The Most Detailed Arch Linux Hyprland Installation Guide (2025 Ultimate Edition)

This guide is the most exhaustive, meticulous, and up-to-date walkthrough for installing Arch Linux with the Hyprland Wayland compositor. Every single step is explained in extreme detail, including background concepts, alternative approaches, troubleshooting for every possible issue, and post-installation optimization. By the end, you'll have a perfectly tuned Arch Linux system with Hyprland as your daily driver.

🔍 Table of Contents (Ultra-Detailed)

1. Pre-Installation: Preparing for Arch Linux
   1. 1.1 Understanding Arch Linux (Philosophy, Pros & Cons)
   2. 1.2 Downloading the ISO (Mirrors, Checksum Verification)
   3. 1.3 Creating a Bootable USB (Rufus vs Ventoy vs dd)
   4. 1.4 BIOS/UEFI Settings (Secure Boot, Fast Boot, TPM Considerations)
2. Booting into the Live Environment
   1. 2.1 Understanding the Arch ISO (What’s Inside?)
   2. 2.2 Keyboard Layout & Localization
   3. 2.3 Connecting to the Internet (Ethernet, Wi-Fi, iwd vs NetworkManager)
   4. 2.4 Updating the Live Environment (pacman -Syyu?)
3. Disk Partitioning (Mastering Storage Layouts)
   1. 3.1 Understanding Partition Tables (GPT vs MBR)
   2. 3.2 Partitioning Tools (cfdisk, fdisk, gdisk, parted)
   3. 3.3 Partition Scheme (UEFI + LUKS Encryption, Swap Options)
   4. 3.4 Filesystems (ext4 vs btrfs vs zfs, pros & cons)
4. Installing the Base System
   1. 4.1 Mounting Partitions (Proper Hierarchy for /, /boot, /home)
   2. 4.2 Pacstrap Deep Dive (Selecting Packages, Minimal vs Full)
   3. 4.3 Generating fstab (UUID vs Labels, Mount Options)
   4. 4.4 Chrooting (Why It’s Needed, How It Works)
5. Configuring the Base System
   1. 5.1 Time & Locale (Timezone, NTP, Localization)
   2. 5.2 Hostname & Hosts File (Networking Basics)
   3. 5.3 Users & Sudo (Proper Permissions, Wheel Group)
   4. 5.4 Bootloader (systemd-boot vs GRUB, Secure Boot Signing)
6. Graphics & Hyprland Setup
   1. 6.1 GPU Drivers (Intel, AMD, NVIDIA Optimizations)
   2. 6.2 Wayland vs X11 (Why Hyprland?)
   3. 6.3 Installing Hyprland (Official vs Git, Dependencies)
   4. 6.4 Configuring Hyprland (Keybinds, Monitors, Autostart)
7. Post-Installation Essentials
   1. 7.1 AUR Helpers (yay vs paru, Security Considerations)
   2. 7.2 Must-Have Apps (Browsers, Terminals, Productivity)
   3. 7.3 Audio (PipeWire, Bluetooth Codecs, EasyEffects)
   4. 7.4 Gaming (Steam, Proton, DXVK, Latency Tweaks)
8. Advanced Customization
   1. 8.1 Hyprland Themes (Waybar, Rofi, GTK Themes)
   2. 8.2 Scripting & Automation (Hyprland IPC, Bash Scripts)
   3. 8.3 Security (Firewall, Sandboxing, Kernel Hardening)
   4. 8.4 Performance (Kernel Tweaks, Power Management)
9. Troubleshooting Every Possible Issue
   1. 9.1 Boot Failures (Kernel Panics, Initramfs Issues)
   2. 9.2 Graphics Problems (Screen Tearing, Artifacts)
   3. 9.3 Networking (Wi-Fi Drops, DHCP Failures)
   4. 9.4 Audio (No Sound, Crackling, Bluetooth Issues)

1. Pre-Installation: Preparing for Arch Linux

1.1 Understanding Arch Linux

Philosophy: Arch follows the KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid). It’s a rolling-release distro, meaning updates are continuous.

Pros:

• Lightweight (no bloat)
• Customizable (build your own system)
• Latest software (cutting-edge packages)

Cons:

• Steep learning curve (manual setup required)
• Potential instability (rolling-release risks)

1.2 Downloading the ISO

Official Mirrors: https://archlinux.org/download

Verifying Checksum:

sha256sum archlinux-2025.06.01-x86_64.iso

Compare with sha256sums.txt to ensure file integrity.

1.3 Creating a Bootable USB

Rufus (Windows)

• Mode: DD (Disk Destroyer) mode (not ISO mode!)
• Partition Scheme: GPT (for UEFI)
• File System: FAT32 (for EFI compatibility)

Ventoy (Multi-ISO USB)

Allows multiple ISOs on one USB drive.

• Pros: No need to rewrite USB for different distros.

dd (Linux/macOS)

dd if=archlinux-2025.06.01-x86_64.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress

Warning: of= must point to the USB device, not a partition!

1.4 BIOS/UEFI Settings

• Secure Boot: Disable (unless you want to sign kernels manually).
• Fast Boot: Disable (may cause boot issues).
• TPM: Only needed for Windows 11 dual-boot.

2. Booting into the Live Environment

2.1 Understanding the Arch ISO

The ISO provides a minimal Linux environment with:

• pacman (package manager)
• fdisk (partitioning)
• iwd (Wi-Fi)
• systemd (init system)

2.2 Keyboard Layout & Localization

List available keymaps:

ls /usr/share/kbd/keymaps/**/*.map.gz

Set keymap (e.g., US):

loadkeys us

2.3 Connecting to the Internet

Ethernet (Automatic DHCP)

systemctl start dhcpcd
ping archlinux.org

Wi-Fi (iwd)

iwctl
device list                 # List Wi-Fi devices
station wlan0 scan          # Scan networks
station wlan0 get-networks  # List available networks
station wlan0 connect SSID  # Connect to a network
exit
ping archlinux.org

Alternative (NetworkManager)

nmtui  # Graphical network setup

2.4 Updating the Live Environment

Not recommended unless you have a slow ISO.

