If you are new to Linux or consider yourself an average computer user, getting Arch Linux would be a difficult task. It is a distro that eschews easy-do-everything-install in favor of a only-install-what-you-need streamlined installation. Until now. This month’s Arch Linux install media is shipping archinstall.
What is archinstall
In short, it is guided/automated Arch Linux installer with a twist. The installer also doubles as a python library to install Arch Linux and manage services, packages and other things inside the installed system.
The installer supports “profiles”. For example, “desktop” is a profile, which lets you select a desktop environment from a pre-curated list of KDE, GNOME or Awesome desktop environments.
It also supports network-based profile installs, for larger perhaps lab setups where you want to auto-deploy several machines on a weekly basis. The installer also helps you configure networking, disk encryption and some other nifty stuff.
Consclusion
So, this was definitely a big surprise for many Linux users. Let’s clarify that this installer is just an addition to the default method of installation. If you use this installer, do not forget to mention it when asking for support and also to provide the archinstall log, when asked. Hopefully this doesn’t flood the Arch community with issues or questions that the community doesn’t want to deal with.
