Arch Linux (in dual boot)

Julio Batista Silva

Last updated on Jan 1, 2023 28 min read

Since my consulting work relies heavily on Microsoft tools like Office and Power BI, I have primarily been using Windows as my operating system.

I still do a lot of programming, and to my surprise, developing on Windows has been very good. When I need to run something dependent on Linux like Airflow and Redmine, I can use WSL and Docker.

One of the issues with virtualizing Linux is the loss of performance. For this reason, I allocated about 60GB to install Arch in dual boot on my laptop.

I wrote on Twitter that I was installing Arch, and someone suggested updating my old guide because a lot has changed in 8 years. So, I decided to break the hiatus of over 3 years on this blog to document my new installation process.

When I wrote my post in 2012, the official wiki was not up to date. Nowadays, it is very comprehensive, and I recommend following it for possible updates and more details.

As in previous posts, I want to make it clear that these are the configurations I chose for my computers (a Dell Latitude 3480 and an Acer Predator Helios 300).
Some configurations listed here may be incompatible with your system or simply unnecessary depending on the Desktop Environment you will be using.

Do not copy and paste commands without understanding them first!

I will not go into many details about the commands used. More information about them can be found on the internet and in the official wiki.
If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to leave a comment here or send me a DM on Twitter.

Update: Since May 2021, the Arch ISO image includes a guided installer called Archinstall. As I am already used to it, I will continue to perform the manual installation process.

Disk partitioning

I installed Windows first and, during the installation, I partitioned the 240GB SSD as follows:

529 MB: Windows Recovery
500 MB: EFI (larger than the default)
150 GB: Windows
60 GB: Arch Linux
Remaining: Encrypted NTFS partition with Veracrypt to access from both Linux and Windows

I did not create a partition for Swap. If I ever need it, I can create a swap file on the disk, in memory, or on the video card memory.

I also left /, /home, and /var on the same partition. /boot will be the 500 MB EFI partition. By default, Windows creates this partition with 100MB, but this may not be enough if you want to load many modules or have more than one kernel.

If I had not created the partitions through Windows, I could use some tool in Linux like cgdisk or parted.

Installation USB

I downloaded the ISO image via BitTorrent and created the bootable USB using the default options of Rufus Portable. I restarted the computer and kept pressing F12 until the list with the option to boot from the USB drive appeared. When selecting the option to install Arch, a message appeared waiting for a disk with LABEL=ARCH202008. I simply reconnected the USB drive to the USB port and the system loaded correctly.

Keyboard layout

When dropping into the terminal, the first step is to configure the keyboard. As I use a Brazilian keyboard, I ran the following command:

For Brazilian keyboard:
```
loadkeys br-abnt2
```
For American keyboard:
```
loadkeys us-acentos
```

Other options can be found at ls /usr/share/kbd/keymaps/**/*.map.gz.

System clock update

timedatectl set-ntp true

The Linux default is to keep the hardware clock in UTC, but Windows default is to use local time. I prefer to keep it in UTC and configure Windows through Regedit.

Disk encryption

lsblk                       # To find out the partition. /dev/sda5 in my case
cryptsetup -v luksFormat /dev/sda5

I found the default settings OK. More options can be found in the wiki.

If lsblk does not list your SSD (M.2 PCIe NVMe), check in the BIOS if the SATA Mode is set to AHCI. If Windows was installed in RAID mode, you will need to restart it in safe mode and change the SATA Mode in the BIOS.

Root partition formatting

cryptsetup luksOpen /dev/sda5 arch
mkfs.ext4 -L arch /dev/mapper/arch

Mounting partitions

mount /dev/mapper/arch /mnt
mkdir /mnt/boot
mount /dev/sda2 /mnt/boot

Internet connection

Wifi

Connect to wifi using iwd

iwctl --passphrase YOUR_PASSWORD station wlan0 connect YOUR_SSID

Ethernet

Wired networks should work automatically. If not:
- Set a static IP with Iproute2
- Obtain a dynamic IP via DHCP: systemctl start dhcpcd@enp2s0.
  
  Use ip link to get the interface name.

Mirrorlist

Pacman reads the file /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist to determine from which mirrors to download packages. It’s good to keep the most up-to-date and fastest mirrors at the top to avoid long download times.

The new Arch installer should do this automatically using Reflector as soon as the internet connection is detected. Just make sure everything is OK. Since I’m in São Paulo, the mirrors from UFSCar and UFPR were at the top.

Installation of main packages

In this step, I install the base system and all the packages I will need, such as network tools, text editor, manual pages, Xorg, and PulseAudio.

pacstrap /mnt \
    base{,-devel} \
    linux{,-firmware} \

    intel-ucode \

    iwd \
    dhcpcd \
    iputils \

    zsh \
    go \
    git \
    neovim \
    python{,-pip,-pynvim} \

    man-db \
    man-pages \
    texinfo \

    xorg-server \
    xorg-xinit \
    xf86-video-intel \
    xf86-input-synaptics \

    alsa-utils \
    pipewire{,-pulse}
    wireplumber
    # pulseaudio{,-alsa,-bluetooth} \
    # pavucontrol

Fstab

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

Chroot

arch-chroot /mnt

Timezone

Brazil

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

Germany

ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/Europe/Berlin /etc/localtime

Save the time:

hwclock --systohc

Localization

I use the system in English, but I also enable pt_BR and de_DE. I tend to prefer en_GB over en_US, but that’s a matter of taste.

sed -i -e 's/#en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8/en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8/' /etc/locale.gen
sed -i -e 's/#en_GB.UTF-8 UTF-8/en_GB.UTF-8 UTF-8/' /etc/locale.gen
sed -i -e 's/#pt_BR.UTF-8 UTF-8/pt_BR.UTF-8 UTF-8/' /etc/locale.gen
sed -i -e 's/#de_DE.UTF-8 UTF-8/de_DE.UTF-8 UTF-8/' /etc/locale.gen
locale-gen
echo LANG=en_US.UTF-8 > /etc/locale.conf

Virtual Console

Configures the keyboard layout and font.

echo -e "KEYMAP=br-abnt2\nFONT=latarcyrheb-sun16" > /etc/vconsole.conf

echo -e "KEYMAP=us-acentos\nFONT=latarcyrheb-sun16" > /etc/vconsole.conf

Network Configuration

Adds the computer’s name to /etc/hosts and also blocks some malicious and advertising sites.

echo "computer_name" > /etc/hostname
curl --output /etc/hosts --url "https://someonewhocares.org/hosts/zero/hosts"
echo -e "127.0.1.1\tcomputer_name.localdomain\tcomputer_name" >> /etc/hosts

Initramfs

I added encrypt because the system partition is encrypted.

