gustavohenrique/archlinux-installation.md

## archlinux-installation.md

      
    Raw
  

              archlinux-installation.md
            
          
    Archlinux Installation

Installation options


Installed with LVM on LUKS encryption, no dual boot.


Using systemd-boot instead of GRUB on UEFI, as it's more lightweight.


Hardware Notes

Installation Media


Plug in USB.  Open "Disks" GUI utility, delete existing USB partitions and
create a new FAT partition. Also, note the disk name, mine is /dev/sde.


Download Arch ISO, burn to USB using the command:
sudo dd bs=4M if=<ISO file> of=<disk name> status=progress oflag=sync

then eject and unplug USB.


Boot from USB disk


Plug in USB to laptop, boot and enter BIOS setup (by pressing F12
repeatedly).  Disable fast boot under "Boot" (Linux don't use/need it),
and  disable secure boot under "Security", then save and exit.  On reboot,
press F12 again and choose to boot from USB.


Use fdisk -l to find the disk name (/dev/nvme0n1 for me), then run:
gdisk <disk name>

Enter o to erase everything and get new GPT table.  Then enter w to
save and exit gdisk.


Erase Disk

Reference: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Dm-crypt/Drive_preparation


Run:
cryptsetup open --type plain -d /dev/urandom <disk name> to_be_wiped

to start wiping the disk.  Type "YES" when prompted.


Run:
dd bs=4M if=/dev/zero of=/dev/mapper/to_be_wiped status=progress

to overwrite disk with all zeros.  Finally, run:
cryptsetup close to_be_wiped

to close the temporary container.


Disk setup

Reference: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Dm-crypt/Encrypting_an_entire_system#LVM_on_LUKS
Reference (UEFI): https://wiki.voidlinux.eu/Install_LVM_LUKS_on_UEFI_GPT
Note: We're using UEFI boot, so instead of a boot partition, a UEFI
partition is created instead.


Run gdisk again, use o to create new partition table.  Then,
use n to add the first partition, first sector (i.e. start location)
is default, second sector is +260M, to create a 260MB partition.
The type code is EF00 for EFI System.  This will be the EFI boot
partition.
For the second partition, both sectors are default (to use up rest of
the space), and type code is 8300.  Then, use w to save and write
the partitions.
Use fdisk -l to find the names of the two partitions.  Format UEFI
with FAT32 by typing:
mkfs.vfat -F32 <UEFI partition name>


Setup encryption on the second partition, by calling:
cryptsetup luksFormat --type luks2 <main partition name>
cryptsetup open <main partition name> <CRYPT_NAME>

where CRYPT_NAME is a name of your choice (I use CRYPT_EC).  Enter
your passphrase when prompted.


Create encrypted partitions with:
pvcreate /dev/mapper/<CRYPT_NAME>
vgcreate <VOL_GRP_NAME> /dev/mapper/<CRYPT_NAME>
lvcreate -L 8G <VOL_GRP_NAME> -n swap
lvcreate -L 40G <VOL_GRP_NAME> -n root
lvcreate -l 100%FREE <VOL_GRP_NAME> -n home

again VOL_GRP_NAME is a name of your choice (I use ARCH_EC).  This
creates separate root and home partitions.
NOTE: technically, to ensure 100% hibernation success, swap space
need to be large enough to store all memory in DRAM.  However,
there is some magical compression that happen, and I don't think I'll
hibernate with bunch of used memory anyways, so I just pick 8G.


Create filesystems on those partitions with:
mkfs.ext4 /dev/mapper/<VOL_GRP_NAME>/root
mkfs.ext4 /dev/mapper/<VOL_GRP_NAME>/home
mkswap /dev/mapper/<VOL_GRP_NAME>/swap


Mount the new systems:
mount /dev/mapper/<VOL_GRP_NAME>/root /mnt
mkdir /mnt/home
mount /dev/mapper/<VOL_GRP_NAME>/home /mnt/home
swapon /dev/mapper/<VOL_GRP_NAME>/swap
mkdir /mnt/boot
mount <UEFI partition name> /mnt/boot


