ARCH LINUX CALAMARES INSTALLER
Goal of the project
Put Calamares on the Arch Linux iso
and keep as close as possible
to the original Arch Linux iso.
Basically we provide a graphical installation tool for Arch Linux.
Use any kernel you like – linux, linux-lts, linux-zen and linux-hardened.
Even Xanmod kernel.
Use any desktop you like.
GREEN LIGHT – START BUILDING
RED LIGHT – USE THE ISOS AND WAIT
FOR THE GREEN LIGHT TO BUILD
ALCI or Arch Linux Calamares Installer
- Too complex to install Arch Linux
- Tired of going through the Arch Way installation commands
- Want an encrypted system – but it is just too complex to understand
- No time to waste
- Build an iso with all your packages from Arch Linux
- Build an iso with all your packages from AUR
- Build an iso with all your services (bluetooth, cups, …)
Use the graphical installer called CALAMARES to get your system up and running.
Decide to type every command
after installation
Decide to include already
xorg, Lightdm, XFCE4, …
When your reboot, you decide what you install.
Xfce4 as an example:
sudo pacman -Syyu
sudo pacman -S xorg-server xorg-apps
sudo pacman -S lightdm lightdm-gtk-greeter
sudo pacman -S xfce4 xfce4-goodies
Edit the packages.x86_64 and add the packages you want.
Build the iso.
Burn the iso.
Test the iso.
6 screens later
you boot into
Arch linux
You can use our alci-dwm
or
the desktop you want to install
43 Calamares config – we need to change the config because of the move to 3.3 branch
We changed to Calamares 3.3 a few weeks back. Thanks to a user reporting an issue on github we investigated what happened to the current setup. It seems Calamares has changed its way of declaring variables from @@ROOT@@ to ${ROOT}. Once that was changed our...
42 Moving from Calamares 3.2.61 to 3.3 – workflow video
In this video you can see all the things I have to do in order to get things working with the very last code of April 2023. Many things have changed. Not only the application but also the configuration. ArcoLinux and Carli have migrated already. On the Carli...
41 What is the workflow to be able to create a new grub theme for your distro
In this video we explain you the workflow of creating a new grub theme for your distro. create a grub theme and host it online (here Github) create a PKGBUILD put the application on your repo add the application to the packages list file build the iso test the iso
40 Keeping your iso up-to-date with a new archiso version – archiso 70
It is always the same workflow. Compare the releng folder coming in from the Archiso package (sometimes also the /usr/bin/mkarchiso script). Decide what you like to include on your future iso with the use of Meld. Double-check. Triple-check. Build the iso. Test the iso.
39 How to add wayland support for Plasma (hardened iso) – calamares popup – are you sure?
In this video we cover the following topics: how to add wayland support to the current Plasma iso based on hardened linux kernel alci website and sourceforge - where to download the isos - if you are not ready yet to build them yourselves where the github is how to...
38 Calamares – shellprocess – using instances – removing pacman-init.service
In this 3 hour during video I show everything I do to update the 7 ALCI isos with their different kernels and different desktops. We show how to debug Calamares: pkexec calamares -d We show you the workflow with meld and gitahead. We give tips what not to do and what...
37 How to create an ALCI iso with Xanmod-Edge kernel
November 2022 Xanmod-edge ceased to existWe have changed all references to Xanmod but ofcourse not in the videosSee which files matter if you want to change from a linux kernel to a linux-xanmod-edge kernel. We created an additional Calamares configuration fox...
36 Keeping your iso building project up to date – workflow – tips and tricks
It is always easy (and fun) to start with a whatif. What comes later is more difficult... maintaining.Taking the time to keep things up-to-date.Figuring out new challenges. Read all you can about Calamares - make an account on their github and subscribe. Every release...
35 Calamares is a versatile tool – read the important files – know the important folders
This is basically a video to promote reading. But what should you read? Make sure you have a copy of Calamares that you can "git pull" from time to time. git clone https://github.com/calamares/calamares Then we show you in the video which files and folders matter?...
