Please read and understand everything shown carefully before starting.
localectl list-keymapsList all available keyboard layouts.
loadkeys deLoad the selected keyboard layout (default is US).
efivar -lIf lots of unknown text appears on your screen that you don’t understand, it means you booted into UEFI mode.
ping archlinux.orgThis will ping a website and show an output in bytes to check if you’re connected to the internet.
iwctlUse this tool to show wifi information and connect to it.
station device scanReplace device with your wifi adapter name.
station device get-networksReplace device again with your WiFi adapter name and list the available networks.
station device connect Wifi-NameReplace Wifi-Name with your real wifi name and enter the password.
lsblkThis will show all information about your installed disks. You can use it anytime after changing your disks to display the updated information.
cfdisk /dev/nvme0n1This will use the cfdisk tool for easier partitioning of your disk.
mkfs.fat -F32 /dev/nvme0n1p1Format the EFI/Boot partition to FAT32.
mkfs.ext4 /dev/nvme0n1p2Format your Linux filesystem partition to the Linux ext4 file system.
mount /dev/nvme0n1p2 /mntMount your Linux filesystem partition to /mnt.
mkdir /mnt/bootCreate a directory for your bootloader.
mount /dev/nvme0n1p1 /mnt/bootMount the EFI/Boot partition to /boot.
nano /etc/pacman.confEnable parallel downloads by removing the # from the respective line. (If you are unsure about the config, leave it at 5.)
pacstrap -K /mnt base base-devel linux linux-firmwareInstall the base Linux system to your root directory.
genfstab -U -p /mnt >> /mnt/etc/fstabGenerate an fstab file.
fallocate -l 4G /mnt/swapfileSet your size and directory of your swap file.
chmod 600 /mnt/swapfileMake your swap file only accessible by root for security reasons.
mkswap /mnt/swapfileFormat the swap file to the swap file system.
swapon /mnt/swapfileEnable the swap file system.
nano /mnt/etc/fstabAdd /swapfile none swap defaults 0 0 into that config – you can optionally add a comment (e.g. # swapfile) on the line above.
arch-chroot /mntSwitch to the shell of your installed system.
pacman -S networkmanager nanoInstall NetworkManager and nano.
systemctl enable NetworkManagerEnable the NetworkManager service.
nano /etc/locale.genFind your language (e.g., de_DE), uncomment it, and save changes.
locale-genApply the language settings to your system.
echo LANG=de_DE.UTF-8 >> /etc/locale.confAdd your language configuration.
export LANG=de_DE.UTF-8echo iusearchbtw >> /etc/hostnameReplace iusearchbtw with your preferred hostname.
ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/Navigate to your timezone directory (e.g., Europe/Berlin) and link it:
ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/Europe/Berlin /etc/localtimehwclock --systohc --localtimesystemctl enable fstrim.timernano /etc/pacman.conf- Uncomment [multilib] (not multilib-testing) and enable parallel downloads (change the number up to your internet’s capability, maximum is 20).
pacman -SypasswdSet a password for the root user.
useradd -m -G wheel -s /bin/bash <username>Replace <username> with your desired username.
passwd <username>Set a password for your new user.
nano /etc/sudoersUncomment %wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL. (Optionally add Defaults rootpw to require the root password for sudo.)
exit
systemctl daemon-reload
arch-chroot /mntbootctl installThis installs the bootloader.
nano /boot/loader/entries/arch.confName the config file as desired. Paste this into the config file:
title Arch Linux
linux /vmlinuz-linux
initrd /initramfs-linux.imgYou may replace Arch Linux with your chosen title in the bootloader menu.
echo "options root=PARTUUID=$(blkid -s PARTUUID -o value /dev/nvme0n1p2) rw" >> /boot/loader/entries/arch.confMake sure to specify the correct disk (e.g. /dev/nvme0n1p2).
pacman -S gnome-shell gnome-terminal gnome-control-center gnome-software gnome-menus gnome-shell-extensions gnome-system-monitor mutter gdmYou can also install gnome for a complete setup. The example above is for a minimal installation to avoid bloatware.
systemctl enable gdmIf you prefer another desktop environment or window manager, the installation steps will different.
