Arch Linux Awesomewm Install Guide

This guide is for installing arch linux (UEFI) with xorg, Awesomewm, SDDM, Paru, BTRFS, Snapshots, Qemu, KVM, and Gaming.

Install ISO to USB:

After downloading the latest Arch ISO you will need to install it to a usb using a program like Balena Etcher. Plug the usb into the machine you want to install arch to and boot into the usb.

Base Install

Set Pacman Confs

Use nano or vim to edit the /etc/pacman.conf file:

Color # Uncomment this line
ParallelDownloads = 5 # Uncomment this line

Then update pacman:

pacman -Sy

Update Keyring and Archinstall

Once booted into the arch live ISO you need to update the keyring and archinstall packages:

pacman -S archlinux-keyring archinstall

Run Archinstall Script

Run the built in archinstall script:

archinstall

The Basics

In the installer setup the base system:

Pick your local mirror
Setup your locale
Set the disk configuration, use best effort default with btrfs and subvolumes
Choose the bootloader
Setup swap
Set the host name
Set the root password
Create a user account
Select the pipewire audio May have an issue due to a bug in older install scripts
Select the kernel
Set the network config
Set the time zone
Set the time sync
Enable the multilib repository in optional repositories

Profile

Select the awesomewm profile and take note of the installed packages:

Additional Packages

Add the following packages to the base install (This setup is based on an AMD CPU with Nvidia GPU and Linux Zen):

dunst is the notification package.
polkit is the polkit package.
fish is a shell.
python-pywal is the colour scheme package.
rustup is the rust updater package.
iwd is the wireless networking package.
gnome-keyring is needed for nextcloud-client.
libsecret is needed for nextcloud-client.
network-manager-applet is the taskbar display for NetworkManager
util-linux contains the tool for disk partitioning

intel-ucode amd-ucode polkit git fish base-devel python-pywal rustup networkmanager network-manager-applet iwd dhcpcd gnome-keyring libsecret linux-zen-headers wget util-linux openssh pacman-contrib cpupower acpi wireless_tools xdg-utils numlockx fd dosfstools

Finish Installer

Once everything is setup to your needs select the install option.

Post Install

After the installer finishes choose the option to chroot into the new system before restarting to finish up the install:

Make sure to switch to user level:

su [username]

Fish

Change default shell to fish:

chsh -s /bin/fish

Config System With Dotfiles:

This will link the config files over then install all the remaining packages:

git clone https://github.com/rassweiler/dotfiles.git
cd dotfiles
git checkout arch-awesome
./install
./init.sh

Setup LightDM:

sudo nvim /etc/lightdm/lightdm.conf

Change the theme value:

[Seat:*]
greeter-session=lightdm-slick-greeter

Setup Git:

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "youremail@yourdomain.com"

Mkinitcpio Setup:

Update mkinit by adding nvidia nvidia_modeset nvidia_uvm nvidia_drm to the MODULES section of /etc/mkinitcpio.conf:

sudo nvim /etc/mkinitcpio.conf

MODULES=(btrfs nvidia nvidia_modeset nvidia_uvm nvidia_drm)

then running the generator:

mkinitcpio -p linux-zen

Remote Desktop Server Setup:

This will allow RDP connections:

paru -S xrdp
sudo systemctl enable xrdp.service

Complete and Exit

exit
exit
reboot

First Boot

Log into the machine and open the terminal

Finish Setup

VM Auto Start:

sudovirsh net-autostart default