34 How to create an ALCI iso with hardened kernel and Plasma
In this video we show you that you can create an Arch Linux iso based on the hardened kernel in 30 minutes. We create a new config for Calamares and a new project to build the iso. What matters is the workflow and the differences - use meld
33 How to build an ALCI iso in VirtualBox and get it out again
We were talking about building an ALCI on Discord and I saw an opportunity to test the scripts on an Arch Linux system but this time on VirtualBox. How to build an ALCI iso on VirtualBox and how to get the iso to the host
32 Build your own iso – you are on your own – no ArcoLinux – no Alci – no Chaotics – pure Arch Linux and a local repo
You want to be independent. You want to have your own local repo. You want to stay as close to Arch Linux as possible. You want to build up your own distro. ArcoLinux repo will NOT be used. Alci repo will NOT be used. Chaotics repo will NOT be used. Arch Linux repos...
31 Create Cinnamon iso – no ArcoLinux repo – no Chaotics repo – just Arch Linux repo and drivers
In this video we talk about drivers and about daring to experiment so you know what drivers you need for pc 1 and laptop 2. Test it out and write it down. We talk about nvidia, nvidia-lts and nvidia-dkms. We decide to install Cinnamon and not use the ALCI-DWM desktop...
30 How to create a linux-lts iso – created from scratch
After creating the zen iso on my own time without recording it we can now create a linux-lts iso together. We create githubs for the iso and the Calamares config. We build a new Calamares config for linux-lts. We decide against putting packages on our system because...
29 How to create an linux-zen iso – how did I create it
This video is an after the facts video. See which files matter if you want to change from a linux kernel to a linux-zen kernel. We created an additional Calamares configuration to remove linux and decided NOT to put broadcom-wl on our system. Our next article we will...
28 If Arch Linux removes a package from its repos you need to act
The package list contains all the packages we can use for our iso. These are pre-build packages from Arch Linux. If Arch Linux decides not to build the packages anymore it will result in an error during the build. error: target not found: termite-terminfo Then there...
27 Booting up with your deskop in the live environment
Two things to change and you are good to go if you start with the dev github and want xfce4. We change the content of packages.x86_64 and remove alci-dwm-nemesis. A few lines down we have already a desktop - xfce4 and xfce4-goodies.Change the packages if you want...
26 Archiso 55-1 changes incorporated
It is always the same workflow. Compare the releng folder coming in from the Archiso package (sometimes also the mkarchiso script). Decide what you like to include on your future iso with the use of Meld. Double-check. Triple-check. Build the iso. Test the iso.
25 Compare archiso 53-1 with our githubs
It is always the same workflow. Compare the releng folder coming in from the Archiso package (sometimes also the mkarchiso script). Decide what you like to include on your future iso with the use of Meld. Double-check. Triple-check. Build the iso. Test the iso.
24 Rebuild Calamares when kpmcore gets an update
You see a message in Calamares and you did not change anything. Maybe Calamares did not changeMaybe the configuration did not change but everything else did change. New kernels, new systemd and also the packages that are needed to make Calamares work. In this instance...
23 Rebuild Calamares when one of its dependencies gets an update – boost and boost-libs
You see a message in Calamares and you did not change anything. Maybe Calamares did not change Maybe the configuration did not change but everything else did change. New kernels, new systemd and also the packages that are needed to make Calamares work. Here the two...
22 Archiso 52-1 compared and implemented
It is always the same workflow. Compare the releng folder coming in from the Archiso package (sometimes also the mkarchiso script). Decide what you like to include on your future iso with the use of Meld. Double-check. Triple-check. Build the iso. Test the iso.Let us...
21 Building a new Calamares v3.2.39.1
Building a new Calamares is something YOU can do. You do not need us for it. You can build it and put it on the local repo on your pc. You can make your own Calamares configurations. See example below.You can make your own packages list and it will become YOUR...
20 Creating an ALCI Sddm theme and testing it out – BTRFS as formatting
We are moving the arcolinux-sddm-plasma-archpaint to the ALCI project. We show you how that can be done via Github. Lots of elements need to be changed. We do not want to keep any trace of ArcoLinux anywhere. We show you how we will change the current ArcoLinux...
19 Change the configuration of Calamares to use BTRFS by default
Can we change the configuration of Calamares so that it will no longer use EXT4 as default format but BTRFS? We will show you where to get this knowledge and how to accomplish such a whatif. From A till we boot into the new installation with BTRFS.
18 Building our ALCI iso with our local repo and our newly created nemesis-wallpapers – what changed since last time
We build our iso and go over all the changes. we create our local repo we build a package called nemesis-wallpapers to test our local repo we keep sddm on our future system - you will boot into a graphical environment we give you an example how a local repo should...
