Install Arch Linux from Scratch with KDE Plasma

2025-01-15 1377 words 7 minutes

Contents

Step by step installation Arch Linux from scratch with KDE Plasma.

1. Pre-installation

1.1. Set Console Display Font

setfont ter-132n

1.2. Check Firmware Boot Mode (BIOS/UEFI)

ls /sys/firmware/efi/efivars

If the output shows an error: no such file or directory, then the firmware boot mode of your hardware is BIOS. Otherwise, you’ll have to create ESP (EFI System Partition) later.
To make sure which GRUB Bootloader you should use later, you can use the command below.

cat /sys/firmware/efi/fw_platform_size

If the output shows 64, it means that you can use any boot loader that you like. Therefore, if the output is 32, you’ve only 2 choices: grub or systemd-grub.
For more info, read the documentation page: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Boot_loader.

1.3. Connect to the Internet

Check internet connection with the ping command.

        
ip link # to see a list of interface/network devices that are embedded on your device.
ping archlinux.org to check if you are connected to the internet/not.

Use iwctl to connect to the internet via WiFi.

        
iwctl # enter iwd daemon.
station wlan0 list # to see the list of SSIDs around you.
station wlan0 connect "SSID_NAME" # connect to your SSID.
# Type your password.
quit

1.4. Partitioning

Here, I’ve a virtual disk with a total size of 50GB and the virtual disk name is /dev/vda.
I’ll use the partition schemas.

File System	Partition	Size	Mount Point	BTRFS Subvolumes
FAT32	/dev/vda1	1GiB	/boot	-
BTRFS	/dev/vda2	49GiB	/	@

1.4.1. Create New Partition

Check available disk size.

        
lsblk

NAME  MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
loop0   7:0    0 820.6M  1 loop /run/archiso/airootfs
sr0    11:0    1   1.1G  0 rom  /run/archiso/bootmnt
vda   254:0    0    50G  0 disk

Enter the fdisk interactive mode. Then, I’ll create 2 different types of partitions, which are /dev/vda1 for the boot partition and /dev/vda2 for the root partition.

        
        
        
    
# Enter the fdisk interactive mode.
fdisk /dev/vda

# Type `n` to create new partitions.
Command (m for help): n
Partition type
   p   primary (0 primary, 0 extended, 4 free)
   e   extended (container for logical partitions)

# Type `p` for select primary partitions.
Select (default p): p

# The default selected primary partition is `1`.
Partition number (1-4, default 1): 1

# Just press `ENTER` for the first sector.
First sector (2048-104857599, default 2048):

# For the last sector, I adjust the partition size for /dev/vda1 to 1 1GiB.
Last sector, +/-sectors or +/-size{K,M,G,T,P} (2048-104857599, default 104857599): +1G

Created a new partition 1 of type 'Linux' and of size 1 GiB.

# Repeat the step above to create the 2nd partition.
# For /dev/vda2 or root partition, I'll use the rest of virtual disk size, which is 49GiB.
Command (m for help): n
Partition type
   p   primary (1 primary, 0 extended, 3 free)
   e   extended (container for logical partitions)
Select (default p): p
Partition number (2-4, default 2):
First sector (2099200-104857599, default 2099200):
Last sector, +/-sectors or +/-size{K,M,G,T,P} (2099200-104857599, default 104857599):

Created a new partition 2 of type 'Linux' and of size 49 GiB.

# Save the current partition layout and exit.
# Just type `w`.
Command (m for help): w

# Press `p` to print the current partition layout.

Important, reload the daemon system after partitioning.

udevadm settle; systemctl daemon-reload

1.4.2. Format The Partition with a Specific File System

After 2 partitions have been created, next we need to format the partitions, so they can be used to store data.
For the /dev/vda1 or /boot partition, I’ll format it to the FAT32 file system.
Then, for the /dev/vda2 or / partition, I’ll format it to BTRFS.

        
mkfs.fat -F32 /dev/vda1 # For boot partition.
mkfs.btrfs /dev/vda2 # For root partition.

