Arch Linux Install Assistant

A terminal-based installation assistant for Arch Linux, written in C. This tool walks you through a full Arch Linux installation interactively — from disk partitioning to a fully configured desktop environment.

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Features

• Automatic UEFI/BIOS detection
• Automatic or manual disk partitioning
• Base system installation via pacstrap
• System configuration (locale, hostname, timezone)
• CPU microcode installation (AMD & Intel)
• GRUB bootloader installation with optional dual-boot support
• User and sudo management
• Display server selection (Wayland, Xorg, or both)
• Desktop environment selection with display manager auto-configuration

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Supported Desktop Environments

Desktop Environment	Display Manager
KDE Plasma	SDDM
GNOME	GDM
Cinnamon	LightDM
XFCE	LightDM
LXQt	SDDM
MATE	LightDM

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Requirements

• Must be run from an Arch Linux live ISO environment
• Internet connection

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Setup

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/rgeorgen10/Arch-Linux-Install-Assistant
cd Arch-Linux-Install-Assistant
./main-script

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Usage

Run the pre-compiled binary as root:

./main-script

The assistant will guide you through each step interactively.

Installation Steps

1. Disk Partitioning — Choose automatic partitioning (recommended) or open fdisk manually.
   • Automatic mode creates a boot partition (UEFI only), swap, and root partition.
   • Manual mode lets you configure custom partition layouts, including a separate home partition.
2. Base System — Installs the base system using pacstrap.
3. System Configuration — Sets locale, timezone, hostname, and generates fstab.
4. CPU Microcode — Detects AMD or Intel CPU and installs the appropriate microcode package.
5. Bootloader — Installs GRUB with optional os-prober for dual-boot setups.
6. Networking — Installs and enables NetworkManager.
7. Users & Sudo — Optionally installs sudo and creates one or more users with configurable permissions.
8. Desktop Setup — Choose a display server and desktop environment to install.

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Automatic Partition Layout

UEFI Systems

Partition	Size	Format	Mount
Boot	1 GB	FAT32	/boot
Swap	System RAM Size	swap	—
Root	Remaining	ext4	/mnt

BIOS/Legacy Systems

Partition	Size	Format	Mount
Swap	System RAM Size	swap	—
Root	Remaining	ext4	/mnt

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Known Limitations

• Only ext4 is supported as the root filesystem.

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Project Structure

arch-install-assistant/
├── main-script.c       # Main installation logic
├── helper-functions.h  # Utility functions (disk checks, CPU detection, formatting)
└── README.md

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License

This project is open source. See LICENSE for details.