I also load the Nvidia modules, as explained below.

$ nvim /etc/mkinitcpio.conf
  HOOKS=(base udev autodetect modconf block encrypt filesystems keyboard keymap consolefont fsck)

mkinitcpio -p linux

Pacman

Adds the repository multilib, colors pacman, and adds the Pac-Man animation.

sed -i -e '/^#\[multilib\]$/,+1s/#//' /etc/pacman.conf
sed -i -e '/# Misc options/a ILoveCandy' /etc/pacman.conf
sed -i -e 's/^# Color/Color/' /etc/pacman.conf

Root password

passwd

DNS and network

It is possible to use Iproute2, wpa_supplicant, or Iwd directly to connect to wired and wireless networks, but a connection manager simplifies the process.

Some configurations I have used:

NetworkManager

NetworkManager was created by RedHat and is now part of the GNOME project.

It allows configuring wired networks, wifi, modems, and VPNs both through the command line and through graphical interfaces (very well integrated with Gnome and KDE).

sudo pacman -S networkmanager
sudo systemctl enable NetworkManager.service

$ nmcli device
DEVICE             TYPE      STATE         CONNECTION
enp7s0             ethernet  disconnected  --
wlp0s20f3          wifi      disconnected  --
p2p-dev-wlp0s20f3  wifi-p2p  disconnected  --
lo                 loopback  unmanaged     --

$ nmcli connection add type ethernet con-name Home ifname enp7s0
Connection 'Home' (0acb09e3-40a4-479f-9532-a154d8d65dfc) successfully added.

$ nmcli connection up Home
Connection successfully activated (D-Bus active path: /org/freedesktop/NetworkManager/ActiveConnection/1)

$ nmcli device disconnect enp7s0
Device 'enp7s0' successfully disconnected.

Note: It is possible to keep both the cable and wifi connected at the same time so that if you disconnect the cable, there will be no downtime.

$ nmcli device wifi list
IN-USE  BSSID              SSID       MODE   CHAN  RATE        SIGNAL  BARS  SECURITY
        7C:05:07:04:38:52  MEU_SSID   Infra  4     130 Mbit/s  80      ▂▄▆_  WPA2
        A4:33:D7:A7:EA:10  Vizinho 1  Infra  6     130 Mbit/s  70      ▂▄▆_  WPA2
        C0:3D:D9:88:1E:00  Vizinho 2  Infra  1     130 Mbit/s  65      ▂▄▆_  WPA2
        68:02:B8:28:9A:60  Vizinho 3  Infra  6     195 Mbit/s  60      ▂▄▆_  WPA1 WPA2
        00:26:F2:6B:D6:F2  Vizinho 4  Infra  11    54 Mbit/s   59      ▂▄▆_  WPA1 WPA2

$ nmcli device wifi connect MY_SSID password MY_PASSWORD
Device 'wlp0s20f3' successfully activated with '3eafc7d7-8a89-40ae-8b01-ade3ba474de0'.

$ nmcli connection show
NAME      UUID                                  TYPE      DEVICE
MEU_SSID  3eafc7d7-8a89-40ae-8b01-ade3ba474de0  wifi      wlp0s20f3
Casa      0acb09e3-40a4-479f-9532-a154d8d65dfc  ethernet  --

ls /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/
Home.nmconnection  MY_SSID.nmconnection

systemd-networkd + systemd-resolved + iwd

ln -sf /run/systemd/resolve/stub-resolv.conf /etc/resolv.conf

$ nvim /etc/iwd/main.conf
[General]
EnableNetworkConfiguration=true
[Network]
NameResolvingService=systemd

The network can be started when the computer is turned on:

sudo systemctl enable systemd-resolved iwd

Wicd

Users

~# useradd -m -g users -G wheel,storage,power,video,audio,rfkill -s /bin/zsh julio
~# passwd julio
~# EDITOR=nvim visudo
Descomente a linha `%wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL`

Bootloader

I am using systemd-boot. Since my processor is Intel, I also load its microcode.

~# bootctl install

~# nvim /boot/loader/entries/arch.conf
title   Arch Linux
linux   /vmlinuz-linux
initrd  /intel-ucode.img
initrd  /initramfs-linux.img
options cryptdevice=UUID=0a1b2c3d-…-4e5f6g:arch root=/dev/mapper/arch rootfstype=ext4 add_efi_memmap

sudo nvim /boot/loader/loader.conf
timeout 3

The UUID of the encrypted partition (/dev/sda5) can be seen by running the command lsblk -o +UUID.

With the bootloader configured, we can now restart the computer. If all goes well, a menu will appear to choose the operating system.

sudo umount /mnt/boot
sudo umount /mnt
sudo systemctl reboot

If no display manager was installed, Arch will start in the terminal. Log in with the user created in the previous step.

Dotfiles

My dotfiles are available on Github. I clone the repository and create the appropriate symlinks. When I have time, I will use rcm, chezmoi, or GNU Stow to automate this.

