Do you use any script to install Arch Linux? which?

Question

I'm trying Arch Linux and am very happy with it. I'm using Virtualbox for now and the host machine is running Windows 7.

I did the installation several times for learning, but now I want to try some script to install it.
Do you use one? Which one?

Solution 1

If you want to be supported by any contingent of the Arch Linux community, there are only two guides you can use to install Arch: The Beginners' Guide and The Official Installation Guide.

Any other guide/script/tutorial used is not supported and never will be.

Now then, that is not to say that you cannot use those scripts, but if you do, you are fundamentally missing out on what makes Arch such a great system. “Arch is what you make it,” as the saying goes. The install process allows you to fine-tune exactly what is installed and how it is configured. Using any script or automation to make these decisions for you is fundamentally counter to The Arch Way.

Once upon a time, there was the AIF (Arch Installation Framework) that walked users through some parts of the process. However, that tool was barely supported and caused more trouble than it fixed. As a result, it was dropped and is no longer present on the installation media.

As a final note, tongue-in-cheek as it is, pacstrap is technically a script that wraps pacman and is part of the official install process (as @mikeserv noted). So, I suppose I use pacstrap to install Arch. :P

Solution 2

I use some scripts to install Arch Linux sometimes. I wrote them, though, and I don't distribute them as I never bothered (nor particularly cared to bother) to harden them against all of the horrible things they might do to your computer in the event something went wrong. I imagine there are many out there like me - all of us selfishly hoarding our little convenience hacks.

But that's ok, because I also know there are many others out there not like me, who do distribute their little convenience hacks, and the majority of these never bothered (nor, apparently, particularly cared to bother) to harden them against all of the horrible things they might do to your computer in the event something went wrong.

And so you can try your luck with any of them - some are better than others - but - and I give it 10:1 odds - you'll almost definitely fall back to the standard wiki instructions, maybe scripting a little, private convenience hack of your own here and there, and you'll probably be better off for doing so.

On the other hand, the Arch Linux installation media is pretty much a fully-fledged Arch installation unto itself. And one set of scripts/instructions which I have felt confident enough to distribute is one you'll find here - which just basically puts a copy of the installation media's root fs on your boot partition so you can fall back to the wiki installation instructions easily at any time in the event some convenience hack has done something unspeakable to your computer.

Solution 3

I recently tried just about every "Arch-based" distribution, feeling the same way you did. I wasted about as much time on each one of them as I would have setting up "the arch way." Save yourself the troubles that get installed by them and follow the guide. It'll be faster, leaner, and cleaner, especially since you've already done it before.

Comments

[mikeserv]

pacstrap is the script recommended in the wiki installation instructions. Otherwise, just pacman works fine.

[joepd]

Your English is more than fine! But no, no install scripts. I installed arch once, four or five years ago. There has been no need to reinstall.

[Juan Pablo Sala]

Thanks all for your answers, I finally used an Antergos distribution and I'm happy with it

[jasonwryan]

"faster, leaner, and cleaner..." +1