17 How to build your own package for your local repository
It is fun to make your Operating System just the way you like. In our example we will put several wallpapers on our github and create a package for it. The advantage of a package is that Pacman can control it. sudo pacman -S or -R will work. If we copy/pasted the...
16 How to add services on your future system – workflow explained
If you know how to add a certain service to you current system you can figure out how to install it on ALCI. This is not about samba, bluetooth, avahi, ... This is about ANY service you will ever encounter. This is a workflow tutorial.
15 Theming ALCI Xfce
This was me just having fun. Changing Xfce4 in all kinds of ways.
14 Build a new Calamares
In this video we show you all the steps you have to take to build and test out a new Calamares. It is super easy. Combined with article 13 - adding a local repo - you can be faster than the developers and become independent. You do not have to wait for anyone updating...
13 How to add your local custom repo to ALCI
The core of ALCI is the packages list and ofcourse pacman.conf which will tell where the pacakages are. You can get the packages from: Arch Linux ArcoLinux Chaotic AUR ... many others But you can also create a local repo on your computer system. You build the packages...
12 How to figure out what to put on ALCI
ALCI is all about choosing packages and adding them too the packages.x86_64. Here we show you where you can find the sources. Where to get the Lego blocks and which you might want or will need?
11 What if Calamares crashes when creating the partitions
ALCI is designed to be as minimal as possible. Hence our choice to make our personalized ALCI DWM. Gparted could be installed on the fly and you can do your workflow that way. But what if you just want to start from scratch and delete all partitions and go on with the...
10 ArcoFy your ALCI – get your personal configuration in
You can add your personal look to ALCI. Just keep the .config files and folders that matter save and copy/paste them in the /archiso/airootfs/etc/skel. Super easy and quick.
9 Changing ALCI when a new Archiso package arrives – procedure – choices
The major difference for this project is the cloud service that is now in our systemd/system. This is the website what it is all about: https://cloud-init.io/ The package is called : cloud-init
8 How to create an ALCI iso on Arch Linux
ALCI is an ArcoLinux project. By default we have the ArcoLinux mirrors and ArcoLinux keys. If you would like to install packages from ArcoLinux you need to get the keys in and know where the mirrors are.Since my Arch Linux system contains all the keys and mirrors from...
7 ALCI contains the ArcoLinux keys by default
ALCI is an ArcoLinux project. We would like to install packages from ArcoLinux. IF HOWEVER you are not planning to install anything from ArcoLInux repos you can remove one line of code. Edit this file /archiso/airootfs/etc/systemd/system/pacman-init.service and delete...
6 Sharing the info to build ALCI between users
We have now the possibilty to ask people what the content of the packages.x86_64 file is and learn from it. On Discord we have a separate channel for Arch Linux Calamares Installer or ALCI. On that channel we can exchange configs via https://pastebin.com. That is...
5 Adding packages to the ALCI iso
Adapt ALCI to your needs ... Less typing is always better We have added some ideas at the bottom of the packages.x86_64. The content of this file will change over time.Read the text at the bottom. Some packages will always be removed by Calamares.
4 Installing ALCI – Xorg – Lightdm – Mate – Encrypted – zapping our harddisk
In this article we decided to encrypt our harddisk and install Mate. A great tip is when we talk about really removing any trace of files, folders or formatting from your harddisk. wipefs -a /dev/sda or sgdisk -Z /dev/sda
3 Installing ALCI – Xorg – Sddm – Cinnamon – ASA – ATT- Awesome
The iso is already built when we start our video. See article 2 to learn how to build the iso. Content of the video we install ALCI together - choose any of the options available on Calamares we install xorg-server, xorg-apps, sddm, and cinnamon we enable sddm...
2 How to get started with ALCI
Synthesis check you have the correct archiso version git clone the project git clone https://github.com/arcolinuxiso/alci-iso change content of archiso/packages.x86_64 or not use meld to compare the other packages files - example-packages.x86_64 and...
1 Creation of ALCI or Arch Linux Calamares Installer
I have recorded every single step of the way. It took a bit longer than expected. I did make some mistakes that made everything a bit longer. The goal is as always outgrow the master. Become smarter by watching the videos, Get your own what-ifs and be able to carry...