TechHeart's 2025 Arch Linux (w/ Sauce!) Install Guide

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🐧 Vanilla Arch Linux and Extra Sauce (2025 Edition) This is a full, step-by-step Arch Linux install guide, built for clarity, encryption, and customization. The goal is a clean base system with KDE Plasma, AUR support, and some visual flair.

Set Your Keymap localectl list-keymaps | grep loadkeys
Connect to the Internet ping 8.8.8.8 ip a iwctl –passphrase <SSID_PASSWORD> station connect <SSID_NAME>
Optimize Mirrors pacman -Sy reflector reflector –country –age 12 –latest 10 –protocol https –save /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist cat /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
Partition and Encrypt the Disk cfdisk /dev/ lsblk cryptsetup -y -v luksFormat /dev/ cryptsetup open /dev/ luksroot lsblk mkfs.ext4 /dev/mapper/luksroot mkfs.fat -F32 /dev/
Mount and Install the Base System mount /dev/mapper/luksroot /mnt mkdir /mnt/boot mount /dev/ /mnt/boot lsblk

pacstrap /mnt base linux linux-firmware nano vim

Generate fstab and Chroot genfstab -U /mnt » /mnt/etc/fstab cat /mnt/etc/fstab

arch-chroot /mnt

Add a Swapfile dd if=/dev/zero of=/swapfile bs=1M count=16384 status=progress chmod 600 /swapfile mkswap /swapfile swapon /swapfile nano /etc/fstab

Add this to /etc/fstab:

/swapfile none swap defaults 0 0

Timezone, Locale, Hostname ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/America/Los_Angeles /etc/localtime hwclock –systohc nano /etc/locale.gen

Uncomment:

en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8

locale-gen echo LANG=en_US.UTF-8 » /etc/locale.conf echo KEYMAP=us » /etc/vconsole.conf echo » /etc/hostname nano /etc/hosts

Add this to /etc/hosts:

127.0.0.1 localhost ::1 localhost 127.0.1.1 .localdomain

passwd

Install Core Packages pacman -S base-devel bluez bluez-utils cups dialog dosfstools efibootmgr git grub linux-headers mtools network-manager-applet networkmanager os-prober pulseaudio-bluetooth reflector wireless_tools wpa_supplicant xdg-user-dirs xdg-utils
Enable Encryption in Initramfs nano /etc/mkinitcpio.conf

Modify the HOOKS line to include:

… block encrypt filesystems …

mkinitcpio -p linux

Install and Configure GRUB grub-install –target=x86_64-efi –efi-directory=/boot –bootloader-id=GRUB grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg blkid

Find your LUKS UUID and add it to:

nano /etc/default/grub

Change the GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT line to:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=“loglevel=3 quiet cryptdevice=UUID=<YOUR_UUID>:luksroot root=/dev/mapper/luksroot”

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

Enable Services and Create User systemctl enable NetworkManager systemctl enable bluetooth systemctl enable NetworkManager-dispatcher.service

useradd -mG wheel passwd visudo

Uncomment this line:

%wheel ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL

Reboot into Your New Arch System reboot
Connect with nmtui and Install AUR Helper nmtui

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

Install GPU Drivers sudo pacman -S xf86-video-intel

or for AMD sudo pacman -S amd-ucode

or for NVIDIA sudo pacman -S nvidia nvidia-utils nvidia-settings

Add a GRUB Theme git clone –depth 1 https://gitlab.com/VandalByte/dedsec-grub-theme.git cd dedsec-grub-theme/ sudo python3 dedsec-theme.py –install

sudo reboot now

Install KDE Plasma Desktop sudo pacman -S plasma-meta sudo pacman -S kde-applications-meta sudo systemctl enable sddm sudo systemctl status sddm

sudo reboot now

Add Plymouth Boot Splash paru -S plymouth-theme-optimus-git paru -S plymouth-git

Edit mkinitcpio.conf:

nano /etc/mkinitcpio.conf

Add “plymouth” before “encrypt” in HOOKS:

… block plymouth encrypt filesystems …

Edit GRUB config:

nano /etc/default/grub

Update GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=“loglevel=3 quiet splash cryptdevice=UUID=:luksroot root=/dev/mapper/luksroot”

