Arch Linux Installation Guide for Hyprland

Author: Abdallah Alswaiti
Last Updated: August 2025

Download and USB Creation
Boot and Preparation
Base Installation
Configuration
Post-Installation

Download and USB Creation

1. Download Arch Linux ISO

Visit the official Arch Linux download page:

URL: https://archlinux.org/download/
Download the latest archlinux-YYYY.MM.DD-x86_64.iso

2. Create Bootable USB

Windows (Rufus):

Download Rufus from https://rufus.ie/
Select USB drive, choose ISO, set GPT/UEFI, click START

Linux/macOS (dd command):

# Find USB device
lsblk

# Write ISO to USB (replace sdX with your device)
sudo dd if=archlinux-*.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress oflag=sync

3. Boot Settings

Enable UEFI mode
Disable Secure Boot
Boot from USB drive

Boot and Preparation

Load Keyboard Layout

Choose ONE command based on your keyboard:

# Skip this step if you have US English keyboard (default)

# For German keyboard:
loadkeys de-latin1

# For French keyboard:
loadkeys fr

# For Spanish keyboard:
loadkeys es

# For Arabic keyboard:
loadkeys us  # Use US layout during installation, Arabic will be configured later

# To see all available layouts:
localectl list-keymaps | less

Connect to WLAN

If not using LAN connection:

iwctl --passphrase [password] station wlan0 connect [network]

Check Internet Connection

ping -c4 www.archlinux.org

List Hard Drives

lsblk

Create Partitions

⚠️ WARNING: This will erase all data on your drive!
تحذير: هذا سيمحو جميع البيانات على القرص الصلب!

# Open partition tool for your drive (replace sda with your drive)
gdisk /dev/sda

Step-by-Step Partitioning Process:
عملية التقسيم خطوة بخطوة:

Create new partition table:

Command: o
Press: Enter
This will create a new empty GUID partition table
هذا ينشئ جدول أقسام جديد وفارغ

Create EFI partition (512MB):

Command: n
Partition number (1-128, default 1): 1
First sector: Press Enter (use default)
Last sector: +512M
Hex code or GUID: ef00

This creates the boot partition / ينشئ قسم الإقلاع

Create Root partition (remaining space):

Command: n  
Partition number (1-128, default 2): 2
First sector: Press Enter (use default)
Last sector: Press Enter (use all remaining space)
Hex code or GUID: 8300

This creates the system partition / ينشئ قسم النظام

Review your partitions:

Command: p
This shows your partition table / يعرض جدول الأقسام

You should see:
Number  Start   End     Size    Code  Name
1       xxxx    xxxx    512.0M  EF00  EFI System
2       xxxx    xxxx    xx.xG   8300  Linux filesystem

Save changes:

Command: w
Do you want to proceed? (Y/N): Y

This writes changes to disk / يحفظ التغييرات على القرص

After partitioning, verify with:

lsblk
# You should see something like:
# sda      8:0    0  100G  0 disk 
# ├─sda1   8:1    0  512M  0 part     <- EFI partition
# └─sda2   8:2    0 99.5G  0 part     <- Root partition

Sync Packages

pacman -Syy

Base Installation

Sync Time

timedatectl set-ntp true

Format Partitions

Replace [EFI] and [ROOT] with your partitions shown with lsblk:

mkfs.fat -F 32 /dev/[EFI]
mkfs.btrfs -f /dev/[ROOT]

Mount Points for Btrfs

mount /dev/[ROOT] /mnt
btrfs su cr /mnt/@
btrfs su cr /mnt/@cache
btrfs su cr /mnt/@home
btrfs su cr /mnt/@snapshots
btrfs su cr /mnt/@log
umount /mnt

