homelab/arch-install-notes.md

Arch Linux Installation Notes

Pre-Installation Checklist

• Download Arch Linux ISO
• Create bootable USB drive
• Backup any important data on ThinkPad
• Note ThinkPad hardware specs for driver compatibility

Installation Steps

Boot and Initial Setup

• Boot from USB
• Set keyboard layout if needed: loadkeys us
• Verify UEFI boot: ls /sys/firmware/efi/efivars
• Connect to internet (wifi-menu or ethernet)

Partitioning

• List disks: fdisk -l
• Create partitions (EFI, swap, root)
• Format partitions
• Mount filesystems

Base System Installation

• Update package database: pacman -Sy
• Install base system: pacstrap /mnt base linux linux-firmware
• Generate fstab: genfstab -U /mnt >> /mnt/etc/fstab
• Chroot: arch-chroot /mnt

System Configuration

• Set timezone
• Configure locale
• Set hostname
• Configure network
• Set root password
• Install bootloader (GRUB)
• Create user account with sudo privileges

Post-Installation Priorities

• Install essential packages (git, base-devel)
• Install and configure yadm: pacman -S yadm
• Clone dotfiles: yadm clone <your-dotfiles-repo>
• Install SSH server: pacman -S openssh
• Enable SSH service: systemctl enable sshd
• Configure firewall