# Setup Guide

DO NOT ONLY USE THIS GUIDE, THIS MAY BE OUTDATED, MIND AS WELL CHECK [OFFICIAL ARCH LINUX INSTALL GUIDE](https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Installation_guide)

BTW, credit to [this dude](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC7NMbl4goo).

## Connect To Internet

* Connect to the network.
* Ethernet -- Plug in the cable.
* Wi-Fi -- Use `iwctl` to set network settings.
* Once entered, use `device list` to list out network devices.
* Then use selected device to scan network. `station <device> get-networks` (usually it is **wlan0**)
* Connect to the network you prefer `station <device> connect <SSID>`
* Enter your password and enter `exit` to leave **iwctl**.

* Verify the connection by `ping archlinux.org`

## Enable SSH (so that you can copy paste commands)

1. Enable SSH on Arch Linux
* Enter `systemctl enable sshd` (should be enabled by default)
* Start SSH `systemctl start sshd`
* Then set a password for the current user with `passwd` command.

2. Enter `ip addr` to get the local [ip](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_address) (should look something like **192.168.0.15**)
3. Go to your other computer and ssh to your arch device `ssh root@<local ip>`

## Write Random Data (OPTIONAL)

This step may take a while

1. List blocks with command `lsblk` to show drives that we will write data into.
Here are examples of drives:
* nvme0n1, nvme1n1, nvme2n1
* sda, sdb, sdc

2. Write random data `/dev/urandom` or fill with zeros `/dev/zero`

dd if=/dev/urandom of=/dev/nvme0n1 status=progress bs=4096
dd if=/dev/urandom of=/dev/sda status=progress bs=4096

## Partitioning

1. List blocks with command `lsblk` to show drives for partitioning.
I'll use my SSD as the primary drive and HDD as a backup drive.
([Setup your own partitions that suits your needs](https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Partitioning))
2. Use `gdisk /dev/<drive>` to partition the drive
* Inside gdisk,
* Print out the table with `p` command;
* Create a new partition with the `n` command;
* Write partitions to disk with the `w` command.

* The below table shows the disk setup I have for my
#### primary drive (Updated Layout)

| partition | first sector | last sector | code | usage |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 (efi) | default | +1G | ef00 | /boot |
| 2 (swap) | default | +20G | 8200 | Swap |
| 3 (root) | default | +75G | 8300 | / |
| 4 (home) | default | default | 8300 | /home |

#### Backup Drive

| partition | first sector | last sector | code |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| default | default | default | 8300 |

Here are something to consider.

* For **Swap Partition**, There are many rules, some suggest `1 RAM + sqrt{RAM}`, **`1.5x RAM Size`** or **`2x RAM Size`**.
Decide yourself according to your RAM Size but aim for at least `1 RAM Size`, I'll choose `1 RAM + sqrt{RAM}`.
:::info
E.g. For 16GB RAM, swap size should be from **+16G** to **+32G**
:::
* For **Root Partition**, **+50G** is usually enough for most people, but you download lots of applications, you can use more size.
* You can use **LVM(Logical Volume Management)** for easier future resizing.
* Seperate **Home Partition** is optional.
* You can setup **LUKS(Linux Unified Key Setup)** to secure your disk with password

## Format The Partitions

FAT32 on EFI partiton (Partition 1)

mkfs.fat -F32 /dev/nvme0n1p1

Setup swap device (Partition 2)

mkswap /dev/nvme0n1p2

BTRFS on root and home (Partition 3 and 4)
*Note: We format them here, but apply labels/subvolumes in the next step.*

mkfs.btrfs -f /dev/nvme0n1p3
mkfs.btrfs -f /dev/nvme0n1p4

BTRFS on backups

mkfs.btrfs -L backups /dev/sda1

## Mount The File Systems

**1. Create BTRFS Subvolumes (Crucial for Timeshift)**
Mount the root partition temporarily to create the subvolumes required by Timeshift.

mount /dev/nvme0n1p3 /mnt
btrfs subvolume create /mnt/@
btrfs subvolume create /mnt/@snapshots
btrfs subvolume create /mnt/@var_log
umount /mnt

**2. Mount Partitions Created**

* Mount **Root Partition** (with subvolume)

mount -o noatime,compress=zstd,subvol=@ /dev/nvme0n1p3 /mnt

* Create directories

mkdir -p /mnt/{home,boot,backups,.snapshots,var/log}

* Mount **Home** (Partition 4), **Snapshots**, and **Logs**

mount -o noatime,compress=zstd /dev/nvme0n1p4 /mnt/home
mount -o noatime,compress=zstd,subvol=@snapshots /dev/nvme0n1p3 /mnt/.snapshots
mount -o noatime,compress=zstd,subvol=@var_log /dev/nvme0n1p3 /mnt/var/log