Btrfs Configuration

mount -o compress=zstd:1,noatime,subvol=@ /dev/[ROOT] /mnt
mkdir -p /mnt/{boot/efi,home,.snapshots,var/{cache,log}}
mount -o compress=zstd:1,noatime,subvol=@cache /dev/[ROOT] /mnt/var/cache
mount -o compress=zstd:1,noatime,subvol=@home /dev/[ROOT] /mnt/home
mount -o compress=zstd:1,noatime,subvol=@log /dev/[ROOT] /mnt/var/log
mount -o compress=zstd:1,noatime,subvol=@snapshots /dev/[ROOT] /mnt/.snapshots
mount /dev/[EFI] /mnt/boot/efi

Install Base Packages

Choose based on your processor type:

# Step 1: Check your processor type first
lscpu | grep "Model name"

# Step 2: Install base packages (choose ONE command):

# For AMD processors (Ryzen, FX, etc.):
pacstrap -K /mnt base base-devel git linux linux-firmware vim openssh reflector rsync amd-ucode

# For Intel processors (Core i3/i5/i7/i9, Celeron, etc.):
pacstrap -K /mnt base base-devel git linux linux-firmware vim openssh reflector rsync intel-ucode

Generate fstab

genfstab -U /mnt >> /mnt/etc/fstab
cat /mnt/etc/fstab

Chroot to Installed System

arch-chroot /mnt

Configuration

Set System Time

Find and set your timezone:

# Step 1: Find your timezone
timedatectl list-timezones | grep -i america    # For Americas
timedatectl list-timezones | grep -i europe     # For Europe  
timedatectl list-timezones | grep -i asia       # For Asia/Middle East
timedatectl list-timezones | grep -i africa     # For Africa

# Step 2: Set your timezone (choose ONE):
ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/America/New_York /etc/localtime      # US Eastern
ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/Europe/London /etc/localtime        # UK
ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/Asia/Riyadh /etc/localtime          # Saudi Arabia
ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/Asia/Dubai /etc/localtime           # UAE
ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/Africa/Cairo /etc/localtime         # Egypt
ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/Asia/Baghdad /etc/localtime         # Iraq
ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/Asia/Amman /etc/localtime           # Jordan
ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/Asia/Beirut /etc/localtime          # Lebanon
ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/Europe/Berlin /etc/localtime        # Germany

# Step 3: Set hardware clock
hwclock --systohc

Update Reflector

Choose the country closest to you for faster downloads:

# Middle East / Arab countries (choose ONE):
reflector -c "United Arab Emirates," -p https -a 3 --sort rate --save /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
# OR
reflector -c "Germany," -p https -a 3 --sort rate --save /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist  # Good for Middle East

# Other regions:
# reflector -c "United States," -p https -a 3 --sort rate --save /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
# reflector -c "United Kingdom," -p https -a 3 --sort rate --save /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist  
# reflector -c "France," -p https -a 3 --sort rate --save /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
# reflector -c "Canada," -p https -a 3 --sort rate --save /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist

Synchronize Mirrors

pacman -Syy

Install Packages

pacman --noconfirm -S grub xdg-desktop-portal-wlr efibootmgr networkmanager network-manager-applet dialog wpa_supplicant mtools dosfstools base-devel linux-headers avahi xdg-user-dirs xdg-utils gvfs gvfs-smb nfs-utils inetutils dnsutils bluez bluez-utils cups hplip alsa-utils pipewire pipewire-alsa pipewire-pulse pipewire-jack bash-completion openssh rsync reflector acpi acpi_call dnsmasq openbsd-netcat ipset firewalld flatpak sof-firmware nss-mdns acpid os-prober ntfs-3g terminus-font exa bat htop ranger zip unzip neofetch duf xorg xorg-xinit xclip grub-btrfs xf86-video-amdgpu xf86-video-nouveau xf86-video-intel xf86-video-qxl brightnessctl pacman-contrib

Set Language and Locale

Choose your system language (run ONE set of commands):

For English (Recommended - most software support):

echo "en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8" >> /etc/locale.gen
locale-gen
echo "LANG=en_US.UTF-8" >> /etc/locale.conf

For Arabic (العربية):

echo "en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8" >> /etc/locale.gen
echo "ar_SA.UTF-8 UTF-8" >> /etc/locale.gen
locale-gen
echo "LANG=en_US.UTF-8" >> /etc/locale.conf