OS Install

Reference (wireless): https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Wireless_network_configuration
Reference (install): https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/installation_guide
Reference (noatime): https://wiki.debian.org/SSDOptimization
Reference (systemd-boot): https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Systemd-boot
Reference (suspend-to-disk): https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Dm-crypt/Swap_encryption
Reference (boot configuration): https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Dm-crypt/System_configuration#Boot_loader


First, we need to connect to wifi.  Use ip link to find the wireless interface name
(wlp2s0 for me).  Then, create a new netctl profile with:
cp /etc/netctl/examples/wireless-wpa /etc/netctl/<profile_name>


Edit the file using nano.  Change "Interface" field to wireless interface name,
change "ESSID" field to name of the wifi network, change "key" field to the wifi
password.  Finally, press Ctrl+O, Enter, then Ctrl+X to save and exit.


Change to directory /etc/netctl, run netctl start <profile_name>.  Then you
should be connected to the internet.


Install the base system with:
pacstrap /mnt base base-devel emacs git grub efibootmgr dialog intel-ucode wpa_supplicant


Generate fstab with:
genfstab -U /mnt >> /mnt/etc/fstab


chroot to the new system:
arch-chroot /mnt

then edit /etc/fstab (using emacs), change all relatime to noatime
(To reduce disk writes for SSDs).


Setup system clock:
ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/US/Pacific /etc/localtime
hwclock --systohc


Set hostname.  I choose "Husky":
echo <HOSTNAME> > /etc/hostname

and add the following to /etc/hosts:
127.0.0.1    localhost
::1          localhost
127.0.1.1    <HOSTNAME>.localdomain <HOSTNAME>


Set locale.  Uncomment "en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8" from the file
/etc/locale.gen, then run:
local-gen
echo LANG=en_US.UTF-8 > /etc/locale.conf
echo KEYMAP=us > /etc/vconsole.conf


Set root password:
passwd


Add new user:
useradd -m -g users -G wheel <USERNAME>
passwd <USERNAME>

then type in the user password.


edit file /etc/mkinitcpio.conf.
Change "MODULES" field to the following:
MODULES=(ext4 intel_agp i915 nouveau)

to enable early kernel mode setting.  Change "HOOKS" field to the following:
HOOKS=(base systemd autodetect keyboard sd-vconsole modconf block sd-encrypt sd-lvm2 filesystems fsck)

The notable changes are:

"udev" changed to "systemd"
"keyboard" moved before "block", added "sd-vconsole" before "block".
added "sd-encrypt" and "sd-lvm2" after "block" and before
"filesystems".

mkinitcpio -p linux

The only warnings should be:
WARNING: Possibly missing firmware for module: aic94xx
WARNING: Possibly missing firmware for module: wd719x

these are drivers for advance server hardware.


Install systemd-boot with:
bootctl --path=/boot install

edit /boot/loader/loader.conf, and add the following lines:
timeout 2
editor no
default arch


Add the file /boot/loader/entries/arch.conf, with the following:
title   Arch Linux
linux   /vmlinuz-linux
initrd  /intel-ucode.img
initrd  /initramfs-linux.img
options rd.luks.name=<UUID>=cryptroot root=/dev/<VOL_GRP_NAME>/root resume=/dev/<VOL_GRP_NAME>/swap rd.luks.options=discard

where UUID is uuid of the main partition, found with blkid.


Exit the chroot environment and shutdown:
exit
umount -R /mnt
swapoff -a
shutdown 0

Thne unplug USB, then restart.


Post Installation

Misc System Setup with Root


Login as root.  Update system clock:
timedatectl set-ntp true


As root, add user to sudoer file by running:
EDITOR=emacs visudo

and uncommenting the line %wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL.


Uncomment the "Color" option in /etc/pacman.conf.


