Arch LUKS systemd-boot install

Config files and steps to install Arch encrypted LUKS and systemd-boot as the bootloader.

This is the end partition layout using the steps below:

nvme0n1p1    259:1    0     1G  0 part  /boot
nvme0n1p2    259:2    0   457G  0 part  
 crypt_root 254:0    0   457G  0 crypt /
nvme0n1p3    259:3    0   7.8G  0 part  [SWAP]

Boot from Live Disk

Connect to the network

iwctl
station device connect SSID

This command will list the network device:

device list

Test the connection

ping -c 3 www.google.com

Set the system clock

timedatectl set-ntp true

Partition the disk

cfdisk /dev/***

Mount Point	Partition	Type	Size
/mnt/boot	/dev/***p1	EFI System	1GB
/mnt	/dev/***p2	Linux	Left over
[SWAP]	/dev/***p3	Linux swap	8GB (x2 Hibernation)

NOTE: p1-3 is an example of using an M.2 NVMe drive. You can replace it with partition names like sda1 or sdb1 depending on your setup in the commands below.

Setting up LUKS Encryption

Loading the kernel modules:

modprobe dm-crypt
modprobe dm-mod

Encrypting the partition:

cryptsetup luksFormat -v -s 512 -h sha512 /dev/***p2

You will need to enter the passphrase two times to confirm the passphrase. The command will complete with the following line:

Command successful

Next we'll open the partition to install Arch:

cryptsetup luksOpen /dev/***p2 crypt-root

Now the partition will be at the following location:

ls /dev/mapper/

Format the partitions

mkfs.fat -F32 -n EFI /dev/***p1
mkfs.ext4 -L root /dev/mapper/crypt-root
mkswap -L swap /dev/***p3

Mount the partitions

mount /dev/mapper/crypt-root /mnt
mkdir /mnt/boot/
mount /dev/***p1 /mnt/boot
swapon /dev/***p3

Install Arch

pacstrap /mnt base base-devel linux linux-headers linux-firmware nano lvm2

FStab

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

Chroot

arch-chroot /mnt

Setting the Time Zone

ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/America/Denver /etc/localtime

hwclock --systohc

Localization

Edit the /etc/locale.gen and uncomment en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8 then generate the locales:

locale-gen

Create the /etc/locale.conf with this content:

LANG=en_US.UTF-8

Setting hosts /etc/hosts and hostname (/etc/hostname) files:

127.0.0.1   localhost
::1         localhost
127.0.0.1   myhostname.localdomain myhostname

myhostname

mkinitcpio.conf

Next edit the /etc/mkinitcpio.conf file and change this section:

HOOKS=(base udev autodetect modconf block filesystems keyboard fsck)

to this:

HOOKS=(base udev autodetect modconf block keyboard encrypt lvm2 filesystems fsck)

Note the new encrypt line and it's position.

Or this layout if you want to hibernate:

HOOKS=(base udev autodetect modconf block keyboard encrypt lvm2 filesystems resume fsck)

InitramFS

mkinitcpio -P

Install systemd-boot

bootctl install

Create the boot entry for systemd-boot

nano /boot/loader/entries/arch.conf

Now we'll place these lines in the arch.conf file:

title Arch Linux
linux /vmlinuz-linux
initrd /initramfs-linux.img
options cryptdevice=/dev/nvme0n1p2:crypt-root root=/dev/mapper/crypt-root rw

Use this line if you are going to hibernate:

options cryptdevice=/dev/nvme0n1p2:crypt-root root=/dev/mapper/crypt-root resume=/dev/nvme0n1p3 rw

NOTE: Be sure to replace the cryptdevice partition name with your own.

Root password

passwd

Install iwd for Internet just in case!

pacman -S iwd

Add admin user

useradd -m aaronh
passwd aaronh
usermod -aG wheel aaronh

Remove comment for wheel group

EDITOR=nano visudo

Install and enable NetworkManager

pacman -S networkmanager
systemctl enable NetworkManager

Arch_LUKS_systemd-boot_install