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Mattscreative edited this page Dec 5, 2025 · 3 revisions

Arch Linux Post-Installation Guide

Complete beginner-friendly guide to essential steps after installing Arch Linux, including system configuration, drivers, and software installation.

Table of Contents

  1. Initial System Setup
  2. Network Configuration
  3. Graphics Drivers
  4. Audio Configuration
  5. Essential Software
  6. Desktop Environment
  7. System Services
  8. User Configuration
  9. System Maintenance

Initial System Setup

First Boot

After installation:

  1. Login as root or your user account
  2. Check system status
  3. Verify network connection
  4. Update system

System Update

Update immediately:

# Update system
sudo pacman -Syu

# If errors occur, refresh keys
sudo pacman-key --refresh-keys

Explanation:

  • -Syu: Sync, update, upgrade
  • Updates all packages to latest versions
  • Refreshes package database

Network Configuration

Enable NetworkManager

If NetworkManager was installed:

# Enable and start NetworkManager (recommended method)
sudo systemctl enable --now NetworkManager

# Check status
systemctl status NetworkManager

Connect to Network

Using NetworkManager:

# Text-based interface
nmtui

# Or use nmcli
nmcli device wifi list
nmcli device wifi connect "NetworkName" password "password"

GUI option:

# Install network manager applet
sudo pacman -S network-manager-applet

Static IP (Optional)

Configure static IP:

# Edit connection
sudo nmcli connection edit "ConnectionName"

# Set IP
set ipv4.addresses 192.168.1.100/24
set ipv4.gateway 192.168.1.1
set ipv4.dns "8.8.8.8 8.8.4.4"
set ipv4.method manual
save
quit

Graphics Drivers

Detect Graphics Card

Identify your GPU:

# List graphics hardware
lspci | grep VGA

# Or more detailed
lspci -k | grep -A 2 VGA

Expected output:

00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation ...
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation ...

NVIDIA Drivers

Install NVIDIA drivers:

# For modern NVIDIA GPUs
sudo pacman -S nvidia nvidia-utils nvidia-settings

# For older GPUs (before 600 series)
sudo pacman -S nvidia-470xx-dkms nvidia-settings

# For very old GPUs (before 400 series)
sudo pacman -S nvidia-390xx-dkms nvidia-settings

Verify installation:

# Check NVIDIA driver
nvidia-smi

# Or
glxinfo | grep "OpenGL renderer"

AMD Drivers

Install AMD drivers:

# Open-source drivers (recommended)
sudo pacman -S mesa xf86-video-amdgpu

# For older AMD GPUs
sudo pacman -S xf86-video-ati

Verify:

glxinfo | grep "OpenGL renderer"

Intel Graphics

Install Intel drivers:

# Intel graphics drivers
sudo pacman -S mesa xf86-video-intel

Usually works out of the box on modern systems.

Audio Configuration

PulseAudio

Install PulseAudio:

# Install PulseAudio
sudo pacman -S pulseaudio pulseaudio-alsa pavucontrol

# Enable service
systemctl --user enable pulseaudio
systemctl --user start pulseaudio

Test audio:

# Test with speaker-test
speaker-test -c 2

# Or install audio player
sudo pacman -S vlc

PipeWire (Alternative)

Install PipeWire:

# Install PipeWire
sudo pacman -S pipewire pipewire-pulse pipewire-alsa pipewire-jack

# Enable services
systemctl --user enable pipewire pipewire-pulse
systemctl --user start pipewire pipewire-pulse

PipeWire is modern alternative to PulseAudio.