Start wifi using instructions from before.  Then, before installing
thermald, install lm_sensors and run the script sensors-detect on
command line.  Then enable/start lm_sensors.service.  Finally, run:
pacman -S thermald


(This doesn't work, left as reference) To generate configuration file for
thermald, clone the auto config generation repo with:
git clone https://github.com/intel/dptfxtract.git

then run the script with root permission to generate configuration file
in /var/run/thermald, and copy it to /etc/thermald/thermald-conf.xml.
When done, enable thermald with:
systemctl enable thermald.service
systemctl start thermald.service


Desktop Environment Installation


Install the following pacman packages for GUI:

cinnamon
lightdm
light-locker
gnome-terminal
blueberry (for bluetooth support)
gnome-keyring
chromium
flameshot (Great screenshot tool)
dhclient (NetworkManager only works with dhclient for public wifi)
clang (needed to build tools later)
cmake (needed to build tools later)


Exit root, sign in as user, and create a folder pkgs_arch in home
directory for AUR packages.  Go in that directory.


Setup yay, an AUR helper, from AUR using makepkg:
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/yay.git
cd yay
makepkg -si

answer yes when asked to install.


Install the following with yay -S:

lightdm-slick-greeter
lightdm-settings
systemd-boot-pacman-hook


Modify the file /etc/lightdm/lightdm.conf with the following:
[LightDM]
...
logind-check-graphical=true
...
[Seat:*]
...
greeter-session=lightdm-slick-greeter
...

The logind-check-graphical option is used to tell lightDM to wait
until the graphics driver are loaded before starting, thus preventing
black screen.


Create a new file /etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/dhcp-client.conf, with the
content:
[main]
dhcp=dhclient

NetworkManager is not built with dhcpd support (the default Arch Linux
DHCP program).  This allows NetworkManager to connect to public wifi.


Run the following to start the dekstop environment:
systemctl enable lightdm.service
systemctl start lightdm.service


Once GUI started, stop netctl@<wifi name>.service, then enable
NetworkManager:
systemctl enable NetworkManager.service
systemctl start NetworkManager.service


Enable fstrim.timer to trim SSDs periodically:
systemctl enable fstrim.timer
systemctl start fstrim.timer


Also install tlp.  Just follow instructions on Arch wiki.


Initial Setups


In mouse and trackpad settings, enable multi-click for right click.
Also disable reverse scrolling direction.


In terminal perferences, change color scheme to tango dark.


In file explorer, set all new folders to use list view in preferences,
and show hidden files (by using right-click context menu).


Copy .ssh/config and private/public keys over.  Create a softlink
for erichang.key.  Make config file and private key permission to be
600.


Next, we need to install some packages needed by emacs.  Install
ycmd-git and universal-ctags-git from AUR.


Install ripgrep with pacman.


Follow the instructions at https://github.com/pkerichang/linux_files.git.


close terminal, and restart.


Start emacs, wait for it to download and install packages.


setup emacs server-client systemd service by running:


systemctl --user enable emacsd.service
systemctl --user start emacsd.service


Added the following line to /etc/environment (root priviledge required):
MUFFIN_NO_SHADOWS=1

which removes window shadows.  This is because window shadows often cause glitches on
secondary monitor.

Finishing Setups


Use pacman to install the following packages:

tigervnc
inkscape
vlc
texlive-most (I select bibtexextra, core, fontsextra, formatextra,
latexextra, pictures, and science)
pdf2svg (for inkscape/textext)
ibus-chewing (for chinese input)
x2goclient
qbittorrent
networkmanager-openconnect (for cisco anyconnect VPN)
networkmanager-openvpn (for OpenVPN support)
qpdf (for splitting PDFs)
ruby (for some optional dependencies of subversion and texlive-core)
pepper-flash (for chromium flash player)
adobe-source-han-sans-otc-fonts (asian fonts)
adobe-source-han-serif-otc-fonts (asian fonts)
noto-fonts (some fonts)
noto-fonts-cjk (more fonts for asian characters)
gtk-engines
gtk-engine-murrine (to prevent GTK warnings on engine loading).
nemo-fileroller (for extraction capability)
libreoffice (install from fresh)
rsync (for remote file syncing)
xorg-xrandr
mlocate (for the locate command)
cups (for printing)
cups-pdf (for printing to pdf)
pinta (for simple image manipulation, like cropping)
net-tools (ifconfig)


Use pacman to install the following Python related packages:

ipython
cython
python-pip
python-scipy
python-pyqt5
python-matplotlib
python-h5py
python-networkx
python-pytest
python-jinja
python-pyzmq
python2-lxml (for inkscape/textext).
python-yaml
python-virtualenv
python-pytest-xdist (for distributed unit testing)
python-sortedcontainers
python-certifi (needed by emacs ycmd)


Start emacs, run M-x jedi:install-server to install jedi
server for Python editing.


