Arch Linux Configuration

After Installation Finish

Install Some Tools

You can install a tool named ‘man’, it will play a part in displaying role of commands. Use the following command.

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pacman -S man # Root User

Then, you can use it like the following command.

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man COMMAND_NAME

Such as you want to show the usage of pacman.

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man pacman

If you have not installed the base-devel during install Arch Linux. You must run the following command.

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pacman -S base-devel # Root User

Add A Common User

Run the following command.

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useradd -m -G wheel YOUR_NAME

Modify Password Of Common User

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passwd YOUR_NAME

NOTICE: Enter Your Password Twice.

Modify Permissions Of Your Account

This is a tool and a command which can modify your permissions, and it is included the base-devel library.

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visudo

NOTICE: You Should Have An Application Named Vi.

If you don’t have it, you can create a symbol link to vi. If you have vi, you don’t need create the symbol link.

For example: Create a symbol link from vim to vi.

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ln -s /usr/bin/vim /usr/bin/vi

After open this file by vi, please search wheel, and find out the following content.

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## Uncomment to allow members of group wheel to execute any command
# %wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL

Please uncomment the second line, like the following.

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## Uncomment to allow members of group wheel to execute any command
%wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL

Use Common User To Login In

You can try the following command to check the function of sudo.

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sudo pacman -Syyu

If your permissions are set correctly, you will see the following.

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We trust you have received the usual lecture from the local System Administrator. It usually boils down to these three things:

	#1) Respect the privacy of others.
	#2) Think before you type.
	#3) With great power comes great responsibility.

Login In To ‘Black Interface’

If you want to connect network by wireless network connect way, please read my article named Arch Linux Installation Guide, and you can find out the way to connect network. The details will not repeated here.

Install Desktop Environment (KDE)

Install Xorg Server

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sudo pacman -S xorg xorg-server

Q: What’s the Xorg ?

A: Please read the content from Arch Wiki.

Install Drives

Graphics Card

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sudo pacman -S xf86-video-intel # intel
sudo pacman -S xf86-video-ati # amd

Input Devices

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sudo pacman -S xf86-input-libinput
sudo pacman -S xf86-input-synaptics  # touchpad drive

Install Display Manager (SDDM)

SDDM is recommended to you to as your display manager.

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sudo pacman -S sddm sddm-kcm

Then, we are going to make the corresponding service autostart when the system has started.

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systemctl enable sddm

Install KDE

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sudo pacman -S plasma kde-applications

Alternatively, for a more minimal Plasma installation, install the plasma-desktop package only.

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sudo pacman -S plasma-desktop

Install Sound Manager

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sudo pacman -S alsa-utils pulseaudio pulseaudio-alsa

Configure Keyboard Layout

My desktop environment is KDE, so I choose the SDDM as my display manager.

As the same time, I choose the COLEMAK as my keyboard layout, in KDE I can click the System Settings -> Input Devices -> Keyboard to change my keyboard layout.

But as the same time, I have a problem about my keyboard layout when my computer power on and appear the SDDM interface.My keyboard layout isn’t COLEMAK, but the previous QWERTY.

Finally, I find a solution in Arch Linux Wiki.

Use the following command to switch your keyboard layout to COLEMAK.

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localectl  --no-convert set-x11-keymap us "" colemak

This command will generate a file named 00-keyboard.conf, it’s directory is /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/00-keyboard.conf. You can check it or touch this file in corresponding directory.