~$ git clone https://github.com/jbsilva/dotfiles.git

~$ ln -s dotfiles/.config ~/.config
~$ ln -s dotfiles/.zsh ~/.zsh
~$ ln -s dotfiles/.zshrc ~/.zshrc
~$ ln -s dotfiles/.gitconfig ~/.gitconfig
~$ ln -s dotfiles/.p10k_console.zsh ~/.p10k_console.zsh
~$ ln -s dotfiles/.p10k.zsh ~/.p10k.zsh
~$ ln -s dotfiles/.xinitrc ~/.xinitrc
~$ ln -s dotfiles/XCompose/.XCompose ~/.XCompose
~$ ln -s dotfiles/bin ~/bin

Shell

There are many options for command-line shells, such as Bash, Zsh, KornShell, and Fish. To list the installed shells, run the command chsh -l.

I have been using Zsh for years. It is POSIX compliant and becomes extremely friendly with some plugins (PowerLevel10k, etc.), which my dotfile installs and configures automatically with zplug.

I created my user with the parameter -s /bin/zsh, but it is possible to change the default shell with the command chsh -s full-path-to-shell.

Terminal Emulators

There are many terminal emulators available for Linux, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.

I used to use urxvt because startup time and memory usage were the main factors for me in the past. Now that I have more powerful computers, other features stand out:

Cross-platform (at least Linux and macOS)
Unicode
Truecolor
Ligatures
Tabs
GPU accelerated
Good documentation

Of all the ones I’ve tested, Kitty is the one with the most features. Unfortunately, it’s not perfect, it has phone home features, uses its own terminfo causing issues, and the developer often behaves rudely towards users.

Alacritty is good, but it doesn’t have tabs and may never have.

Terminal Multiplexers

Terminal emulators like Kitty allow splitting a single window into multiple terminals, but most terminal multiplexers do this and much more, such as allowing a session to continue running even after closing the terminal.

Some that I have used:

GNU Screen
- It is the simplest and comes pre-installed in several distributions.
Tmux
- More comprehensive than Screen.
- Some projects like .tmux make it much more visually appealing and usable.
- Other projects: https://github.com/rothgar/awesome-tmux
Byobu
- It is a layer on top of Screen or Tmux. I quite like it, but the project was discontinued in February 2020.
Zellij
- My current favorite. It is a new project (in 2020 it was called Mosaic) written in Rust and with many interesting features.

Yay

Yay is an AUR helper/Pacman wrapper written in Go that greatly assists in package installation.

$ git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/yay.git && \
    cd yay && \
    makepkg -sri && \
    cd .. && \
    rm -rf yay

Some additional packages I install, including the Kitty terminal, Gimp image editor, VS Code, and various utilities:

$ yay -S \
    ack \
    aws-cli-v2-bin \
    bleachbit \
    bluez \
    bluez-utils \
    calibre \
    chromium \
    code \
    ctags \
    dbeaver \
    digikam \
    discord \
    docker-compose \
    duf \
    dust \
    fcitx5-chinese-addons \
    fcitx5-im \
    ffmpeg \
    firefox \
    gimp \
    gitahead \
    goldendict \
    gparted \
    htop \
    hugo \
    imagemagick \
    insomnia-bin \
    jq \
    kitty \
    lens-bin \
    libreoffice-fresh \
    make \
    meld \
    neofetch \
    nerd-fonts-hack \
    noto-fonts-emoji \
    npm \
    ntfs-3g \
    oath-toolkit \
    obs-studio \
    okular \
    openssh \
    p7zip \
    polkit \
    qalculate-gtk \
    renameutils \
    rsync \
    rust-analyzer \
    slack-desktop \
    spotify \
    sshfs \
    telegram-desktop \
    texlive-core \
    texlive-latexextra \
    thunderbird \
    transmission-remote-gtk \
    tree \
    ttf-joypixels \
    usbutils \
    veracrypt \
    vlc \
    wget \
    xclip \
    xorg-xrandr \
    # audacity \
    # awesome-git \
    # aws-cli \
    # blueman \
    # byobu \
    # copyq \
    # feh \
    # gnome-keyring \
    # graphviz \
    # hdparm \
    # ibus \
    # ibus-libpinyin \
    # kdenlive \
    # light-git \
    # macchanger \
    # maim \
    # picom-git \
    # postman-bin \
    # redshift \
    # rofi-git \
    # sshpass \
    # teams \
    # unrar \
    # unzip

Firewall

sudo pacman -S nftables
sudo systemctl enable nftables.service
sudo nft list ruleset

Fonts

Install the fonts available in the official repository or in the AUR:

$ yay -S \
    inter-font \
    nerd-fonts-fantasque-sans-mono \
    noto-fonts \
    noto-fonts-cjk \
    noto-fonts-emoji \
    otf-san-francisco \
    otf-sfmono-patched \
    ttf-dejavu \
    ttf-liberation \
    ttf-meslo-nerd-font-powerlevel10k

Manual Installation

Fonts not available as packages can be installed manually. Just add the files to a subfolder of /usr/local/share/fonts (for all users) or ~/.local/share/fonts/ (just for your user).

Example:

sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/share/fonts/{otf,ttf}

wget http://www.exljbris.com/dl/fontin2_pc.zip
sudo 7z x fontin2_pc.zip -o/usr/local/share/fonts/ttf/Fontin

sudo find /usr/local/share/fonts -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;
sudo find /usr/local/share/fonts -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;

$ tree /usr/local/share/fonts
/usr/local/share/fonts
├── otf
│   └── Example_Sans
│       ├── Example_Sans_B.otf
│       ├── Example_Sans_BI.otf
│       ├── Example_Sans_I.otf
│       └── Example_Sans_R.otf
└── ttf
    └── Fontin
        ├── Fontin-Bold.ttf
        ├── Fontin-Italic.ttf
        ├── Fontin-Regular.ttf
        ├── Fontin-SmallCaps.ttf
        └── ReadMe.txt

fc-cache
fc-list
…

If you want to set specific fonts to be used, edit the file $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/fontconfig/fonts.conf.

