Arch Linux Installation Guide (2026) — archinstall and Manual

Tested on: Arch Linux ISO 2026.06 — Last updated: June 2026

Arch Linux gives you a minimal, rolling-release system built exactly the way you want it. This guide covers both the archinstall guided installer (recommended for most users) and the full manual installation method, including WiFi setup, GPU drivers, user creation, bootloader options, and post-install configuration for a working desktop.

Why Arch Linux?

• Rolling release — always the latest packages, no major version upgrades to manage
• AUR — the largest user-maintained package repository in Linux, with 90,000+ packages
• Minimal by default — you install only what you need, nothing more
• Arch Wiki — the most comprehensive Linux documentation available, useful for any distro
• Full control — you choose every component: init system, desktop, filesystem, bootloader

Step 1 — Download and Boot the Arch ISO

Download the latest Arch Linux ISO from archlinux.org and write it to a USB drive (replace /dev/sdX with your USB device):

sudo dd if=archlinux-2026.06.01-x86_64.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress conv=fsync

Boot from USB. You will land in a root shell. Verify the internet connection before doing anything else:

ping -c 3 archlinux.org

Step 2 — Connect to WiFi (Skip if on Ethernet)

If you are using a wired connection, skip this step — it works automatically. For WiFi, use the iwctl utility included in the live environment:

iwctl

# Inside the iwctl prompt:
device list                          # find your adapter (usually wlan0)
station wlan0 scan
station wlan0 get-networks           # list visible networks
station wlan0 connect "NetworkName"  # type your password when prompted
exit

Confirm the connection with ping -c 3 archlinux.org, then sync the system clock:

timedatectl set-ntp true

Method 1 — Install with archinstall (Recommended)

archinstall is the official guided installer included in every Arch ISO. It handles partitioning, bootloader, desktop environment, and user creation through a terminal menu. It is the right choice for most people — you still get a real Arch system with full AUR access.

archinstall

Key choices to make during the guided install:

• Mirrors: select your country for faster downloads
• Disk configuration: Best-effort default partition layout — erases the disk and creates EFI + root automatically
• Filesystem: btrfs (enables snapshots with Snapper, good for rollbacks) or ext4 (simpler, no overhead)
• Bootloader: systemd-boot for UEFI systems (recommended), GRUB for BIOS or dual-boot
• Profile: Desktop → choose KDE Plasma, GNOME, Hyprland, or XFCE
• Audio: Pipewire
• Network: NetworkManager
• User account: create your user here — tick Add to sudo group

Select Install when done. The process takes 10–20 minutes depending on your internet speed and packages selected. Reboot when prompted and remove the USB.

Method 2 — Manual Installation

The manual method gives you complete control over every step. It takes longer but teaches you how the system is assembled. Follow these steps in order after completing Steps 1 and 2 above.

Partition the disk

fdisk /dev/sda
# g        → create GPT partition table
# n        → new partition: 512M, type EFI System (t → 1)
# n        → new partition: rest of disk, type Linux filesystem
# w        → write and exit

Format and mount

mkfs.fat -F32 /dev/sda1      # EFI partition
mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda2          # root (use mkfs.btrfs for btrfs)
mount /dev/sda2 /mnt
mount --mkdir /dev/sda1 /mnt/boot/efi

Install base system

pacstrap -K /mnt base linux linux-firmware networkmanager sudo vim

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

Configure locale, timezone, and hostname

# Timezone
ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/Europe/London /etc/localtime
hwclock --systohc

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

# Console keyboard layout (optional)
echo "KEYMAP=us" > /etc/vconsole.conf

# Hostname
echo "myhostname" > /etc/hostname

Set passwords and create your user

# Root password
passwd

# Create a user account (replace yourusername)
useradd -m -G wheel -s /bin/bash yourusername
passwd yourusername

# Allow the wheel group to use sudo
sed -i 's/^# %wheel ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL/%wheel ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL/' /etc/sudoers

Install the bootloader

Option A — systemd-boot (simpler, UEFI only, recommended for modern hardware):

bootctl install

Create /boot/loader/entries/arch.conf:

title   Arch Linux
linux   /vmlinuz-linux
initrd  /initramfs-linux.img
options root=UUID=$(blkid -s UUID -o value /dev/sda2) rw

Option B — GRUB (works on BIOS and UEFI, required for dual-boot with Windows):

pacman -S grub efibootmgr
grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=/boot/efi
grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

Enable services and reboot

systemctl enable NetworkManager
exit
umount -R /mnt
reboot

GPU Drivers

Install GPU drivers before setting up a desktop environment. Skipping this step causes a black screen after the display manager loads.

NVIDIA

# Proprietary driver (recommended for GTX 900 series and newer)
sudo pacman -S nvidia nvidia-utils

# For Wayland (KDE Plasma, GNOME) also install:
sudo pacman -S egl-wayland

# Reboot required after driver install
reboot

AMD

The AMDGPU driver is built into the kernel — no separate driver package is needed. Install Vulkan support and hardware video acceleration:

sudo pacman -S vulkan-radeon libva-mesa-driver mesa

Intel

sudo pacman -S intel-media-driver vulkan-intel mesa

Post-Install: AUR Helper and Essential Packages

Install yay to access the AUR. It wraps pacman and handles AUR builds automatically:

sudo pacman -S --needed git base-devel
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/yay.git
cd yay && makepkg -si

With yay installed, use it for both official and AUR packages:

# Official repos
sudo pacman -S firefox htop fastfetch

# AUR packages
yay -S google-chrome spotify visual-studio-code-bin

# Run local AI models
yay -S ollama

System Maintenance

Arch is rolling-release — keeping it updated and clean prevents dependency issues over time.

# Full system update (run at least weekly)
sudo pacman -Syu
yay -Syu          # updates AUR packages too

# Remove orphaned packages
sudo pacman -Rns $(pacman -Qtdq)

# Clean package cache (keep last 2 versions per package)
sudo pacman -S pacman-contrib
sudo paccache -rk2

# Update mirrors to fastest servers for your region
sudo pacman -S reflector
sudo reflector --country DE,FR,GB --latest 10 --sort rate --save /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist

Troubleshooting

No internet connection after reboot

sudo systemctl enable --now NetworkManager
nmtui    # terminal UI to connect to WiFi

Black screen after installing a desktop environment

Either the GPU driver is missing or the display manager is not enabled. Switch to a TTY with Ctrl+Alt+F2, log in, install the correct GPU driver (see section above), then enable the display manager:

sudo systemctl enable --now sddm    # KDE Plasma
sudo systemctl enable --now gdm     # GNOME

pacman: failed to synchronize databases

sudo pacman -Sy archlinux-keyring
sudo pacman -Su

System does not boot after install (UEFI)

The bootloader entry is likely not registered in UEFI firmware. Boot from the Arch ISO, mount your system, arch-chroot in, and re-run the bootloader install command. Also verify that Secure Boot is disabled in the BIOS — Arch does not support it by default.

Bluetooth is not working

sudo pacman -S bluez bluez-utils
sudo systemctl enable --now bluetooth

What to Do Next

You have a working Arch Linux system with full AUR access and GPU drivers. Good next steps: configure your terminal with Neovim and Starship, set up SSH key authentication for remote access, and if you want to run AI models locally, yay -S ollama installs Ollama directly from the AUR. For an opinionated developer-focused Arch setup with Hyprland pre-configured, also see our Omarchy review. For an Arch-based system with a graphical installer and a custom performance kernel, CachyOS is the fastest way to get there.