Use yay to install the following C++ related packages:

boost
yaml-cpp (for reading/writing yaml files)
spdlog-git (from AUR, for logging in C++)
catch2 (C++ unit testing)


Use yay to install the following AUR packages:

textext (for inkscape latex rendering)
ttf-tw (for Taiwan standard Chinese fonts)
ttf-ms-fonts (legacy Microsoft fonts, does not require windows ISO)
noto-fonts-tc
mint-x-icons
mint-y-icons
mint-themes (for better Cinnamon themes)
xviewer (for image viewing)
qdirstat (for disk usage viewing)
caffeine-ng (for not going to sleep)


Start chromium, download Pycharm, then install.


To setup chinese input, at the command line, run:
ibus-setup

then make a soft link from .xprofile_antergos_cinnamon to .xprofile.
Since LightDM sources .xprofile, this will make ibus run at startup.


Switch themes to the following settings (in System Settings->Themes) to
have things more readable:

Window borders: Mint-Y-Dark
Icons: Mint-Y
Controls: Mint-Y-Dark
Mouse Pointer: Adwaita
Desktop: Mint-Y-Dark


Start CUPS printing service:
sudo systemctl enable org.cups.cupsd.service
sudo systemctl start org.cups.cupsd.service


Graphics Card Setup


Install and setup optimus-manager package:
yay -S optimus-manager
sudo systemctl enable optimus-manager.service
sudo systemctl start optimus-manager.service
optimus-manager --set-startup intel

To switch video card, run optimus-manager --swtich <intel/nvidia>.
NOTE: I noticed that I need to restart in order for this to take effect.


Customizations


To disable terminal tab completion sound, edit /etc/inputrc, and
add/uncomment the line:
set bell-style none


Create the file /etc/modprobe.d/nobeep.conf, with a single line:
blacklist pcspkr

to disable annoying beeps when screen locks.


In clock settings, change time display format to 12Hr, and add date and
second display.


Right click task bar, in Panel Settings, change height to 24, and all
icon scales optimally with panel size.


Delete all task bar applets except menu, system tray, and time.  Then
add panel launcher and window list applet.  Right click task bar and
enable "Panel edit mode" to drag those applets to the right place.
Finally, add chormium to panel launcher (You can drag and drop from
menu).


In "Power Management", enable hybrid sleep.  In "Screensaver", enable
locking the computer when put to sleep.


Print-Screen using Flameshot


Open Start Menu->System Settings->Keyboard, go to "Shortcuts" tab.


Click on "Add custom shortcut", type "Flameshot" as name, "flameshot gui"
as the command, then confirm.  Finally, associate PrtSc key with this
shortcut.


Pycharm/CLion


In Editor/General, set "Strip trailing spaces on Save" to "All", and
uncheck "Always keep trailing spaces on caret line".


In Keymap, set to "Eclipse"


In Editor/Code Style, set hard wrap at 100 columns.


add the following line to the file /etc/sysctl.d/90-override.conf,
create it if it doesn't exist:
fs.inotify.max_user_watches = 524288

then run the command:
sudo sysctl -p --system


Optional Programs

Emacs

Usage Notes:


M-. jumps to code definition, M-, goes back to previous location.  M-t
shows all occurs of the current word.


In new project directory, create a file named clang-format with the
content:
BaseOnStyle: LLVM
IndentWidth: 4

for clang-format to format code properly.


Use M-q to auto-fill the current paragraph to line wrapping.


Use C-h to quit minibuffer (useful when you have multiple minibuffers
open due to repeated search).


