[2021-04-12]

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<h2>Disclaimer:</h2>
<i><b>This article is not meant to be an introductory guide to Arch Linux. It is an overview, first and foremost, of Arch Linux's new "official" installer. I am using a virtual machine here and therefore your experience with a bare-metal device might differ.</b></i>

Arch Linux! The meme of the crop in regards to *nix superiority. Despite the fact that there are more complex distros out there, the smug of Arch users when they say "<i>I use arch btw</i>" can be never-ending (like my Gentoo install that's still compiling webkit-gtk).

Meme aside, you may have known Arch for its laborous installation process. Their <a href="https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Installation_guide">installation guide</a> could very well stand up against modern fanfiction in terms of length, plot complexity, and the steaming heat that radiates from each paragraph.

Many experienced Arch Linux users would have known by now that <i>a lot</i> of things written there could very well be automated with a script. In fact, most are acquainted with creating their own, personal installation script (which, admittedly, I have done myself) because it is <i>tedious</i>, having to jam an entire webpage verbatim to your memory.

Enter Arch Linux build 04.01, (which <i>surprisingly</i> wasn't an April fool's joke, even though it sounded like one!) with its built-in, officially supported installer script.

The installer being used here is <a href="https://archlinux.org/packages/extra/any/archinstall/">archinstall</a>, which has been in the official repository for <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/archlinux/comments/l1qs8k/archinstall_is_now_a_offical_package/">quite some time now</a>. While I'm not too keen on Python-based installer myself (I tend to write mine in a simple shell script), for the purpose, archinstall ekes out archfi and other similar "general-use" instalaltion scripts because it supports the use of profiles <i>and</i> it's simple enough that you wouldn't really care much of it (it doesn't get in the way; that's fine.)

I was able to get my system ready to go after minutes of answering some questions (and you know, getting the packages downloaded and installed; I don't have the best network or disk speed to start with), and as someone that is rather experienced with Arch, I have to say: I am impressed!

The installer preconfigured the partition layout for me (/dev/sda1 for EFI and /dev/sda2 for rootfs. Not too shabby!), but I was able to choose between a number of file systems (it even included F2FS!).

The ease of use also applies to "profiles", which are packages that the installer will fetch for you -- here, I'm using the "awesome" profile, which sets up Xorg and awesomewm. Awesome!

What it doesn't do is offer you an express list of.. sometimes dangerous, sometimes fun options. Options like custom kernels, custom shells, or login managers -- which are options available in custom installers like Anarchy Linux. It also doesn't offer you a default browser, opting for Chromium (ughh..) when using the awesome profile.

Now, I can hear the angry mobs outside with their pitchforks going "BUT ARCH IS MEANT TO BE CUSTOM" or "YOU SHOULD LEARN HOW TO INSTALL MANUALLY FIRST". I get these concerns. If a new user comes in to Arch and installed their system with this script, they won't learn a <i>damn thing</i>. Does that mean it's bad? Somewhat, but it's not the end of the world.

At the end of the day, there is a sacrifice to make for convenience. I urge new eyes to learn more about Arch and its manual installation because it helps you become more intimate with your system. Or don't! Don't burn too much of your time and hop on immediately! There's nothing wrong with that, too.

(That said, <i>please please please</i> take your time and learn the manual install method; it is worth SO much, especially when you're still learning.)
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