Windows Fonts

You can obtain the fonts from the ISO or the C:\Windows\Fonts folder of an installed Windows.

Copy the fonts to /usr/share/fonts/WindowsFonts:

sudo mkdir /usr/share/fonts/WindowsFonts
sudo cp /c/Windows/Fonts/* /usr/share/fonts/WindowsFonts/
sudo chmod 644 /usr/share/fonts/WindowsFonts/*

Alternatively, use a package like ttf-ms-win10 or ttf-ms-win11.

git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/ttf-ms-win11
cd ttf-ms-win11
cp /c/Windows/System32/Licenses/neutral/_Default/Core/license.rtf .
cp /c/Windows/Fonts/* .
makepkg -si

Keyboards

The keyboard on my laptop is ABNT2, but sometimes I connect keyboards with other layouts.

It is possible to configure each keyboard individually by device id or switch between pre-configured profiles.

Get the keyboard device id

sudo pacman -S xorg-xinput

$ xinput -list | grep -i Keychron
⎜   ↳ Keychron Keychron K2  id=11  [slave pointer  (2)]
    ↳ Keychron Keychron K2  id=10  [slave keyboard (3)]
    ↳ Keychron Keychron K2  id=19  [slave keyboard (3)]

$ xinput list-props 10
Device 'Keychron Keychron K2':
    Device Enabled (189):    1
    Device Node (313):   "/dev/input/event5"

$ ls -l /dev/input/by-id/usb-Keychron*
… /dev/input/by-id/usb-Keychron_Keychron_K2-event-if01 -> ../event6
… /dev/input/by-id/usb-Keychron_Keychron_K2-event-kbd -> ../event5

Configure with setxkbmap

$ setxkbmap -device `xinput -list | \
    grep "Keychron K2.*keyboard" | \
    sed -e 's/^.*id=\([0-9]\+\).*/\1/' | \
    head -1` \
           -layout us              \
           -variant intl           \
           -option lv3:ralt_switch \
           -option compose:rctrl    \
           -option caps:swapescape

Use the commands localectl list-x11-keymap-layouts, localectl list-x11-keymap-variants us, localectl list-x11-keymap-options, and the file /usr/share/X11/xkb/rules/base.lst to set the appropriate configuration.

My example swaps CapsLock with Esc, uses the right control as the compose key (Multi_Key), and the right Alt as the third level.

Run the command at system startup

$ nvim ~/bin/keyboards.sh
#!/bin/sh

# Notebook keyboard
keyboard_id=$(
    xinput -list |
    grep "AT Translated Set 2 keyboard.*keyboard" |
    sed -e 's/^.*id=\([0-9]\+\).*/\1/' |
    head -1
)
if [ ! -z "$keyboard_id" ]; then
    setxkbmap -device $keyboard_id    \
              -layout br              \
              -option lv3:ralt_switch \
              -option compose:menu    \
              -option caps:swapescape
fi

# Keychron K2
keyboard_id=$(
    xinput -list |
    grep "Keychron K2.*keyboard" |
    sed -e 's/^.*id=\([0-9]\+\).*/\1/' |
    head -1
)
if [ ! -z "$keyboard_id" ]; then
    setxkbmap -device $keyboard_id    \
              -layout us              \
              -variant intl           \
              -option lv3:ralt_switch \
              -option compose:rctrl   \
              -option caps:swapescape
fi

$ nvim ~/.config/autostart/keyboards.sh.desktop
[Desktop Entry]
Exec=/home/julio/bin/keyboards.sh
Icon=dialog-scripts
Name=keyboards.sh
Path=
Type=Application
X-KDE-AutostartScript=true

Compose: c-cedilla

In the US International with Dead Keys layout, ç can be obtained with AltGr + ,, but I prefer to use ´ + c or compose + c.

Create a ~/.XCompose (or ~/.config/ibus/Compose) based on /usr/share/X11/locale/en_US.UTF-8/Compose:

# UTF-8 (Unicode) compose sequence
include "%L"
<Multi_key> <c>   : "ç"   ccedilla
<Multi_key> <C>   : "Ç"   Ccedilla
<dead_acute> <c>  : "ç"   ccedilla
<dead_acute> <C>  : "Ç"   Ccedilla
<Multi_key> <t> <o> <w> <e> <r>  : "🗼"

Oriental Characters

You can type characters not available on your keyboard through an input method framework like IBUS or Fcitx5.

I will show how to use ibus-libpinyin and fcitx5-chinese-addons to type in Chinese. Configuring other languages using other IMEs (input method editors) is similar.

IBUS

IBus (Intelligent Input Bus) is quite popular. It is already integrated with GNOME, but also works well with other Desktop Environments.

Install IBus
```
sudo pacman -S ibus ibus-libpinyin
```

Set the following environment variables:

sudo nvim /etc/environment
GTK_IM_MODULE=ibus
QT_IM_MODULE=ibus
XMODIFIERS=@im=ibus
GLFW_IM_MODULE=ibus

Configure IBus to start with the DE

$ nvim ~/.config/autostart/ibus-daemon.desktop
[Desktop Entry]
Comment=IBus Daemon
#Exec=ibus-daemon -drx --panel=/usr/lib/kimpanel-ibus-panel
Exec=ibus-daemon -drx
GenericName=IBus Daemon
Icon=ibus-engine
Name=IBus Daemon
StartupNotify=true
Terminal=true
Type=Application
X-KDE-SubstituteUID=false

KDE has a widget called Input Method Panel, but I prefer to use the default IBus panel.

Configure IBus
```
ibus-setup
```
Under Input Method, choose Portuguese (Brazil), Chinese-Intelligent Pinyin, and English (US, intl., with dead keys).

Under General, set the shortcut <Super>space to switch between input methods.

Under Advanced, check the option to use the system layout so that IBus does not override the layout set using setxkbmap.