For other languages:

# German
# echo "en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8" >> /etc/locale.gen
# echo "de_DE.UTF-8 UTF-8" >> /etc/locale.gen
# locale-gen
# echo "LANG=de_DE.UTF-8" >> /etc/locale.conf

# French
# echo "en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8" >> /etc/locale.gen  
# echo "fr_FR.UTF-8 UTF-8" >> /etc/locale.gen
# locale-gen
# echo "LANG=fr_FR.UTF-8" >> /etc/locale.conf

Set Console Keyboard and Font

Choose ONE keyboard layout:

# Set console font (always run this)
echo "FONT=ter-v18n" >> /etc/vconsole.conf

# Choose your keyboard (run ONE line only):
echo "KEYMAP=us" >> /etc/vconsole.conf           # US English keyboard
# echo "KEYMAP=de-latin1" >> /etc/vconsole.conf  # German keyboard  
# echo "KEYMAP=fr" >> /etc/vconsole.conf         # French keyboard
# echo "KEYMAP=es" >> /etc/vconsole.conf         # Spanish keyboard

# Note: Arabic keyboard layout will be configured in desktop environment

Set Hostname and Localhost

echo "arch" >> /etc/hostname
echo "127.0.0.1 localhost" >> /etc/hosts
echo "::1 localhost" >> /etc/hosts
echo "127.0.1.1 arch.localdomain arch" >> /etc/hosts

Set Root Password

passwd root

Add User

Replace [USERNAME] with your desired username:

useradd -m -G wheel [USERNAME]
passwd [USERNAME]

Enable Services

systemctl enable NetworkManager
systemctl enable bluetooth
systemctl enable cups.service
systemctl enable sshd
systemctl enable avahi-daemon
systemctl enable reflector.timer
systemctl enable fstrim.timer
systemctl enable firewalld
systemctl enable acpid

Grub Installation

grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=/boot/efi --bootloader-id=GRUB --removable
grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

Add Btrfs and Setfont to Mkinitcpio

# Before: BINARIES=()
# After: BINARIES=(btrfs setfont)
sed -i 's/BINARIES=()/BINARIES=(btrfs setfont)/g' /etc/mkinitcpio.conf
mkinitcpio -p linux

Configure Sudo Access

Add user to wheel group and enable sudo:

# Uncomment %wheel ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL line
EDITOR=vim sudo -E visudo
usermod -aG wheel [USERNAME]

Restart System

exit
shutdown -h now

Post-Installation

First Boot Setup

Remove installation USB
Boot into your new Arch Linux system
Login with your created user account

Install Hyprland and Essential Packages

# Update system first
sudo pacman -Syu

# Install Hyprland and desktop components
sudo pacman -S hyprland kitty thunar firefox wofi waybar mako grim slurp wl-clipboard

# Install dependencies for End-4 dots
sudo pacman -S git base-devel yay npm nodejs python python-pip
sudo pacman -S ttf-jetbrains-mono-nerd ttf-nerd-fonts-symbols-mono
sudo pacman -S brightnessctl playerctl pamixer

# Install Arabic fonts and input support
sudo pacman -S noto-fonts noto-fonts-extra ttf-liberation ttf-dejavu
sudo pacman -S ibus ibus-m17n m17n-lib m17n-db

# Optional: Install Arabic-specific fonts
sudo pacman -S ttf-amiri ttf-scheherazade-new

Install End-4 Dots Hyprland Configuration

# Clone the End-4 dots repository
git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/end-4/dots-hyprland.git ~/dots-hyprland

# Navigate to the repository
cd ~/dots-hyprland

# Run the installation script
chmod +x install.sh
./install.sh

# Follow the installation prompts and select your preferences

Alternative Manual Installation

# If automatic installation doesn't work, install manually:

# Install yay (AUR helper) first
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/yay.git
cd yay
makepkg -si
cd ..

# Install End-4 dependencies from AUR
yay -S aylurs-gtk-shell-git
yay -S hyprpicker-git
yay -S swww

# Copy configuration files
cp -r ~/dots-hyprland/.config/* ~/.config/

Configure Arabic Input (After First Boot)