Essential Software

Text Editors

Install text editors:

# Vim
sudo pacman -S vim

# Nano (easier for beginners)
sudo pacman -S nano

# VS Code (optional)
yay -S visual-studio-code-bin

Web Browser

Install browsers:

# Firefox
sudo pacman -S firefox

# Chromium
sudo pacman -S chromium

# Google Chrome (AUR)
yay -S google-chrome

Media Players

Install media software:

# VLC
sudo pacman -S vlc

# MPV
sudo pacman -S mpv

# Codecs
sudo pacman -S gstreamer gst-plugins-good gst-plugins-bad gst-plugins-ugly

Office Software

Install office suite:

# LibreOffice
sudo pacman -S libreoffice-fresh

# PDF viewer
sudo pacman -S evince

Development Tools

Install development tools:

# Git
sudo pacman -S git

# Build tools
sudo pacman -S base-devel

# Python
sudo pacman -S python python-pip

# Node.js
sudo pacman -S nodejs npm

Desktop Environment

Install Desktop Environment

Popular options:

GNOME:

sudo pacman -S gnome gnome-extra
sudo systemctl enable gdm
sudo systemctl start gdm

KDE Plasma:

sudo pacman -S plasma kde-applications
sudo systemctl enable sddm
sudo systemctl start sddm

XFCE:

sudo pacman -S xfce4 xfce4-goodies
sudo pacman -S lightdm lightdm-gtk-greeter
sudo systemctl enable lightdm
sudo systemctl start lightdm

i3 (Window Manager):

sudo pacman -S i3-wm i3status i3lock dmenu

Display Manager

Display managers:

  • GDM: GNOME Display Manager (for GNOME)
  • SDDM: Simple Desktop Display Manager (for KDE)
  • LightDM: Lightweight (for XFCE, etc.)

Enable display manager:

# Replace 'gdm' with your display manager
sudo systemctl enable gdm
sudo systemctl start gdm

System Services

Essential Services

Enable common services:

# NetworkManager
sudo systemctl enable NetworkManager

# Bluetooth
sudo systemctl enable bluetooth

# CUPS (printing)
sudo systemctl enable cups

# SSH (if needed)
sudo systemctl enable sshd

Service Management

Manage services:

# Enable service
sudo systemctl enable service-name

# Start service
sudo systemctl start service-name

# Check status
systemctl status service-name

# Disable service
sudo systemctl disable service-name

User Configuration

Sudo Configuration

Configure sudo:

# Edit sudoers
sudo visudo

Ensure wheel group has sudo:

%wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL

User Groups

Add user to groups:

# Audio group
sudo usermod -aG audio username

# Video group
sudo usermod -aG video username

# Wheel group (sudo)
sudo usermod -aG wheel username

Log out and back in for groups to take effect.

Shell Configuration

Configure shell:

# Install zsh (optional)
sudo pacman -S zsh

# Change shell
chsh -s /bin/zsh

# Install oh-my-zsh (optional)
sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ohmyzsh/ohmyzsh/master/tools/install.sh)"

System Maintenance

Regular Updates

Update system regularly:

# Update system
sudo pacman -Syu

# Check for updates
pacman -Qu

Clean Package Cache

Clean old packages:

# Remove old packages
sudo pacman -Sc

# Remove all cached packages
sudo pacman -Scc

Remove Orphans

Remove unused packages:

# List orphans
pacman -Qdt

# Remove orphans
sudo pacman -Rns $(pacman -Qdtq)

System Information

Check system info:

# System information
neofetch

# Install neofetch
sudo pacman -S neofetch

# Or use inxi
sudo pacman -S inxi
inxi -F

Summary

This guide covered:

  1. Initial setup - First boot and updates
  2. Network - NetworkManager configuration
  3. Graphics - GPU drivers
  4. Audio - PulseAudio/PipeWire
  5. Software - Essential applications
  6. Desktop - Desktop environments
  7. Services - System services
  8. Users - User configuration
  9. Maintenance - System upkeep

Key Takeaways:

  • Update system first
  • Install graphics drivers
  • Configure network
  • Install desktop environment
  • Set up essential software
  • Enable needed services

Next Steps

This guide is based on the ArchWiki General Recommendations. For the most up-to-date information, always refer to the official ArchWiki.

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