Check if both partitions were formatted successfully.

        
        
        
    
lsblk -f
NAME   FSTYPE   FSVER            LABEL       UUID                                 FSAVAIL FSUSE% MOUNTPOINTS
loop0  squashfs 4.0                                                                     0   100% /run/archiso/airootfs
sr0    iso9660  Joliet Extension ARCH_202501 2025-01-01-08-45-10-00                     0   100% /run/archiso/bootmnt
vda
├─vda1 vfat     FAT32           697A-BD30
└─vda2 btrfs                    0ab075a0-211d-49de-8eab-3881b581430c

1.4.3. Mount Temporary File System to `/mnt` Directory

Mount the created partitions to the correct mount points temporarily. In this case, /dev/vda1 will be mounted to the /boot directory, and /dev/vda2 will be mounted to the / directory.
Before that, we need to create the /boot directory first under the /mnt directory.

mkdir -p /mnt/boot

Then, we can mount the partitions to their mount points.

        
mount /dev/vda1 /mnt/boot # Mount boot parition to /boot dir.
mount /dev/vda2 /mnt # Mount root partition to / dir (top hierarchy).

Check if the partitions were mounted successfully.

        
        
        
    
lsblk
NAME   MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
loop0    7:0    0 820.6M  1 loop /run/archiso/airootfs
sr0     11:0    1   1.1G  0 rom  /run/archiso/bootmnt
vda    254:0    0    50G  0 disk
├─vda1 254:1    0     1G  0 part /mnt/boot
└─vda2 254:2    0    49G  0 part /mnt

1.5. Install Essential Packages in the Chroot Environment

        
        
        
    
# 1. Base system, such as kernel, etc.
pacstrap -K /mnt base base-devel linux linux-firmware sudo

# 2. Networking stuffs
pacstrap -K /mnt dhcp dhclient dhcpcd networkmanager iwd wpa_supplicant wireless_tools netctl net-tools

# 3. Hardware connectivity.
pacstrap -K /mnt alsa-utils bluez bluez-utils blueman man man-db dialog ifplugd cups

# 3.1. Pipewire
pacstrap -K /mnt pipewire wireplumber pipewire-audio pipewire-alsa pipewire-pulse

# 4. Graphics driver (open-source).
pacstrap -K /mnt xorg

# 4.1. NVIDIA GPU driver.
pacstrap -K /mnt nvidia nvidia-settings xf86-video-nouveau

# 4.2. Newer AMD GPU driver.
pacstrap -K /mnt xf86-video-amdgpu

# 4.3. Legacy Radeon GPU driver, like HD7xxx & below.
pacstrap -K /mnt xf86-video-ati

# 4.4. Dedicated Intel graphics.
pacstrap -K /mnt xf86-video-intel intel-media-driver libva-intel-driver libva-mesa-driver mesa vulkan-intel

# 5. Additional packages.
vim wget curl git gcc clang g++ gdb make cmake neofetch smartmontools htop openssh ufw screen cockpit

1.6. Generate `/etc/fstab` File for Persistent Mounting

Generate the /etc/fstab file in the chroot environment.

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

1.7. Enter The Chroot Environment

arch-chroot /mnt

2. Configure System

2.1. Configure Time Zone

Change the region and city that you live in.

        
ln -sf /use/share/zoneinfo/Asia/Jakarta /etc/localtime
timedatectl set-ntp true
hwclock --systohc

2.2. Localization (System Language)

Edit locale.gen file.

        
vim /etc/locale.gen
# Search and uncomment `en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8` section
# :wq for save and exit.
echo "LANG=en_US.UTF-8" > /etc/locale.conf

Set locale config file with en_US.UTF-8.

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

Then, generate localization.

locale-gen

2.3. Network Configuration

Set the hostname for Arch Linux.

        
echo "archyucry" > /etc/hostname

Edit the /etc/hosts file.