* Mount **Backups**

mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/backups

* Mount **EFI (Boot)**

mount /dev/nvme0n1p1 /mnt/boot

* Enable **Swap**

swapon /dev/nvme0n1p2

## Install Arch

Install arch with base-devel, plus **nano** (editor), **btrfs-progs** (disk tools), and **microcode**.

pacstrap -K /mnt base base-devel linux linux-firmware nano btrfs-progs intel-ucode git
# Note: Use 'amd-ucode' instead if you have an AMD CPU

## Configure the system

1. Generate the fstab file with command `genfstab -U -p /mnt > /mnt/etc/fstab`
2. Croot root into the system `arch-chroot /mnt /bin/bash`
3. Setup Mirror with following commands:

pacman -S reflector

cp /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist.bak

reflector --verbose --latest 10 --protocol https --sort rate --save /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist

pacman -Sy

4. Setup bootloader
* Install grub and efibootmgr with command `pacman -S grub efibootmgr`
* Setup grub on **efi partition** with command `grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=/boot --bootloader-id=GRUB`
* Edit grub with command `nano /etc/default/grub`

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="root=/dev/nvme0n1p3 resume=/dev/nvme0n1p2 nvidia_drm.modeset=1"
GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE=hidden

*(Added nvidia_drm.modeset=1 here for Wayland/Nvidia support. Note: Root is p3, Swap is p2 now)*
* Reload linux with command `mkinitcpio -P`

5. Setup `update-grub`
* Create and edit `update-grub` command

nano /usr/sbin/update-grub

* Paste the following to the file

#!/bin/sh
set -e
exec grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg "$@"

* Assign the ownership to the root with command `chown root:root /usr/sbin/update-grub`
* Change file permission with command `chmod 755 /usr/sbin/update-grub`
* Test the command `update-grub`

6. Set the Time Zone
**I live in Hong Kong, set your time zone base on [this guide](https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Installation_guide#Time).**
* Set time zone to Hong Kong `ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/Hongkong /etc/localtime`
* Run `hwclock --systohc` to generate /etc/adjtime
* To prevent clock drift and ensure accurate time, set up time synchronization using a [Network Time Protocol (NTP)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_Time_Protocol) client such as systemd-timesyncd.
* Add in the NTP servers (remember to uncomment NTP and FallbackNTP)
`nano /etc/systemd/timesyncd.conf`

[Time]
NTP=stdtime.gov.hk 0.hk.pool.ntp.org 1.hk.pool.ntp.org 2.hk.pool.ntp.org 3.hk.pool.ntp.org
FallbackNTP=0.pool.ntp.org 1.pool.ntp.org 2.pool.ntp.org 3.pool.ntp.org

* Enable timesyncd with command `systemctl enable systemd-timesyncd.service`

7. Setup Locale
**[Do not install all Locales, only install your `Primary Language` and `English](https://www.google.com/search?q=%5Bhttps://www.reddit.com/r/linuxquestions/comments/adi0qb/why_not_install_all_locales_why_only_select_a_few/%5D(https://www.reddit.com/r/linuxquestions/comments/adi0qb/why_not_install_all_locales_why_only_select_a_few/))**`
* Edit locale list `nano /etc/locale.gen`
* Uncomment the UTF8 lang you want. For me, `en_HK.UTF-8` is enough.
* Save the file and run command `locale-gen`

* Edit locale config `nano /etc/locale.conf`
* Add language `LANG=en_HK.UTF-8`

8. Network configuration
`echo "myMachineName" > /etc/hostname`

9. Users
* First, use `passwd` command to secure the root user by setting a password
* Then install the shell `pacman -S zsh`
* Add a new user with command `useradd -m -G wheel -s /bin/zsh <myUserName>`
* Set password for user `passwd myUserName`
* Add wheel group to sudoers `EDITOR=nano visudo`

## Uncomment to allow members of group wheel to execute any command
%wheel ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL

10. Wireless connections
* Network

pacman -S bluez bluez-utils
systemctl enable bluetooth.service

pacman -S networkmanager
systemctl enable NetworkManager

11. Install Fonts
`pacman -S noto-fonts noto-fonts-extra noto-fonts-cjk noto-fonts-emoji ttf-roboto ttf-roboto-mono otf-latinmodern-math ttf-liberation ttf-gentium-plus adobe-source-code-pro-fonts ttf-ubuntu-font-family`
12. **Enable Multilib (Crucial for Steam/Nvidia)**
* Edit config file: `nano /etc/pacman.conf`
* Find multilib and uncomment both lines

[multilib]
Include = /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist

* Sync repositories: `pacman -Sy`

13. **Install Nvidia Driver**
* Install nvidia: `pacman -S nvidia`
* Edit initramfs: `nano /etc/mkinitcpio.conf`
* Go to HOOKS, delete `kms` and add `systemd` after base
* Save changes
* And update: `mkinitcpio -P`

