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Mattscreative edited this page Dec 5, 2025 · 3 revisions

Arch Linux System Configuration Guide

Complete beginner-friendly guide to configuring Arch Linux system settings, including systemd, services, users, and system administration.

Table of Contents

  1. Systemd Basics
  2. Service Management
  3. User Management
  4. System Information
  5. Time and Locale
  6. Hostname Configuration
  7. System Maintenance

Systemd Basics

What is Systemd?

systemd is the init system and service manager.

Functions:

  • Manages services
  • Handles boot process
  • Controls system resources
  • Manages users and sessions

Systemd Components

Main components:

  • systemd: Core system manager
  • systemctl: Service control
  • journalctl: Log viewing
  • systemd-analyze: Boot analysis

Service Management

Enable Service

Start service at boot:

# Enable service
sudo systemctl enable service-name

# Enable and start
sudo systemctl enable --now service-name

Example:

# Enable NetworkManager
sudo systemctl enable NetworkManager

# Enable and start
sudo systemctl enable --now NetworkManager

Start/Stop Service

Control services:

# Start service
sudo systemctl start service-name

# Stop service
sudo systemctl stop service-name

# Restart service
sudo systemctl restart service-name

# Reload service (if supported)
sudo systemctl reload service-name

Service Status

Check service status:

# Check status
systemctl status service-name

# Check if running
systemctl is-active service-name

# Check if enabled
systemctl is-enabled service-name

Example output:

● NetworkManager.service - Network Manager
     Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/NetworkManager.service; enabled; preset: disabled)
     Active: active (running) since Mon 2024-01-15 10:00:00 UTC; 5min ago

List Services

List all services:

# List all services
systemctl list-units --type=service

# List running services
systemctl list-units --type=service --state=running

# List enabled services
systemctl list-unit-files --type=service --state=enabled

Disable Service

Stop service from starting:

# Disable service
sudo systemctl disable service-name

# Disable and stop
sudo systemctl disable --now service-name

User Management

Create User

Add new user:

# Create user
sudo useradd -m -G wheel username

# Set password
sudo passwd username

Explanation:

  • -m: Create home directory
  • -G wheel: Add to wheel group (sudo access)

User Groups

Common groups:

  • wheel: Sudo access
  • audio: Audio device access
  • video: Video device access
  • optical: Optical drive access
  • storage: Storage device access

Add user to group:

# Add to group
sudo usermod -aG group-name username

# Example: Add to audio group
sudo usermod -aG audio username

Log out and back in for groups to take effect.

Delete User

Remove user:

# Remove user (keep home directory)
sudo userdel username

# Remove user and home directory
sudo userdel -r username

Sudo Configuration

Configure sudo:

# Edit sudoers
sudo visudo

Ensure wheel group has sudo:

%wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL

Test sudo:

# Test sudo
sudo whoami
# Should output: root

System Information

System Info

Get system information:

# Kernel version
uname -r

# System information
uname -a

# Hostname
hostname

# Uptime
uptime

Hardware Info

Check hardware:

# CPU info
lscpu

# Memory info
free -h

# Disk info
df -h

# PCI devices
lspci

# USB devices
lsusb

Install Info Tools

Useful tools:

# Install neofetch
sudo pacman -S neofetch

# Display system info
neofetch

# Install inxi
sudo pacman -S inxi

# Detailed system info
inxi -F

⏰ Time and Locale

Set Timezone

Configure timezone:

# List timezones
timedatectl list-timezones

# Set timezone
sudo timedatectl set-timezone America/New_York

# Check timezone
timedatectl

Set System Time

Configure time:

# Enable NTP
sudo timedatectl set-ntp true

# Set time manually (if needed)
sudo timedatectl set-time "2024-01-15 10:00:00"

# Check time
timedatectl status

Configure Locale

Set locale:

# Edit locale
sudo vim /etc/locale.gen

Uncomment desired locale:

en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8

Generate locale:

# Generate locale
sudo locale-gen

# Set locale
echo "LANG=en_US.UTF-8" | sudo tee /etc/locale.conf

Set for user:

# Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
export LANG=en_US.UTF-8

Hostname Configuration

Set Hostname

Configure hostname:

# Set hostname
sudo hostnamectl set-hostname myhostname

# Check hostname
hostnamectl

# Or
hostname

Edit Hosts File

Configure hosts file:

# Edit hosts
sudo vim /etc/hosts

Add entries:

127.0.0.1   localhost
::1         localhost
127.0.1.1   myhostname.localdomain myhostname

System Maintenance

System Updates

Update system:

# Update package database and upgrade (recommended)
# Note: Always use -Syu together to avoid dependency issues
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 Orphan Packages

Clean unused packages:

# List orphans
pacman -Qdt

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

System Logs

View system logs:

# View journal logs
journalctl

# View recent logs
journalctl -n 50

# Follow logs
journalctl -f

# View boot logs
journalctl -b

Boot Time

Analyze boot time:

# Boot time analysis
systemd-analyze

# Detailed boot time
systemd-analyze blame

# Critical chain
systemd-analyze critical-chain

Summary

This guide covered:

  1. Systemd basics - Init system
  2. Service management - Enable/disable services
  3. User management - Create/manage users
  4. System information - Hardware and system info
  5. Time and locale - Timezone and language
  6. Hostname - System name
  7. Maintenance - System upkeep

Key Takeaways:

  • systemd manages services
  • Use systemctl for services
  • Configure users and groups
  • Set timezone and locale
  • Regular maintenance keeps system healthy

Next Steps

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

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