Use C-x b to switch between buffers.  You will get a list of buffers to
select.


Use C-c g to grep within the git repository.


When searching inside Ivy across multiple files, use C-c C-o to enter
ivy-occur mode, which will display results in a buffer.  Then, you can press
w to enable wgrep edit mode.  After editing and saving, the changes will
propagate to all buffers, and you can use C-x s ! to save all buffers at
once.


Emacs-magit


Use M-x magit to start git commit in emacs.


Use arrow keys to move around, use TAB to expand and see diff file, use s
to stage unstaged files.  Use g to refresh files.


Use c to pop up commit options.  You can toggle switches and specify
options, after you're done, you can then use C-c C-c to set the current
options as default.  Press c again to commit.


Miscellaneous Notes

Open magnet links with qbittorrent

Edit ~/.config/mimeapps.list, in the "Default Applications" section, add
the line:
x-scheme-handler/magnet=qbittorrent.desktop

USB stick

Sometimes a badly configured USB stick won't get automounted.  This is because
by default, if udev doesn't recognize a device, it will try to mount it using
MTP (the smart phoen file transfer protocol).  If this happens, you need to add
an exception rule to udev to treat it as USB drive by doing the following:


Plug in USB stick, then in the terminal, type dmesg.  Look for latest
message regarding a new USB divice, and find values of idVendor and
idProduct.  For me, idVendor = abcd, and idProduct = 1234.


Add a new file /etc/udev/rules.d/90-myusb.rules (with root permission),
with the following line:
SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ENV{MODALIAS}=="usb:abcd:1234", ENV{MODALIAS}="usb-storage"

where you substitute the correct values for idVendor and idProduct.


Reboot (there should be a non-reboot way, but I didn't find out/verify).


Inkscape

Latex rendering in Inkscape got broken by Ghostscript 9.22 when they remove the
DELAYBIND option, which breaks the pstoedit program.  The current experimental
workaround is to use the textext extension, which has an experimental feature
to use pdf2svg instead of pstoedit.
To get this to work, follow installation instructions above to install all the
required packages. Then, download the file textext.py from the following URL:
https://bitbucket.org/pitgarbe/textext/issues/57/pdf2svg-migration
place this textext.py in the folder /usr/share/inkscape/extensions.  Make sure
to make a backup of the original.
Reinstall Emacs packages

On 2017/08/06, Arch linux upgrade internal Python version from 3.6 to 3.7, and
broke some emacs packages (some assume fixed version number).  To re-install
all emacs packages, do the following:


stop emacs daemon by running:
systemctl --user stop emacsd.service


remove ~/.emacs.d and ~/.emacs.elc (just rename it in case you need them
later.)


start emacs, wait for packages to download.  You'll see some errors, but you
can ignore them.


run M-x jedi:install-server.  Restart emacs, double check that there are
no errors.


Adding network printer using CUPS


Open web browser, go to localhost:631.


Go to administrative tab, click "Add Printer".  Use "root" as username and
type in root password.


Follow through the instructions.  Print a test page from the web interface
at the end to make sure it works.


External Monitor


After plugging in HDMI, it seems like I need to open the cinnamon display
dialog before the screen shows up.


To add task bar to external monitor, right click on current task bar,
select "Modify Panel", then "Add panel", then click on the highlighted
location on the external monitor.
You can copy task bar configuration over by right clicking the original
task bar.


LaTeX setup


install biber with pacman, and texlive-localmanager-git with yay.


Use tllocalmgr to install CTAN packages.  run sudo texconfig rehash
to update packages after install.


Use latexmk on commandline to both build and clean latex output files.


For graphics card switching

https://github.com/Askannz/optimus-manager
Cedilla

cat /etc/environment
GTK_IM_MODULE=cedilla
QT_IM_MODULE=cedilla
To work in the terminal:
sed -i 's/Ć/Ç/g' /usr/share/X11/locale/en_US.UTF-8/Compose
sed -i 's/ć/ç/g' /usr/share/X11/locale/en_US.UTF-8/Compose