Then:

grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg sudo plymouth-set-default-theme -R optimus

sudo reboot now

##💾 Will be updated to a full article shortly…

localectl list-keymaps | grep <country>
loadkeys <country>

ping 8.8.8.8
ip a
iwctl --passphrase <SSID_PASSWORD> station <wlan0> connect <SSID_NAME>

pacman -Sy reflector
reflector --country <US> --age 12  --latest 10 --protocol https --save /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
cat /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist

cfdisk /dev/<sda>
lsblk
cryptsetup -y -v luksFormat /dev/<sda2>
cryptsetup open /dev/<sda2> luksroot
lsblk
mkfs.ext4 /dev/mapper/luksroot
mkfs.fat -F32 /dev/<sda1>

mount /dev/mapper/luksroot /mnt
mkdir /mnt/boot
mount /dev/<sda1> /mnt/boot
lsblk

pacstrap /mnt base linux linux-firmware nano vim <intel-ucode>

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

arch-chroot /mnt

dd if=/dev/zero of=/swapfile bs=1M count=16384 status=progress
chmod 600 /swapfile
mkswap /swapfile
swapon /swapfile
<nano> / <vim> /etc/fstab
----- Insert to /etc/fstab -----
# swap file
/swapfile          none          swap          defaults          0          0
-----                      -----

ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/<America>/<Los_Angeles> /etc/localtime
hwclock --systohc
<nano> / <vim> /etc/locale.gen
locale-gen
echo LANG=<en_US.UTF8> >> /etc/locale.conf
echo KEYMAP=<us> >> /etc/vconsole.conf
echo <HOSTNAME> >> /etc/hostname
<nano> / <vim> /etc/hosts
----- Insert to /etc/hosts -----
127.0.0.1       localhost  
::1       localhost  
127.0.0.1       <arch>.localdomain       <arch>  
-----                      -----

passwd

pacman -S base-devel bluez bluez-utils cups dialog dosfstools efibootmgr git grub linux-headers mtools network-manager-applet networkmanager os-prober pulseaudio-bluetooth reflector wireless_tools wpa_supplicant xdg-user-dirs xdg-utils

<nano> / <vim> /etc/mkinitcpio.conf  
----- Insert to /etc/mkinitcpio.conf -----
<after "block"> encrypt <before "filesystems">  
-----                                -----

mkinitcpio -p linux

grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=/boot --bootloader-id=GRUB
grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
blkid
<Find crypto_LUKS UUID - Copy it down!>
<nano> / <vim> /etc/default/grub  
----- Insert to /etc/default/grub -----
<after GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="loglevel 3 quiet> cryptdevice=UUID=<YOUR_UUID>:luksroot root=/dev/mapper/luksroot   <before last ">
-----                             -----
grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg  

systemctl enable NetworkManager  
systemctl enable bluetooth
systemctl enable NetworkManager-dispatcher.service

useradd -mG wheel <username>
passwd <username> 
EDITOR=<vim> / <nano>
visudo
----- Insert in visudo -----
<uncomment %wheel ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL> (Remove the "# ')
-----                  -----

[After rebooting into Arch Linux installation]

nmtui

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

sudo pacman -S xf86-video-intel  
<amdpgu>  
<nvidea nvidea-utils nvidea-settings>

git clone --depth 1 https://gitlab.com/VandalByte/dedsec-grub-theme.git
cd dedsec-grub-theme/
sudo python3 dedsec-theme.py --install

sudo reboot now

sudo pacman -S plasma-meta
sudo pacman -S kde-applications-meta
sudo systemctl enable sddm  
sudo systemctl status sddm

sudo reboot now

cd Downloads\
paru -S plymouth-theme-optimus-git
paru -S plymouth-git
sudo <vim> / <nano> /etc/mkinitcpio.conf  
----- Insert in /etc/mkinitcpio.conf -----
<after block>
plymouth
<before encrypt>
-----                                -----

sudo <vim> / <nano> /etc/default/grub
----- Insert in /etc/default/grub -----
<after quiet>
splash
<before cryptdevice>
-----                             -----
sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg  
sudo plymouth-set-default-theme -R optimus  

sudo reboot now

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TechHeart’s 2025 Arch Linux (w/ Sauce!) Install Guide