Change the panel color to match your taskbar

gsettings set org.freedesktop.ibus.panel xkb-icon-rgba '#ffffff'

Fcitx5

Fcitx (Flexible Context-aware Input Tool with eXtension support) is the input method framework I use.

It is very flexible, has many features, and integrates well with KDE.

Install Fcitx5

sudo pacman -S fcitx5-im fcitx5-chinese-addons

Set the following environment variables:

sudo nvim /etc/environment
GTK_IM_MODULE=fcitx
QT_IM_MODULE=fcitx
XMODIFIERS=@im=fcitx
DefaultIMModule=fcitx
SDL_IM_MODULE=fcitx
GLFW_IM_MODULE=ibus

The last line is for Kitty. It remains as ibus.

Configure Fcitx5 to start with the DE

$ nvim ~/.config/autostart/fcitx5.desktop
[Desktop Entry]
Name=Fcitx5
GenericName=Fcitx5 Input Method
Comment=Start Fcitx5
Exec=fcitx5
Icon=fcitx
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Categories=System;Utility;
StartupNotify=false
X-GNOME-Autostart-Phase=Applications
X-GNOME-AutoRestart=false
X-GNOME-Autostart-Notify=false
X-KDE-autostart-after=panel
X-KDE-StartupNotify=false
X-GNOME-Autostart-enabled=true

Configure Fcitx5

I recommend making the configurations through the graphical interface fcitx5-configtool (in KDE, it is integrated into the system settings at System Settings » Personalization » Regional Settings » Input Method).

In my tests, manually edited files ended up being overwritten with the values configured by the graphical interface.

Config

$ nvim ~/.config/fcitx5/config
[Hotkey/TriggerKeys]
0=Super+space

[Behavior/DisabledAddons]
0=cloudpinyin
1=wayland
2=waylandim

Layouts

$ nvim ~/.config/fcitx5/profile
[Groups/0]
# Group Name
Name="Group 1"
# Layout
Default Layout=us-intl
# Default Input Method
DefaultIM=keyboard-us-intl

[Groups/0/Items/0]
# Name
Name=keyboard-us-intl
# Layout
Layout=

[Groups/0/Items/1]
# Name
Name=pinyin
# Layout
Layout=

[GroupOrder]
0="Group 1"

Note: the last entry in the configtool will be the DefaultIM.

XCB

$ nvim ~/.config/fcitx5/conf/xcb.conf
Allow Overriding System XKB Settings=False

pacman -S fcitx5-material-color fcitx5-nord

$ nvim ~/.config/fcitx5/conf/classicui.conf
# Use Per Screen DPI
PerScreenDPI=False
# Font
Font="Noto Sans Black 10"
# Menu Font
MenuFont="Sans 10"
# Theme
Theme=Material-Color-Blue

Cloud Pinyin

$ nvim ~/.config/fcitx5/conf/pinyin.conf
CloudPinyinEnabled=False

Keychron Keyboard

To make the F1,…,F12 keys work correctly:

sudo nvim /etc/modprobe.d/hid_apple.conf
options hid_apple fnmode=2

sudo mkinitcpio -P

XDG user directories

Install xdg-user-dirs to create the folders.

sudo pacman -S xdg-user-dirs
$ xdg-user-dirs-update --force

Power Management

There are many tools for power management. I use the following:

sudo pacman -S tlp acpid acpi_call upower xfce4-power-manager
sudo systemctl enable tlp.service
sudo systemctl enable acpid.service

Bluetooth

After installing bluez, start the bluetooth.service:

sudo systemctl start bluetooth.service

The Bluez configuration is in /etc/bluetooth/main.conf. I use the default settings.

Most desktop environments include some GUI to facilitate the connection, like Bluedevil in KDE, but I also like to install bluez-utils to connect Bluetooth devices via the command line with bluetoothctl.

Example connecting two keyboards and a headset:

((((06ef2b337b12f8a5))))

Tip: Use FN+Z+J to reset the Keychron keyboard and reset the connections.

asdf

asdf has plugins for almost anything. It can replace pyenv, rbenv, goenv, and nvm. There is even a plugin to manage different versions of Poetry.

git clone https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf.git ~/.asdf --branch v0.11.3

Use the oh-my-zsh plugin to enable and add completions.

python

pacman -S --needed base-devel openssl zlib xz tk

asdf plugin add python
asdf install python latest:3
asdf global python latest

asdf install python latest:3.10
asdf local python latest:3.10
asdf uninstall python <python-version>

Ruby

asdf plugin add ruby
asdf install ruby latest
asdf local ruby latest

asdf plugin add golang
asdf install golang latest
asdf global golang latest

Node.js

asdf plugin add nodejs
asdf install nodejs latest

Global versions are defined in the ~/.tool-versions file.

Python

I had my first contact with Python over 10 years ago and today, besides being my favorite programming language, it is the language I use the most for work and personal projects.

The [Zen of Python][PEP 20] says:

“There should be one– and preferably only one –obvious way to do it.”

Which is valid for code, but for packaging, the story is quite different. My feelings are well portrayed in this sequence of xkcd comics: [xkcd 353], [xkcd 927], [xkcd 1987].

My current preferences are as follows, in order:

To manage different versions of Python: asdf or [Pyenv].
To manage virtual environments, control dependencies, and facilitate package publishing: PDM or [Poetry].
For more complex cases of machine learning or projects that depend on packages and binaries not available on [pypi]: [Mambaforge].
IDE: [VSCode] with the official extension or [PyCharm].

The issue with [PyCharm] is that some important features (framework integration, SQL editing, Docker integration, etc.) are paid.

Pyenv

Pyenv allows you to install and use different versions of Python.

It is like asdf, but exclusive to Python. If you already use asdf for other languages, it may not make much sense to install Pyenv.

