Archinstall, a utility that will make Arch Linux easier to install

Arch Linux has been considered as a Linux distribution geared towards middle and advanced users on Linux and that it is not recommended for new users or those who have been migrating from another operating system (say Windows or Mac OS) and although in reality the installation process is not difficult, the truth is that if tends to take longer than normal that if some installation wizard or some script were used.

Although many will agree that This little time sacrifice pays off in having a more personalized system and polished to the measure of your use, although for those who are eager to have Arch Linux without having to go through its classic installation method, they can opt for a derivative.

And the reason for touching on this issue is because recently the Arch Linux distribution developers unveiled through an advertisement the integration of "Archinstall" installer within the installation ISO images, which can be used instead of manually installing the distribution.

archinstall operates in console mode and is offered as an option to automate installation of the distribution although also by default, as before, the manual mode is offered, which implies the use of a step-by-step installation guide.

The installer integration was announced on April 1, but this is not a joke that many thought, since archinstall has been added to / usr / share / archiso / configs / releng / profile), the new mode has been tested in action and it really works.

Also, your mention has been added to the download page and the archinstall package was added to the official repository two months ago. Archinstall is written in Python and has been evolving since 2019. A separate plugin with the implementation of a graphical interface has been prepared for installation, but it is not included in the Arch Linux installation images yet.

The installer offers two modes: guided and automated. In an interactive mode, the user is asked sequential questions covering the basic setup and installation manual steps.

In automated mode, it is possible to use scripts to create typical automated installation templates, this mode is suitable for creating your own prototypes designed for an automated installation with a typical set of configurations and packages installed, for example, for a quick installation of Arch Linux in virtual environments.

With Archinstall, you can create specific installation profiles, for example, the "desktop" profile to select a desktop (KDE, GNOME, Awesome) and install the necessary packages to make it work, or the "web server" and "database" profiles to select and install web content , servers and DBMS. You can also use profiles for network installations and automatic system deployment to a group of servers.

Finally for those who are interested in knowing the installation guide, you can consult the updated information within the Arch Linux Wiki In the following link.

As for those who wonder what differences exist between the classic Arch Linux installation vs the use of archinstall, I can tell at a glance that archinstall basically frees you from typing the commands or mainly struggling with knowing what type of keyboard layout It must be placed, language, the path of the partitions, disks, etc, since being a tool "to some extent automated" saves you a lot of time.

Although as a personal comment, I can say that the essence of being able to have Arch Linux is learning as such, since the installation of the distribution gives you to understand a little more about the routes, the functions of each partition as well as some configuration files.

While Archinstall allows auto partitioning with your choice of file system options, auto-install a desktop environment, configure network interfaces, and all the rest.