System Configuration

Generate the Filesystem Table (fstab)

After installing the base system, generate the filesystem table by running:

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

It’s important to review the generated /mnt/etc/fstab file to ensure that all partitions are correctly listed and configured.

Chroot into the New System

Finally, change root into your new system environment to continue with further configuration:

  arch-chroot /mnt

Time Zone and Localization

If you need to set your timezone manually you can do so by creating a symlink:

  ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/Your/Timezone /etc/localtime 
hwclock --systohc

Edit then /etc/locale.gen (e.g. using nano) and uncomment your locale settings (e.g. en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8).

Generate the locales by running:

  locale-gen

Now create /etc/locale.conf and set the LANG variable. You can do this in a single command as the following:

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

(Replace en_US.UTF-8 with your preferred locale settings)

If you set a keyboard layout, make the changes persistent in vconsole.conf. The following example sets the de-latin1 keymap:

  echo KEYMAP=de-latin1 > /etc/vconsole.conf

Network Configuration

Create an hostname:

  echo <your_hostname> > /etc/hostname

Edit the file /etc/hosts appending the following lines: 127.0.0.1 localhost ::1 localhost 127.0.1.1 <your_hostname>.localdomain <your_hostname> Install and configure a network manager such as NetworkManager:

  pacman -S networkmanager

Enable with:

  systemctl enable NetworkManager

And connect with:

  nmcli device wifi connect <your_SSID_or_BSSID> password <your_password>

Root Password and User Creation

Set now the root password

  passwd

Create a regular user:

  • First, install sudo (if not already installed) 
      pacman -S sudo
  • Then create the user with: 
      useradd -m -G wheel -s /bin/bash <your_username>
  • Set password 
      passwd <your_username>
  • Edit /etc/sudoers (using visudo) and enable wheel group privileges. Find the commented line # %wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL and remove # at the beginning of the line: 
      EDITOR=nano visudo

Bootloader Installation

Install a bootloader like systemd-boot or GRUB:

  • For systemd-boot: 
      bootctl install
    Create an entry in /boot/loader/entries/arch.conf with the necessary options.
  • For GRUB: 
      pacman -S grub efibootmgr
    Install: 
      grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=/boot/efi --bootloader-id=GRUB
    Generate config: 
      grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
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Last updated 22 Feb 2025, 05:03 +0100 . history

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