Install Pyenv:
```
sudo pacman -S pyenv
```
Optionally, also install pyenv-virtualenv:
```
yay -S pyenv-virtualenv
```

Add the following lines to ~/.zshrc:

if (( $+commands[pyenv] )); then eval "$(pyenv init --path)"; fi
if (( $+commands[pyenv-virtualenv-init] )); then eval "$(pyenv virtualenv-init -)"; fi

Check which versions are available and install the ones you will use:

pyenv install --list
pyenv install 3.8.12
pyenv install mambaforge

List the installed versions:
```
pyenv versions
```
In a project folder, set the version to be used:
```
pyenv local 3.8.12
```
A file named .python-version will be created:
```
$ cat .python-version
3.8.12
```

Poetry

Update: section updated for version 1.2.

Install Poetry

I prefer not to use the system package manager for Poetry, there are some good alternatives:
- Script:
```
wget -O install-poetry.py https://install.python-poetry.org
python install-poetry.py --preview
```
  Note: The old installer (get-poetry.py) has been replaced by install-poetry.py. Do not pass the --preview parameter if you want the latest stable version.
- asdf:
```
asdf plugin add poetry
asdf install poetry latest
asdf global poetry latest
```
- pipx:
```
pipx install poetry
```
Add to PATH

The old installer used the folder $HOME/.poetry/bin. The new one uses $HOME/.local/bin.

Using my function in .zshrc:
```
addToPathStart $HOME/.local/bin
```
Install completions
```
poetry completions zsh > ~/.zprezto/modules/completion/external/src/_poetry
```
The above command is because I use Prezto. The important thing is to install in a folder listed in $fpath.
Create a new project
```
poetry new my-project
cd my-project
```

Set the Python version using Pyenv or asdf

pyenv local 3.8.12

asdf local 3.8.12

$ nvim pyproject.toml
…
[tool.poetry.dependencies]
python = "^3.8"
…

poetry env use -- /home/julio/.pyenv/versions/3.10.3/bin/python

poetry env use -- /home/julio/.asdf/installs/python/3.10.3/bin/python

poetry run python --version
poetry debug info

Add dependencies

Development dependencies are passed with --dev.

$ poetry add --group dev \
    bandit \
    black \
    codecov \
    coverage \
    flake8 \
    gitchangelog \
    isort \
    mkdocs \
    mypy \
    pydocstyle \
    pytest \
    pytest-cov

poetry add typer\[all\]

Update Poetry
```
poetry self update
```
Remember to generate the completions again.
Install poetry-plugin-up
```
poetry self add poetry-plugin-up
poetry up --latest
```
This plugin updates the packages in pyproject.toml to the latest version.

If Poetry gets stuck on “Resolving dependencies,” try the following:

find ~/.cache/pypoetry -name '*.lock' -type f -delete
poetry env remove --all
poetry cache clear --all .
rm -rf $(poetry config cache-dir)/artifacts

Mambaforge

Mambaforge combines Mamba and Conda-Forge.

Mamba is a reimplementation of the Conda package manager in C++. It resolves dependencies very quickly and downloads in parallel.

Conda-Forge Channel contains recipes written by the community for Conda. It has many more packages than the official Conda repository.

If you do not want to use Pyenv, it is possible to install Mambaforge manually:

wget https://github.com/conda-forge/miniforge/releases/latest/download/Mambaforge-Linux-x86_64.sh
bash Mambaforge-Linux-x86_64.sh

Update base packages
```
mamba update mamba
mamba update --all
```

Create and activate a virtual environment

mamba create -n env_name python=3.10 jupyterlab …
conda activate env_name

Install some additional packages

$ mamba install \
      azure-identity \
      bandit \
      black \
      bokeh \
      dask \
      flake8 \
      ipywidgets \
      isort \
      jupyterlab_code_formatter \
      kafka-python \
      keras \
      koalas \
      matplotlib \
      mypy \
      numpy \
      openpyxl \
      pandas \
      plotly \
      pyarrow \
      pycodestyle \
      pydocstyle \
      pylama \
      pylint \
      pyspark \
      pytest \
      python-graphviz \
      python-wget \
      scikit-learn \
      seaborn \
      sqlalchemy \
      tenacity \
      tensorflow \
      unidecode \
      xgboost

PDM

PEP 582 was rejected by the Python Steering Council in March 2023.

Like Poetry, PDM is a package and dependency manager.

The difference is that it follows the new PEPs (PEP 582, PEP 517, and PEP 621).

You can use a virtualenv or follow PEP 582 and use a folder called __pypackages__. This folder is equivalent to node_modules, it is added to sys.path.

Installation

Via script:

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pdm-project/pdm/main/install-pdm.py | python3 -

Via asdf:

asdf plugin add pdm
asdf install pdm latest
asdf local pdm latest

Completions in ZSH

pdm completion zsh > ~/.zprezto/modules/completion/external/src/_pdm

Usage

Create a project
```
pdm init
```
Add dependencies
```
pdm add requests flask
```

Add development dependencies

pdm add -dG dev jupyterlab jupyterlab-code-formatter black isort pylint mypy

Remove dependencies
```
pdm remove flask
```
List dependencies
```
pdm list --graph
```
Install project
```
pdm install
```
Install based on the .lock file
```
pdm sync
```
Update dependencies
- All packages
```
pdm update
```
- Specific package
```
pdm update <package>
```
  - Packages from a group
```
pdm update -G <group>
```
  - Force update pinned packages
```
pdm update --update-eager
```
Remove unlisted packages
```
pdm sync --clean
```
Run binary in the environment
```
pdm run jupyter lab
```

Update

pdm self update

Rust

The recommended way to develop in Rust is to use rustup, which can be installed in two ways:

Official script:

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh

Pacman:
```
sudo pacman -S rustup
rustup default stable
```
This method is more convenient in Arch, as it keeps Rust and its dependent packages constantly updated.

