Hey guys! Ready to dive into the world of Arch Linux with the super cool Hyprland compositor? Awesome! This guide will walk you through each step to get you set up. Arch Linux is known for its flexibility and customization, and Hyprland takes it to a whole new level with its dynamic tiling and eye-catching effects. Let’s get started!

    What is Arch Linux?

    Arch Linux is a lightweight and flexible Linux distribution that tries to Keep It Simple, Stupid (KISS). It’s designed for users who want to understand what’s going on under the hood. Instead of providing a pre-configured environment, Arch lets you build everything from the ground up. This means you have total control over your system, but it also requires a bit more technical know-how.

    Key Features of Arch Linux

    • Simplicity: Arch avoids unnecessary additions and modifications. It provides a clean base to build upon.
    • Modernity: Arch uses a rolling-release model, meaning you get the latest software updates as soon as they’re available.
    • Flexibility: You choose every component of your system, from the bootloader to the desktop environment.
    • User-Centric: Arch is designed for competent Linux users who are willing to read the documentation and solve problems independently.
    • Community Support: The Arch Wiki is one of the most comprehensive Linux resources available, and the Arch community is known for being helpful and knowledgeable.

    What is Hyprland?

    Now, let’s talk about Hyprland. Hyprland is a dynamic tiling Wayland compositor based on wlroots. What does that mean? Basically, it’s a window manager that arranges your application windows in a non-overlapping way, maximizing screen real estate. But Hyprland is more than just a tiling window manager. It’s designed to be visually appealing and highly customizable.

    Key Features of Hyprland

    • Dynamic Tiling: Windows are automatically arranged to fill the screen, but you can easily resize and move them.
    • Eye-Catching Effects: Hyprland supports animations, transitions, and transparency, making your desktop look modern and stylish.
    • Customization: You can configure almost every aspect of Hyprland, from the keybindings to the window decorations.
    • Wayland: Hyprland uses Wayland, a modern display protocol that offers better security and performance than X11.
    • Active Development: Hyprland is under active development, with new features and improvements being added regularly.

    Prerequisites

    Before we begin, make sure you have the following:

    • A computer with an internet connection
    • A USB drive (at least 2GB) to create the Arch Linux installation medium
    • Basic knowledge of Linux commands

    Downloading the Arch Linux ISO

    First, you need to download the Arch Linux ISO image from the official Arch Linux website. Go to the Arch Linux download page and choose a mirror close to your location. Once the ISO is downloaded, you need to create a bootable USB drive.

    Creating a Bootable USB Drive

    There are several tools available for creating bootable USB drives. Here are a couple of popular options:

    • Etcher: A simple and cross-platform tool that works on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
    • Rufus: A Windows-only tool with advanced options.

    Follow the instructions for your chosen tool to flash the Arch Linux ISO onto the USB drive. Once the process is complete, you’re ready to boot into the Arch Linux installation environment.

    Step-by-Step Installation Guide

    Alright, let’s get our hands dirty with the actual installation. Follow these steps carefully to set up Arch Linux with Hyprland.

    Step 1: Booting into the Arch Linux Installation Medium

    1. Insert the USB drive into your computer.
    2. Restart your computer and enter the BIOS/UEFI settings (usually by pressing Delete, F2, or F12 during startup).
    3. Change the boot order to prioritize the USB drive.
    4. Save the changes and exit the BIOS/UEFI settings. Your computer should now boot into the Arch Linux installation environment.

    Step 2: Connecting to the Internet

    Arch Linux doesn’t automatically connect to the internet. You’ll need to do this manually. Here’s how:

    1. List available network interfaces:

      ip link

      Identify your wireless interface (usually wlan0 or wlpXsY).

    2. Bring the interface up:

      ip link set <interface_name> up

      Replace <interface_name> with the actual name of your wireless interface.

    3. Connect to your Wi-Fi network using wifi-menu:

      wifi-menu

      Select your network and enter the password if prompted.

      If you’re using Ethernet, it should connect automatically. Verify the connection by pinging a website:

      ping archlinux.org

    Step 3: Updating the System Clock

    It’s important to synchronize the system clock before proceeding with the installation. Use the following command:

    timedatectl set-ntp true

    Verify the status with:

    timedatectl status

    Step 4: Partitioning the Disks

    This is a crucial step. You need to partition your disk to create the necessary partitions for Arch Linux. We’ll use fdisk for this.

    1. Identify your disk:

      fdisk -l

      Identify the correct disk (usually /dev/sda or /dev/nvme0n1).

    2. Launch fdisk:

      fdisk /dev/sda

      Replace /dev/sda with your actual disk identifier.