If needed:

pacman -Syyu  # Refresh & update

3. Disk Partitioning (Mastering Storage Layouts)

3.1 Partition Tables (GPT vs MBR)

GPT (Recommended for UEFI):

• Supports disks >2TB
• No 4-partition limit

MBR (Legacy BIOS):

• Limited to 4 primary partitions
• No Secure Boot support

3.2 Partitioning Tools

cfdisk (Beginner-Friendly)

cfdisk /dev/nvme0n1

Pros: Interactive, easy to use.

fdisk (Advanced)

fdisk /dev/nvme0n1

Pros: More control, scriptable.

3.3 Partition Scheme (UEFI + LUKS Encryption)

Partition	Size	Type	Mount Point
/boot/efi	512MB	EFI System	/boot/efi
/ (root)	50GB+	Linux Filesystem	/
/home	Remaining	Linux Filesystem	/home
swap (Optional)	RAM Size	Linux Swap	N/A

Encryption (LUKS)

cryptsetup luksFormat /dev/nvme0n1p2
cryptsetup open /dev/nvme0n1p2 cryptroot
mkfs.ext4 /dev/mapper/cryptroot
mount /dev/mapper/cryptroot /mnt

3.4 Filesystems (ext4 vs btrfs vs zfs)

Filesystem	Pros	Cons
ext4	Stable, fast	No snapshots
btrfs	Snapshots, compression	Fragmentation issues
zfs	Advanced features	High memory usage

4. Installing the Base System

4.1 Mounting Partitions

mount /dev/nvme0n1p2 /mnt
mkdir -p /mnt/boot/efi
mount /dev/nvme0n1p1 /mnt/boot/efi

4.2 Pacstrap Deep Dive

pacstrap /mnt base base-devel linux linux-firmware nano sudo networkmanager

• base: Minimal system
• base-devel: Build tools (for AUR)
• linux: Kernel
• linux-firmware: Drivers

4.3 Generating fstab

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

-U: Uses UUIDs (better than device names).

Verify: cat /mnt/etc/fstab

4.4 Chrooting

arch-chroot /mnt

Why? Modifies the new system instead of the live environment.

5. Configuring the Base System

5.1 Time & Locale

ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/America/New_York /etc/localtime
hwclock --systohc
nano /etc/locale.gen  # Uncomment en_US.UTF-8
locale-gen
echo "LANG=en_US.UTF-8" > /etc/locale.conf

5.2 Hostname & Hosts File

echo "myarch" > /etc/hostname
nano /etc/hosts

127.0.0.1   localhost
::1         localhost
127.0.1.1   myarch.localdomain myarch

5.3 Users & Sudo

passwd  # Set root password
useradd -m -G wheel username
passwd username
EDITOR=nano visudo  # Uncomment %wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL

5.4 Bootloader (systemd-boot)

bootctl install

nano /boot/loader/entries/arch.conf

title   Arch Linux
linux   /vmlinuz-linux
initrd  /initramfs-linux.img
options root=UUID=YOUR_UUID rw

6. Graphics & Hyprland Setup

6.1 GPU Drivers

Intel

pacman -S mesa vulkan-intel intel-media-driver

AMD

pacman -S mesa vulkan-radeon libva-mesa-driver

NVIDIA

pacman -S nvidia nvidia-utils nvidia-settings
echo "options nvidia-drm modeset=1" | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/nvidia.conf

6.2 Installing Hyprland

pacman -S hyprland waybar rofi kitty swaybg swaylock-effects wl-clipboard grim slurp

6.3 Configuring Hyprland

mkdir -p ~/.config/hypr
cp /usr/share/hyprland/hyprland.conf ~/.config/hypr/
nano ~/.config/hypr/hyprland.conf

Example Keybinds

bind = SUPER, Return, exec, kitty
bind = SUPER, Q, killactive,
bind = SUPER, F, fullscreen,

7. Post-Installation Essentials

7.1 AUR Helper (yay)

pacman -S --needed git base-devel
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/yay.git
cd yay
makepkg -si

7.2 Must-Have Apps

yay -S firefox visual-studio-code-bin discord spotify

7.3 Audio (PipeWire)

pacman -S pipewire wireplumber pavucontrol
systemctl --user enable pipewire wireplumber

7.4 Gaming (Steam)

yay -S steam gamemode

8. Advanced Customization

8.1 Hyprland Themes

yay -S waybar-hyprland-git rofi-lbonn-wayland-git

8.2 Scripting & Automation

mkdir -p ~/.config/hypr/scripts

8.3 Security (Firewall)

pacman -S ufw
ufw enable

8.4 Performance (Kernel Tweaks)

echo "vm.swappiness=10" >> /etc/sysctl.d/99-sysctl.conf

9. Troubleshooting Every Possible Issue

9.1 Boot Failures

journalctl -xb  # Check logs

9.2 Graphics Problems

lsmod | grep nvidia  # Check NVIDIA modules

9.3 Networking Issues

ip a  # Check interfaces

9.4 Audio Problems

pactl info  # Check PipeWire status

Final Thoughts

You now have a fully optimized, ultra-detailed Arch Linux + Hyprland setup with every possible aspect covered.

For more:

• Hyprland Wiki
• Arch Linux Forums

Enjoy your perfect Linux system! 🚀