Test the installation:

$ rustc --version
rustc 1.53.0 (53cb7b09b 2021-06-17)

$ cargo --version
cargo 1.53.0 (4369396ce 2021-04-27)

$ rustdoc --version
rustdoc 1.53.0 (53cb7b09b 2021-06-17)

$ cargo new hello
 Created binary (application) `hello` package

$ cd hello

$ cargo run
   Compiling hello v0.1.0 (/home/julio/hello)
    Finished dev [unoptimized + debuginfo] target(s) in 0.43s
     Running `target/debug/hello`
Hello, world!

My Neovim is configured to use the rust-analyzer as LSP Server. Just install the binary:

sudo pacman -S rust-analyzer

Nvidia

One of the notebooks has an integrated Intel GPU and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, which has better performance than the Intel GPU but consumes more power.

It is possible to permanently disable one of the cards or use Nvidia Optimus technology to switch between the cards according to the need.

Install drivers and utilities:

sudo pacman -S nvidia nvidia-utils nvidia-settings opencl-nvidia

Running a specific program on Nvidia

To perform the so-called PRIME render offload just start the program with the prime-run command. Ex.:

sudo pacman -S nvidia-prime
prime-run kdenlive

Using only the Nvidia card

sudo nvim /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/10-nvidia-drm-outputclass.conf
Section "OutputClass"
    Identifier "intel"
    MatchDriver "i915"
    Driver "modesetting"
EndSection

Section "OutputClass"
    Identifier "nvidia"
    MatchDriver "nvidia-drm"
    Driver "nvidia"
    Option "AllowEmptyInitialConfiguration"
    Option "PrimaryGPU" "yes"
    ModulePath "/usr/lib/nvidia/xorg"
    ModulePath "/usr/lib/xorg/modules"
EndSection

$ nvim ~/.xinitrc (ou /usr/share/sddm/scripts/Xsetup para o SDDM)
xrandr --setprovideroutputsource modesetting NVIDIA-0
xrandr --auto
setxkbmap br -option caps:swapescape

To ensure that the module will be loaded before the graphical interface.

sudo nvim /etc/modprobe.d/nvidia-drm-nomodeset.conf
options nvidia-drm modeset=1

sudo nvim /etc/mkinitcpio.conf
MODULES=(nvidia nvidia_modeset nvidia_uvm nvidia_drm)

sudo mkinitcpio -P

(Note: If the /boot partition has little free space, it is possible to disable the generation of the fallback image by commenting out the related lines in /etc/mkinitcpio.d/linux.preset. If this is not enough, it will be necessary to resize the partitions.)

sudo systemctl reboot

nvidia-smi

sudo pacman -S virtualgl
glxspheres64

Tearing

Screen tearing is when parts of different frames are displayed on the screen at the same time.

This problem was quite noticeable when watching videos on the monitor connected via HDMI. Test with the video https://youtu.be/MfL_JkcEFbE and with the site https://www.vsynctester.com.

Browser Configuration

Check if enabling layers.acceleration.force-enabled in Firefox’s about:config improves anything.

Force composition

This option may increase latency, but it was what solved my problem.

Check the current settings:

$ nvidia-settings --query CurrentMetaMode
  Attribute 'CurrentMetaMode' (Predator:0.0): id=50, switchable=yes, source=RandR :: DPY-2: nvidia-auto-select @1920x1080 +1920+0 {ViewPortIn=1920x1080, ViewPortOut=1920x1080+0+0}

Enable ForceCompositionPipeline (or ForceFullCompositionPipeline):

nvidia-settings --assign CurrentMetaMode="nvidia-auto-select +1920+0 { ForceCompositionPipeline = On }"

The +1920+0 offset is because the laptop screen is full HD and is positioned to the left of the external monitor.

Check the new settings:

$ nvidia-settings --query CurrentMetaMode
  Attribute 'CurrentMetaMode' (Predator:0.0): id=50, switchable=no, source=nv-control :: DPY-2: nvidia-auto-select @1920x1080 +1920+0 {ViewPortIn=1920x1080, ViewPortOut=1920x1080+0+0,
  ForceCompositionPipeline=On}

Add this command to a file that is executed at startup, such as autostart, xinit, or Xsetup.

~/bin/nvidia-force_comp_pipeline.sh:

#!/bin/sh
s="$(nvidia-settings -q CurrentMetaMode -t)"
echo "$s"
if [[ "${s}" != "" ]]; then
  s="${s#*" :: "}"
  echo "$s"
  if [[ "${s}" != "NULL" ]]; then
    nvidia-settings -a CurrentMetaMode="${s//\}/, ForceCompositionPipeline=On\}}"
  fi
fi

/usr/share/sddm/scripts/Xsetup:

 #!/bin/sh
 # Xsetup - run as root before the login dialog appears

 # Keyboards
 kb_script="/home/julio/bin/keyboards.sh"
 [ -s "$kb_script" ] && \. "$kb_script"

 # Nvidia
 xrandr --setprovideroutputsource modesetting NVIDIA-0
 xrandr --auto

 # Force Composition Pipeline
 nfcp_script="/home/julio/bin/nvidia-force_comp_pipeline.sh"
 [ -s "$nfcp_script" ] && \. "$nfcp_script"

If your monitors are fixed, you can use /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/20-nvidia.conf:

Section "Screen"
       …
       Option  "MetaModes" "nvidia-auto-select +0+0 {ForceFullCompositionPipeline=On}"
       …
   EndSection

Window Managers and Desktop Environments

Awesome

For AwesomeWM, I like the configurations from Gerome Matilla. They are a bit bloated, but the layouts are very nice and have interesting features.

KDE

KDE Plasma is a very good DE with default settings that I really like.

I used to avoid using KDE on my old computers because it wasn’t light enough, but with my current hardware, this is no longer a big issue.