        
        
        
    
cat << EOF > /etc/hosts
127.0.0.1       localhost
::1             localhost
127.0.1.1       archyucry.localdomain archyucry
ff02::1         ip6-allnodes
ff02::2         ip6-allrouters
EOF

2.4. Create New User

Create a new user.

        
useradd -G wheel,audio,video,input,dhcpcd,bluetooth -m hurtz1nside
passwd --stdin hurtz1nside
# Type the user password

Configure the /etc/sudoers file.

        
echo "%wheel ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL" >> /etc/sudoers.d/wheel

2.5. Create New Boot Loader

Install boot loader, in this case I’ll be using the grub boot loader, because it’s very common.

sudo pacman -Sy grub

Install GRUB boot loader to the virtual disk, which is /dev/vda. This only works on BIOS legacy, because I’m using a virtual machine here.

        
grub-install --target=i386-pc /dev/vda

# For the EFI system partition, I think you should use the command below.
grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=/boot/efi --bootloader-id=arch
# Set the /boot/efi directory to your correct EFI system partitions mount point.

Configure the GRUB boot loader.

        
# Enter the grub default config file.
vim /etc/default/grub

# Uncomment the `GRUB_DISABLE_OS_PROBER=false` in the `/etc/default/grub` file, so other bootable partitions will be detected.
GRUB_DISABLE_OS_PROBER=false

Apply the GRUB boot loader configuration.

grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

2.6. Enable Some Services and Reboot

Enable some important services before reboot.

        
systemctl enable dhcpcd.service
systemctl enable NetworkManager.service
systemctl enable bluetooth.service
systemctl enable cups.service

Exit from the chroot environment, umount the /mnt directory, and reboot.

        
exit
umount /mnt
systemctl reboot

3. Post-Install

3.1. Connect Arch to the Internet

Get a DHCP (dynamic) IP address to connect to the internet.

        
sudo dhcpcd enp1s0

# Check the internet connection with ping.
ping google.com

3.2. Install KDE Plasma Desktop Environment

After successfully connecting to the internet, we can now install KDE Plasma.

        
# Install some required utilities.
sudo pacman -Sy plasma konsole dolphin ark kwrite kcalc spectacle krunner partitionmanager parted packagekit-qt5

# Install display manager.
sudo pacman -Sy sddm

# Install some GUI apps.
sudo pacman -Sy firefox gedit vlc terminator

Enable the sddm display manager service, then reboot.

        
sudo systemctl enable sddm.service
reboot

3.3. Extra: Install Yay (AUR Helper)

Open Konsole / Terminal, then copy this script.

        
        
        
    
cd ~/Downloads/
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/yay.git
cd yay
makepkg -si
cd ..
rm -rf yay

References

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Installation_guide
https://github.com/XxAcielxX/arch-plasma-install
https://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?t=155410 (Issue copy-paste Virt-Manager)

Contents

Install Arch Linux from Scratch with KDE Plasma

1. Pre-installation

1.1. Set Console Display Font

1.2. Check Firmware Boot Mode (BIOS/UEFI)

1.3. Connect to the Internet

1.4. Partitioning

1.4.1. Create New Partition

1.4.2. Format The Partition with a Specific File System

1.4.3. Mount Temporary File System to /mnt Directory

1.5. Install Essential Packages in the Chroot Environment

1.6. Generate /etc/fstab File for Persistent Mounting

1.7. Enter The Chroot Environment

2. Configure System

2.1. Configure Time Zone

2.2. Localization (System Language)

2.3. Network Configuration

2.4. Create New User

2.5. Create New Boot Loader

2.6. Enable Some Services and Reboot

3. Post-Install

3.1. Connect Arch to the Internet

3.2. Install KDE Plasma Desktop Environment

3.3. Extra: Install Yay (AUR Helper)

References

1.4.3. Mount Temporary File System to `/mnt` Directory

1.6. Generate `/etc/fstab` File for Persistent Mounting