3. Base Installation

If you’re new to Linux and unsure what packages to install, download this script:

Arch Linux Base Packages Installation Script

Using “lynx”, highlight this link and press <Enter> followed by <d> to download the file. Choose “Save to disk” and press <Enter>. When prompted for a filename, leave it as is and press <Enter> again to save.

Or use curl:

curl -o base-install.sh -k https://archguide.vercel.app/base-install.sh

Then type:

chmod +x base-install.sh
./base-install.sh

All the packages being installed are the same as in the “Install manually” section.

First install indirect dependencies of the “base” package:

pacstrap /mnt cryptsetup device-mapper e2fsprogs less

• cryptsetup - allows access and management of encrypted devices
  
• device-mapper - a kernel component for logical volume management
  
• e2fsprogs - utilities for handling the “ext2”, “ext3” and “ext4” file systems
  
• less - a terminal based program for viewing text files
  

Then proceed with installing everything else:

pacstrap /mnt ...

Here is a list of packages to install next:

Base:

• base - Minimal package set to define a basic Arch Linux installation
  
• s-nail - Environment for sending and receiving mail, required by “base”
  

Microcode:

Choose the CPU firmware according to your manufacturer.

• intel-ucode
  
• amd-ucode
  

Kernel:

Installing a kernel you have to pick one of the two options:

• linux - The latest stable release of Linux kernel and its modules
  
• linux-lts - The Long-term support Linux kernel and its modules
  

For new users a suggestion is to choose “linux-lts”. You can always switch to “linux” or vise-versa later. Both kernels updating on a regular basis.

Firmware:

• linux-firmware
  

File system utilities:

• jfsutils
  
• reiserfsprogs
  
• sysfsutils
  
• xfsprogs
  

Administrative utilities:

• htop - Interactive process viewer
  
• logrotate - Utility for automatic rotation of system logs
  
• mdadm - A tool for managing md service arrays
  
• which - A utility to show full path of commands
  

Permission elevation:

• sudo - Gives users the ability to run commands as root
  
• doas - Simplified and lightweight alternative to “sudo”
  

For new users a suggestion is to choose “sudo”.

Security:

• ufw - A dead-simple firewall
  

Storage management:

• lvm2 - Logical Volume Manager 2 utilities
  
• udisks2 - Disk management service
  

External devices management:

• bluez* - Daemons for the Bluetooth protocol stack
  
• bluez-utils* - Bluetooth management utilities
  
• usbutils - A collection of USB tools to query connected USB devices
  

\* - Optional.

Web Browser:

• links - Text and graphics WWW browser
  
• lynx - A text browser for the World Wide Web
  

Terminal multiplexer:

• screen - Full-screen window manager that multiplexes a physical terminal
  

Text Editors:

• nano - A small and simple text editor
  
• vi - Required by the “visudo” which helps to safely edit “/etc/sudoers”
  
• vim - An improved Vi text editor
  

Documentation:

• man-db
  
• man-pages
  
• texinfo
  

Network utilities:

• connman - Command-line network manager
  
• dhcpcd - DHCP client daemon
  
• inetutils - A collection of common network programs
  
• iproute2 - Programms for basic and advanced IPv4 and IPv6 networking
  
• iw - Configuration utility for wireless devices
  
• openssh - A tool for remote login with the SSH protocol
  
• openvpn - An easy and configurable VPN
  
• wpa_supplicant - A utility providing key negotiation for WPA networks
  

System utilities:

• diffutils - Utility programs for creating patch files
  
• gcc - The GNU Compiler Collection
  
• make - The GNU make utility for maintaining groups of programs
  
• pkgconf - Package compiler and linker metadata toolkit
  

Sound server:

• pulseaudio
  
• pulseaudio-alsa
  
• pulseaudio-bluetooth*
  

\* - Optional.

Languages:

• perl
  
• python
  
• python-pip
  

The process of the installation will take a little while. If “pacstrap” warns you about some package it didn’t found, check the last command for a typo.