I recommend installing the following packages:

sudo pacman -S ark \
        dolphin \
        gwenview \
        packagekit-qt5 \
        plasma-browser-integration \
        sddm \
        spectacle

You can swap Caps Lock for ESC in System Settings » Keyboard » Advanced » Caps Lock behavior » Swap Esc and Caps Lock.

Install kdeconnect on the computer and on Android devices to sync notifications, share files, share the clipboard, use Android as a mouse and keyboard, among other functions.

Test the OpenGL and XRender options in System Settings » Hardware » Display and Monitor » Compositor » Rendering backend. The best option is probably OpenGL, but I have seen reports of issues with Nvidia cards.```

If you don’t want to display media controls on the lock screen, run the following command:

kwriteconfig5 --file kscreenlockerrc --group Greeter --group LnF --group General --key showMediaControls --type bool false

If the fonts are too large, force the DPI in System Settings » Fonts » Force font DPI: 96.

Tiling in KDE: Kröhnkite

Move the taskbar to the top of the screen;
Decrease the size of the bar (set to 30);
Right-click on the taskbar, click on Show Alternatives, and choose “Icons-only Task Manager”;
Right-click on the Pager » Configure Pager
- Show application icons on window outlines
- Text display: Desktop number
System Settings » Workspace » Window Management » KWin Scripts » Get New Scripts…
- Krohnkite
- Virtual Desktops Only On Primary
Activate Kröhnkite settings
```
mkdir -p ~/.local/share/kservices5/
ln -s ~/.local/share/kwin/scripts/krohnkite/metadata.desktop ~/.local/share/kservices5/krohnkite.desktop
```
A configure button for Kröhnkite will appear on the KWin Scripts screen. There, I do the following:
- Activate the Quarter layout
- Gaps between tiles: 3 px
- Prevent windows from minimizing
- ~~Remove borders of tiled windows~~
System Settings » Appearance » Window Decorations » Edit Theme » Window-Specific Overrides » Add
- Regular expression to match: .*
- Border size: Tiny
- Hide window title bar
Go to System Settings » Workspace » Workspace Behavior » Virtual Desktops and add as many desktops as you want (I set it to 8, displayed in two rows);
System Settings » Workspace » Workspace Behavior » Desktop Effects » Focus » Dim Inactive;
System Settings » Workspace » Window Management » Window Behavior » Focus » Multiscreen behavior: Separate screen focus;

Border colors

kwriteconfig5 --file ~/.config/kdeglobals --group WM --key frame 61,174,233
kwriteconfig5 --file ~/.config/kdeglobals --group WM --key inactiveFrame  239,240,241

Remove minimum window size
- System Settings » Workspace » Window Management » Window Rules
- Add New…
- Window class: Unimportant
- Window types: Normal Window
- Add Properties…
- Minimum Size: Force 0 x 0
Change shortcuts in System Settings » Workspace » Shortcuts » KRunner
- KRunner: Meta + R
Change shortcuts in System Settings » Workspace » Shortcuts » KWin
- Switch to Desktop n: Meta + n
- Switch to Previous Screen: Meta + ,
- Switch to Next Screen: Meta + .
- Window to Desktop n: Meta+Shift+Fn (Using Meta + F1,…,F8, because Meta+Shift+6 doesn’t work with US intl. keyboard)
- Window to Previous Screen: Meta + <
- Window to Next Screen: Meta + >
- Krohnkite: Float All: Meta+Shift+F
- Krohnkite: Right: Meta+L (use ctrl+alt+L to lock the screen)

Android Integration

MTP devices can only be accessed by one program.

To sync a tablet with Calibre, KDE must not have mounted the device before.

Kill the kiod5 process.

Gnome

Gnome is a complete and quite popular DE. I don’t like the default settings much, but after some quick adjustments, it becomes quite usable:

sudo pacman -S gnome gnome-tweaks gnome-shell-extension-appindicator evolution
sudo systemctl enable gdm
dconf write /org/gnome/desktop/input-sources/xkb-options "['caps:swapescape']"

Through Tweaks, enable the app indicator extension and the minimize and maximize buttons.

Install Pipewire for screen sharing to work on Wayland:

sudo pacman -S pipewire xdg-desktop-portal-gtk

Wine

Install some of the following packages (not all are necessary)

$ sudo pacman -S \
    wine-staging \
    wine-gecko \
    wine-mono \
    winetricks \
    zenity \
    playonlinux

$ sudo pacman -S \
    giflib \
    lib32-giflib \
    libpng \
    lib32-libpng \
    libldap \
    lib32-libldap \
    gnutls \
    lib32-gnutls \
    mpg123 \
    lib32-mpg123 \
    openal \
    lib32-openal \
    v4l-utils \
    lib32-v4l-utils \
    libpulse \
    lib32-libpulse \
    alsa-plugins \
    lib32-alsa-plugins \
    alsa-lib \
    lib32-alsa-lib \
    libjpeg-turbo \
    lib32-libjpeg-turbo \
    libxcomposite \
    lib32-libxcomposite \
    libxinerama \
    lib32-libxinerama \
    ncurses \
    lib32-ncurses \
    opencl-icd-loader \
    lib32-opencl-icd-loader \
    libxslt \
    lib32-libxslt \
    libva \
    lib32-libva \
    gtk3 \
    lib32-gtk3 \
    gst-plugins-base-libs \
    lib32-gst-plugins-base-libs \
    vulkan-icd-loader \
    lib32-vulkan-icd-loader \
    cups \
    samba \
    dosbox

Install the Windows fonts as explained previously
Run winetricks

With zenity installed, a GUI will appear to help create prefixes, install dependencies, install and uninstall programs.

Prefixes are created in ~/.local/share/wineprefixes/.

Call a program from the command line

WINEPREFIX="~/.local/share/wineprefixes/nome_prefixo" wine ~/.local/share/wineprefixes/nome_prefixo/drive_c/Programa.exe

VPNs

Most VPNs have their own installer (which is often available in the AUR).

Prefer WireGuard over OpenVPN when possible.