    3. Create the partitions:

      • Press g to create a new GPT partition table.
      • Press n to create a new partition.
        • For the first partition (EFI System Partition), enter the following:
          • Partition number: 1
          • First sector: Press Enter (default)
          • Last sector: +512M
          • Type: EFI System (type code 1)
        • For the second partition (Root Partition), enter the following:
          • Partition number: 2
          • First sector: Press Enter (default)
          • Last sector: Press Enter (default, use the remaining space)
          • Type: Linux root (x86-64)

    4. Write the changes to disk:

      • Press w to write the changes and exit.

    Step 5: Formatting the Partitions

    Now, format the partitions with the appropriate file systems.

    1. Format the EFI System Partition as FAT32:

      mkfs.fat -F32 /dev/sda1

      Replace /dev/sda1 with your EFI System Partition identifier.

    2. Format the Root Partition as ext4:

      mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda2

      Replace /dev/sda2 with your Root Partition identifier.

    Step 6: Mounting the Partitions

    Mount the partitions to the /mnt directory.

    1. Mount the Root Partition:

      mount /dev/sda2 /mnt

      Replace /dev/sda2 with your Root Partition identifier.

    2. Create the /mnt/boot directory:

      mkdir /mnt/boot

    3. Mount the EFI System Partition to /mnt/boot:

      mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/boot

      Replace /dev/sda1 with your EFI System Partition identifier.

    Step 7: Installing the Base System

    Use the pacstrap script to install the base system to the /mnt directory.

    pacstrap /mnt base linux linux-firmware nano dhcpcd

    This command installs the base packages, the Linux kernel, firmware, a text editor (nano), and a DHCP client.

    Step 8: Generating the fstab File

    Generate the fstab file to define how the partitions should be mounted at boot.

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

    Verify the fstab file:

    cat /mnt/etc/fstab

    Step 9: Chrooting into the New System

    Change the root directory to the newly installed system.

    arch-chroot /mnt

    Step 10: Setting the Time Zone

    Set the time zone for your system.

    lndir /usr/share/zoneinfo/Region/City /etc/localtime

    Replace Region/City with your actual time zone (e.g., America/New_York).

    Step 11: Configuring Localization

    1. Edit the /etc/locale.gen file and uncomment your desired locale (e.g., en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8).

    nano /etc/locale.gen ``` 2. Generate the locale:

    ```bash
locale-gen
```

    1. Create the /etc/locale.conf file and set the LANG variable:

    echo 'LANG=en_US.UTF-8' > /etc/locale.conf ```

    Step 12: Setting the Hostname

    Set the hostname for your system.

    echo 'myhostname' > /etc/hostname

    Replace myhostname with your desired hostname.

    Step 13: Setting the Root Password

    Set the root password.

    passwd

    Step 14: Installing a Bootloader

    We’ll use systemd-boot as our bootloader.

    1. Install systemd-boot:

      bootctl install

    2. Configure systemd-boot:

      Create the /boot/loader/loader.conf file:

    echo 'default arch' > /boot/loader/loader.conf echo 'timeout 3' >> /boot/loader/loader.conf ```

    Create the `/boot/loader/entries/arch.conf` file:

```bash

    echo 'title Arch Linux' > /boot/loader/entries/arch.conf echo 'linux /vmlinuz-linux' >> /boot/loader/entries/arch.conf echo 'initrd /initramfs-linux.img' >> /boot/loader/entries/arch.conf echo 'options root=/dev/sda2 rw' >> /boot/loader/entries/arch.conf ```

    Replace `/dev/sda2` with your Root Partition identifier.

    Step 15: Installing and Configuring Hyprland

    Now, let’s install Hyprland and its dependencies.

    1. Install Hyprland and dependencies:

    pacman -S hyprland mesa xdg-desktop-portal xdg-desktop-portal-hyprland wl-clipboard alacritty ```

    *   `hyprland`: The Hyprland compositor.
*   `mesa`: Graphics drivers.
*   `xdg-desktop-portal`: Required for screen sharing and other desktop integration features.
*   `xdg-desktop-portal-hyprland`: Hyprland backend for xdg-desktop-portal.
*   `wl-clipboard`: Clipboard utility for Wayland.
*   `alacritty`: A fast terminal emulator.

    1. Enable display manager (optional, but recommended for easier login):

    systemctl enable sddm ``` 3. Create a basic Hyprland configuration file:

