gen
    

    • And use the following to enable en_US.UTF-8:
      

      :%s/#en_US.UTF-8/en_US.UTF-8
      :wq
      

  • Then generate locale with with:
    

    locale-gen
    

  • Configure /etc/mkinitcpio.conf as needed and create an initial RAM disk with:
    

    mkinitcpio -p linux
    

  • Set a root password:
    

    passwd
    

  • Configure the network again for newly installed environment:
    

    cp /etc/netctl/examples/ethernet-dhcp /etc/netctl/wired
    systemctl enable systemd-networkd.service
    netctl enable wired
    

  • (Optional) Disable systemd-resolved to allow netctl to set DNS:
    

    systemctl disable systemd-resolved
    

  • Enable SSH
    

    systemctl enable sshd.service
    

Add an Administrative User¶

• Add an unprivileged user, bob in this case:
  

  useradd -m -g users -s /bin/bash bob
  

  • And set a password for the user:
    

    passwd bob
    

• Add the sudo group:
  

  groupadd sudo
  

• Edit the sudo file:
  

  visudo
  

  • And uncomment the sudo group line:
    

    %sudo    ALL=(ALL) ALL
    

• Then add the user bob to the sudo group:
  

  usermod -aG sudo bob
  

Install the bootloader¶

• Now install GRUB:
  

  grub-install --target=i386-pc --recheck --debug /dev/sda
  grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
  

• Exit and reboot the out of the installation environment:
  

  exit
  umount /mnt
  reboot