# Add to your shell profile (~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc)
export GTK_IM_MODULE=ibus
export XMODIFIERS=@im=ibus  
export QT_IM_MODULE=ibus

# Start ibus daemon
ibus-daemon -drx

# Configure Arabic keyboard in ibus-setup
ibus-setup

Arabic Desktop Environment Setup

# Set Arabic locale for specific applications (optional)
export LC_TIME=ar_SA.UTF-8           # Arabic date/time format
export LC_NUMERIC=ar_SA.UTF-8        # Arabic number format

# For right-to-left text support in terminal
sudo pacman -S bidi

ML4W Dotfiles (Optional)

For Stephan Raabe's complete Hyprland setup:

# Clone ML4W dotfiles
git clone https://gitlab.com/stephan-raabe/dotfiles.git ~/dotfiles

# Run installation script
cd ~/dotfiles
./install.sh

Configure Hyprland with End-4 Dots

# The End-4 installation script will configure:
# - Hyprland window manager settings
# - AGS (Aylur's Gtk Shell) widgets and bars
# - Beautiful animations and effects  
# - Modern wallpapers and themes
# - Optimized keybindings

# Start Hyprland (after reboot)
# Type 'Hyprland' in TTY or use display manager

# Key features of End-4 dots:
# - Super + Enter: Open terminal
# - Super + D: Application launcher
# - Super + Q: Close window
# - Super + F: Fullscreen
# - Super + Numbers: Switch workspaces

Audio Setup

Enable PipeWire for the user:

systemctl --user enable --now pipewire pipewire-pulse

Key Features of End-4 Dots

This installation uses End-4's modern Hyprland configuration which provides:

Modern Desktop Experience with beautiful animations and effects
AGS (Aylur's Gtk Shell) for advanced widgets and customizable bars
Dynamic Wallpapers with automatic changing
Optimized Performance with smooth 60fps animations
Beautiful Themes with consistent color schemes
Advanced Features like blur effects, rounded corners, and transparency
Arabic Language Support fully integrated

Troubleshooting End-4 Dots

Installation Issues

# If installation fails, check dependencies:
sudo pacman -S base-devel git nodejs npm python python-pip

# Manually install AUR dependencies:
yay -S aylurs-gtk-shell-git hyprpicker-git swww

# Re-run installation:
cd ~/dots-hyprland
./install.sh

Configuration Problems

# Reset to default Hyprland config if needed:
cp /usr/share/hyprland/hyprland.conf ~/.config/hypr/

# Check Hyprland logs:
hyprctl logs

# Restart Hyprland:
pkill Hyprland && Hyprland

Notes

What You Need to Know:

Placeholders to Replace:

[EFI] = your EFI partition → usually /dev/sda1
[ROOT] = your root partition → usually /dev/sda2
[USERNAME] = choose your username → example: ahmed, sara, omar

Processor Types:

AMD: Ryzen 3/5/7/9, FX series, A-series → use amd-ucode
Intel: Core i3/i5/i7/i9, Celeron, Pentium → use intel-ucode

For Arab Users:

Language: Use English system language for better software compatibility
Arabic Support: Will be added after installation with fonts and input methods
Timezone: Choose your country's timezone from the list provided
Mirrors: Use UAE or Germany mirrors for faster downloads in Middle East

Important Steps:

Don't skip the processor type selection
Choose only ONE option in each section
Replace ALL placeholders with your actual values
Remember your username and password

Keyboard Layouts:

Installation uses US keyboard layout
Arabic keyboard will be configured in desktop environment
Physical keyboard can be any layout

Author: Abdallah Alswaiti
Professional Arch Linux Installation Guide for Hyprland Desktop Environment

al-swaiti/gist:4f7a8fbcbb3baeda5ffd5c5cde525654