    ```bash

    mkdir ~/.config mkdir ~/.config/hypr nano ~/.config/hypr/hyprland.conf ```

    Add the following basic configuration:

```
source = /usr/share/hyprland/hyprland.conf

input {
    kb_layout = us
    kb_variant =
    kb_model =
    kb_options =
    kb_rules =

    follow_mouse = 1

    touchpad {
        natural_scroll = no
    }

    sensitivity = 0 # -1.0 - 1.0, see man hyprctl
}

general {
    gaps_in = 5
    gaps_out = 8
    border_size = 2
    damage_tracking = full

    layout = dwindle
}

decoration {
    rounding = 10

    blur {
        enabled = true
        size = 3
        passes = 1
    }

    drop_shadow = yes
    shadow_range = 4
    shadow_render_power = 3
    shadow_scale = 1
}

animations {
    enabled = yes

    bezier = myBezier, 0.05, 0.9, 0.1, 1.05

    animation = windows, 1, 7, myBezier
    animation = windowsOut, 1, 7, myBezier
    animation = border, 1, 10, default
    animation = borderangle, 1, 8, default
    animation = fade, 1, 7, default
    animation = workspaces, 1, 6, default
}

dwindle {
    pseudotile = yes # master switch for pseudotiling. Enabling is bound to mainMod + P in the keybinds section below
    force_split = 2
}

master {
    new_is_master = true
}

gestures {
    workspace_swipe = no
}

device:epic-mouse-v1 {
    sensitivity = -0.5
}

$mainMod = ALT

bind = $mainMod, Q, exec, alacritty
bind = $mainMod, C, killactive, 
bind = $mainMod, M, exit, 
bind = $mainMod, E, exec, dolphin
bind = $mainMod, V, togglefloating, 
bind = $mainMod, R, exec, wofi --show drun
bind = $mainMod, P, pseudo, # dwindle
bind = $mainMod, J, movefocus, d
bind = $mainMod, K, movefocus, u
bind = $mainMod, L, movefocus, r
bind = $mainMod, H, movefocus, l
bind = $mainMod, comma, moveworkspace, prev
bind = $mainMod, period, moveworkspace, next
bind = $mainMod SHIFT, comma, movetoworkspace, prev
bind = $mainMod SHIFT, period, movetoworkspace, next

bind = $mainMod, 1, workspace, 1
bind = $mainMod, 2, workspace, 2
bind = $mainMod, 3, workspace, 3
bind = $mainMod, 4, workspace, 4
bind = $mainMod, 5, workspace, 5
bind = $mainMod, 6, workspace, 6
bind = $mainMod, 7, workspace, 7
bind = $mainMod, 8, workspace, 8
bind = $mainMod, 9, workspace, 9
bind = $mainMod, 0, workspace, 10

bind = $mainMod SHIFT, 1, movetoworkspace, 1
bind = $mainMod SHIFT, 2, movetoworkspace, 2
bind = $mainMod SHIFT, 3, movetoworkspace, 3
bind = $mainMod SHIFT, 4, movetoworkspace, 4
bind = $mainMod SHIFT, 5, movetoworkspace, 5
bind = $mainMod SHIFT, 6, movetoworkspace, 6
bind = $mainMod SHIFT, 7, movetoworkspace, 7
bind = $mainMod SHIFT, 8, movetoworkspace, 8
bind = $mainMod SHIFT, 9, movetoworkspace, 9
bind = $mainMod SHIFT, 0, movetoworkspace, 10

bindm = $mainMod, mouse_down, movewindow
bindm = $mainMod, mouse_up, resizewindow
```

    Step 16: Enabling Networking

    Enable the DHCP client to automatically configure the network at boot.

    systemctl enable dhcpcd

    Step 17: Exiting and Rebooting

    1. Exit the chroot environment:

      exit

    2. Unmount the partitions:

    umount -R /mnt ``` 3. Reboot the system:

    ```bash
reboot
```

    Post-Installation

    After rebooting, you should be greeted by the Hyprland desktop. If you enabled a display manager like sddm, you’ll see a login screen. Log in with the root password you set earlier. Now that you have a working Arch Linux system with Hyprland, it’s time to customize it to your liking.

    Installing Additional Software

    You can install additional software using pacman. Here are a few essential packages you might want to install:

    • Web Browser: firefox, chromium
    • Text Editor: vim, emacs
    • File Manager: thunar, dolphin
    • Screenshot Tool: grim, flameshot
    • Notification Daemon: dunst

    Configuring Hyprland

    Hyprland is highly customizable. You can modify the ~/.config/hypr/hyprland.conf file to change keybindings, window decorations, animations, and more. Refer to the Hyprland documentation for a complete list of available options.

    Setting Up a User Account

    Creating a user account is highly recommended for security reasons.

    1. Create a new user:

      useradd -m -G wheel <username>

      Replace <username> with your desired username.

    2. Set a password for the new user:

      passwd <username>

    3. Grant the user sudo privileges by uncommenting the %wheel ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL line in the /etc/sudoers file.

    vim /etc/sudoers ```

    Find the line and remove the `#` at the beginning.

    Conclusion

    Congratulations! You’ve successfully installed Arch Linux with Hyprland. This setup gives you a highly customizable and visually appealing desktop environment. Take some time to explore Hyprland’s features and configure it to your liking. The Arch Wiki and Hyprland documentation are your best friends when it comes to troubleshooting and advanced customization. Enjoy your new system!

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