pacman -S flatpak git wget gedit thermald dolphin gnome-tweaksOnly install dolphin if you are using KDE Plasma. And only install gnome-tweaks on Gnome.
pacman -S ufw fzf python python-pip bluez blueman bluez-utils zram-generator fastfetch preloadsystemctl enable bluetooth ufw preloadYou can only install preload after installing the Chaotic-AUR-Repos.
ufw default denyThis will load default deny ufw settings.
ufw allow sshIf you need ssh, allow it with this command.
pacman -S nvidia-dkms libglvnd nvidia-utils opencl-nvidia lib32-libglvnd lib32-nvidia-utils lib32-opencl-nvidia nvidia-settingspacman -S linux-headersnano /etc/mkinitcpio.confAdd the following to MODULES=(): nvidia nvidia_modeset nvidia_uvm nvidia_drm
mkdir /etc/pacman.d/hooks
nano /etc/pacman.d/hooks/nvidia.hookInsert the following content into the hook file:
[Trigger]
Operation=Install
Operation=Upgrade
Operation=Remove
Type=Package
Target=nvidia
[Action]
Depends=mkinitcpio
When=PostTransaction
Exec=/usr/bin/mkinitcpio -PThis ensures the correct NVIDIA modules are loaded and that the mkinitcpio image updates automatically.
exit
umount -R /mnt
rebootsudo timedatectl set-timezone Europe/BerlinSelect your right Timezone.
sudo nano /etc/mkinitcpio.confRemove from MODULES=(): nvidia nvidia_modeset nvidia_uvm nvidia_drm
wget https://mirror.cachyos.org/cachyos-repo.tar.xz
tar xvf cachyos-repo.tar.xz && cd cachyos-repo
sudo ./cachyos-repo.sh
cd ..
sudo rm -r cachyos-repo.tar.xz cachyos-reposudo pacman -S yayyay -S parusudo -ipacman-key --recv-key 3056513887B78AEB --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com
pacman-key --lsign-key 3056513887B78AEB
pacman -U 'https://cdn-mirror.chaotic.cx/chaotic-aur/chaotic-keyring.pkg.tar.zst'
pacman -U 'https://cdn-mirror.chaotic.cx/chaotic-aur/chaotic-mirrorlist.pkg.tar.zst'exitsudo gedit /etc/pacman.confCut all the cachyos repos (from line 77 to line 87) to the end of the config. Remove the last 5 lines and replace them with the cachyos repos. Then add:
[chaotic-aur]
Include = /etc/pacman.d/chaotic-mirrorlistsudo pacman -Sysudo pacman -S cachyos-kernel-manager cachyos-gaming-meta cachyos-settingsLaunch the CachyOS Kernel Manager: Select "Configure" and under "Options," select the "RC - Release Candidate," then click on "Build Kernel." (Only if you do not have the latest RC kernel linux-cachyos-rc or if you prefer to use a stable kernel (linux-cachyos) with lower performance.) Proceed with the installation.
sudo pacman -S linux-cachyos-nvidia-opensudo nano /boot/loader/entries/arch.conflinux /vmlinuz-linux-cachyos
initrd /initramfs-linux-cachyos.imgChange the lines in the config to match and boot into the new kernel you installed.
sudo pacman -S pacmansudo pacman -SyuuNot really recommended: If you have problems or annoying outputs every time you use the pacman command, you can try disabling the core repo in /etc/pacman.conf by commenting it out with a #.
wget https://mirror.cachyos.org/cachyos-repo.tar.xz
tar xvf cachyos-repo.tar.xz && cd cachyos-repo
sudo ./cachyos-repo.sh
cd ..
sudo rm -r cachyos-repo.tar.xz cachyos-repoIf something breaks, this will reinstall the CachyOS repos and should fix all pacman errors.
If you are running the system in a VM, it is recommended to install these things for your VM software:
sudo pacman -S open-vm-tools xf86-video-vmware xf86-input-vmmousesudo systemctl enable vmtoolsd
sudo systemctl start vmtoolsdsudo pacman -S spice-vdagentsudo systemctl enable spice-vdagentd
sudo systemctl start spice-vdagentd