Hands-On with Arch Linux’s New Menu-Based Installer

Arch Linux Installer

Arch Linux 2022.05.01 has been released today as the ISO snapshot for May 2022, and it’s the first to ship with the latest Archinstall installer script that features the brand-new menu system.

Earlier this week, the Arch Linux developers released Archinstall 2.4.1 (it has been updated to version 2.4.2 a day later to fix a few bugs), a release that introduces numerous new features and improvements, as well as a brand-new menu system to make installing Arch Linux even easier for newcomers.

Now, the latest Archinstall version is shipped by default with the newest Arch Linux ISO snapshot for next-generation Arch Linux installations, and I was curious to find out how it works and how easy is to install this popular rolling-release distribution compared to the previous installation system.

After playing a little with the new Arch Linux installer, I have to say that it saves a lot of time setting things up before installing the system. Everything is now displayed at a glance now, and settings are explained in every single section so that you know what you’re doing.

I like the fact that you don’t have to hit Esc to go back as the new menu-based installer automatically returns you to the main menu after selecting an option. In addition, it warns you at the bottom of the main menu if you forgot to set up something. Keep in mind that you need an active Internet connection or Archinstall won’t work!

On top of that, the new Arch Linux installer makes it easier to save configurations in case you want to install the system at a later time and you don’t want to set things up all over. Bottom line, with the new menu-based installer, it takes less than 5 minutes to configure and start the installation.

If you had trouble installing Arch Linux before, I highly recommend that you give the new menu-based installer a try by downloading the Arch Linux 2022.05.01 ISO release from the official website. The new ISO snapshot also ships with the latest Linux 5.17.5 kernel for top-notch hardware support.

Last updated 2 years ago

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