* Enable Hibernation/Suspend Preservation:
* Create file: `nano /etc/modprobe.d/nvidia-power-management.conf`
* Content: `options nvidia NVreg_PreserveVideoMemoryAllocations=1 NVreg_TemporaryFilePath=/var/tmp`

* Add Pacman Hook:
* `mkdir -p /etc/pacman.d/hooks/`
* `nano /etc/pacman.d/hooks/nvidia.hook`
* Paste:

[Trigger]
Operation=Install
Operation=Upgrade
Operation=Remove
Type=Package
Target=nvidia
Target=nvidia-open
Target=nvidia-lts
Target=linux

[Action]
Description=Updating NVIDIA module in initcpio
Depends=mkinitcpio
When=PostTransaction
NeedsTargets
Exec=/bin/sh -c 'while read -r trg; do case $trg in linux*) exit 0; esac; done; /usr/bin/mkinitcpio -P'

## Install Desktop Environment

1. Install kde plasma with command `pacman -S plasma` and select these:
* `multimedia-gstreamer`
* `pipewire-jack`
* `noto-fonts`
* `ttf-joypixels`

2. Install kde applications with command `pacman -S kde-applications` and select these:

# These are 100% outdated, im lazy to update but things included are apps I still suggest using.
accessibility-inspector ark dolphin dolphin-plugins gwenview kclock kdebugsettings kdeconnect kget kio-admin kio-gdrive knotes konsole ksystemlog kweather partitionmanager spectacle

3. Then, enable login with command `systemctl enable sddm.service`

## Install Other Useful Apps

pacman -S fastfetch git curl wget jdk-openjdk timeshift thunderbird pika-backup obs-studio firefox ghidra gamemode zaproxy

neofetch is discontinued, find alternatives if your hardware is reletively new. (Replaced with fastfetch in command above).

## Reboot

exit
umount -R /mnt
reboot now

# Postinstall

Linux Is Not Secure By Default but it can be very secure with proper customization

## Mirrorlist Update Automation

1. Create the config file: `sudo nano /etc/xdg/reflector/reflector.conf`
2. Paste this content (adjust for your location):

--save /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
--protocol https
--country "Hong Kong,China"
--latest 10
--sort rate

3. Enable the timer: `sudo systemctl enable --now reflector.timer`

## Periodic TRIM for ssd

Without TRIM, the SSD has to erase blocks while you are trying to write new data, which makes the drive significantly slower over time.

sudo systemctl enable --now fstrim.timer

## Auto Pacman Cache Cleaning

This automatically deletes all but the most recent 3 versions of installed packages

sudo pacman -S pacman-contrib
sudo systemctl enable --now paccache.timer

## Install yay with command

**Warning: Do NOT run this as root.**

1. Switch to user account `su - <myUserName>`
2. Clone yay repository `git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/yay.git`
3. Switch to cloned directory `cd yay`
4. Install yay `makepkg -si`
5. Cleanup `cd .. && rm -rf yay`

## Backups

1. Timeshift: Timeshift's scheduling doesn't work defaultly...

sudo pacman -S cronie

systemctl start cronie
systemctl enable --now cronie.service

After rebooting, `systemctl status cronie` to make sure it is working.
*Open Timeshift wizard and select "BTRFS" mode.*
2. Pikabackup: Also setup scheduling for pikabackup, it is useful for retrieving data.
:::info
Timeshift is for partitions related to the OS.
Pikabackup is for partitions in home partition.
:::

## Security

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxNsyrftJ8I](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxNsyrftJ8I)

1. Install ufw firewall by `sudo pacman -S ufw`

sudo ufw limit 22/tcp
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp
sudo ufw default deny incoming
sudo ufw default allow outgoing
sudo ufw enable

2. Use [AppArmor](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYM-Dzivnjs)

## Configure Z Shell

1. [Add Oh My Zsh + PowerLevel10k](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmpMgTL6R9A)
2. Add `fastfetch` to `~/.zshrc`

## Input method

* [Arch Wiki](https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Input_method)
* Add fcitx5 to Arch [youtube video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYYeih-rF1g)

## Add Encryption System For KDE Vault

`sudo pacman -Syu cryfs encfs gocryptfs`

## Customise Pacman

2. Uncomment `Color`
3. Add `ILoveCandy` to the same chunk of conf as the Color you deleted to make progress bar become pacman eating dots
4. Save the conf and run `sudo pacman -Sy`

## Other

* Find other [postinstall things](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odgD_RdJjCU&pp=ygUWQXJjaCBsaW51eCBwb3N0aW5zdGFsbA%3D%3D) with google and youtube
* Watch this [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhVS1HKwGWw&t=36s)