2 title = "Arch GNU/Linux on MacBook Air 2013"
4 tags = ["arch", "macbook"]
8 identifier = "arch-gnu-linux-on-macbook-air-2013"
11 This post summarizes how I install and dual-boot Arch GNU/Linux with
12 Full-Disk Encryption alongside macOS. It is not meant to be a
13 replacement for the [Installation Guide](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/installation%5Fguide) or the former [Beginner's Guide](https://csdietz.github.io/arch-beginner-guide/).
14 Rather, it mostly serves as a small summary with a few useful notes
17 So, make sure you understand what you type into your terminal. If you
18 don't, checking out the Arch wiki should probably be your first step.
20 _Note:_ you will need internet access throughout the installation and
21 the MacBook Air's WiFi doesn't work out of the box on Arch. I
22 recommend using your phone's USB Tethering (if it does support it), or
23 using an Ethernet-USB adapter.
26 ## Shrinking the macOS partition {#shrinking-the-macos-partition}
28 The first step I take is resizing the HFS+ macOS partition to make
29 room for the new <abbr>GNU/Linux</abbr> installation. There are plenty
30 of tutorials on how to do this using macOS's Disk Utility, so do that
34 ## Creating a bootable Arch Installer USB {#creating-a-bootable-arch-installer-usb}
36 There are different ways of creating a bootable Arch USB, all
37 documented on the [USB flash installation media](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/USB%5Fflash%5Finstallation%5Fmedia) page on the Arch wiki,
38 but the simplest one is using `dd` if you already have access to
41 <span class="red">Warning:</span> make sure you backup the data on your flash
42 drive, as `dd` will irrevocably destroy all data on it.
44 Use `lsblk` to find the name (block device) of your USB drive, then
45 run `dd` (as root) as shown below:
48 dd bs=4M if=/path/to/archlinux.iso of=/dev/sdx status=progress && sync
51 Replace `/path/to/archlinux.iso` with the path to the Arch image you
52 have downloaded, and `/dev/sdx` with your drive.
55 ## Booting up from the USB {#booting-up-from-the-usb}
57 After creating the install USB, reboot your laptop and hold the alt
58 key and boot into the USB.
60 When booting is complete and you're presented with the prompt, it's a
61 good time to make sure you're connected to the internet (see the
62 _note_ at the top of this post).
64 Use `ping` to verify that you've established a connection:
71 ## Updating the system clock {#updating-the-system-clock}
73 Once you're connected to the internet, make sure the system clock is
77 timedatectl set-ntp true # start and enable systemd-timesyncd
80 You can check the service status using `timedatectl status`.
83 ## Partitioning {#partitioning}
85 I won't dive into partitioning and instead, I'll refer you to the
86 [Partitioning](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Partitioning) page of Arch wiki. Of the available partitioning tools, I
87 personally prefer `cfdisk`.
90 ## Setting up LVM & LUKS {#setting-up-lvm-and-luks}
92 I use a [LVM on LUKS](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Dm-crypt/Encrypting%5Fan%5Fentire%5Fsystem#LVM%5Fon%5FLUKS) setup, where I set up LVM on top of the encrypted
95 First, let's set up the underlying encrypted partition:
98 cryptsetup -v --cipher aes-xts-plain64 --key-size 512 --hash sha512 \
99 --iter-time 5000 --use-urandom -y luksFormat /dev/sdaX
102 where `/dev/sdaX` is the partition you created in the last step
103 (e.g. `/dev/sda4`). For more information about the `cryptsetup`
104 options, see the [LUKS encryption options](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Dm-crypt/Device%5Fencryption#Encryption%5Foptions%5Ffor%5FLUKS%5Fmode).
106 Then we open the container:
109 cryptsetup open --type luks /dev/sdaX lvm
112 Now it's time to use lvm and prepare the logical volume(s):
115 pvcreate /dev/mapper/lvm
116 vgcreate vg /dev/mapper/lvm
117 lvcreate --extents +100%FREE -n root vg
120 This will create a physical volume on the mapping we just opened,
121 create a volume group named `vg` on the physical volume, and create a
122 logical volume named `root` that spans the entire volume group. More
123 complex setups are possible thanks to the great flexibility of lvm.
125 We now format the logical volume with `ext4`:
128 mkfs.ext4 /dev/mapper/vg-root
132 ## Installing the base system {#installing-the-base-system}
134 Let's mount the logical volume, make a directory for the mount point
135 of the boot partition, and mount the boot partition (`/dev/sda1`):
138 mount /dev/mapper/vg-root /mnt
140 mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/boot
143 Finally, let's install the base system (and optionally `base-devel`):
146 pacstrap /mnt base base-devel
150 ## Configuring the system {#configuring-the-system}
152 Let's generate the fstab:
155 genfstab -U /mnt >> /mnt/etc/fstab
158 Use your favorite terminal-based editor, edit the fstab file and add
159 the `discard` option for the root partition to enable TRIM on the SSD.
161 Now we change root into our newly installed system and will configure
162 it. Adjust these according to your own setup.
165 arch-chroot /mnt /bin/bash
166 passwd # set the root password
167 echo myhostname > /etc/hostname # set the hostname
168 ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/Canada/Eastern /etc/localtime # time zone
169 hwclock --systohc --utc # write system clock to hardware clock (UTC)
170 useradd -m -G wheel -s /bin/bash myuser # create myuser
171 passwd myuser # set the password for myuser
172 echo "myuser ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL" >> /etc/sudoers.d/myuser
173 # uncomment en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8 and other needed locales in /etc/locale.gen
175 echo LANG=en_US.UTF-8 > /etc/locale.conf
176 export LANG=en_US.UTF-8
179 Then adjust the initramfs hooks in `/etc/mkinitcpio.conf` and enable
180 the `encrypt` and `lvm2` hooks, and make sure `keyboard` is available
181 before `encrypt` so you can actually type in the LUKS password when
182 booting. Your `HOOKS` line should look similar to this:
185 HOOKS="base udev autodetect modconf block keyboard encrypt lvm2 filesystems fsck"
188 After adjusting the hooks, build the initramfs:
194 Now, install the `intel-ucode` package. We'll configure the bootloader
195 to enable intel microcode updates.
198 pacman -S intel-ucode
201 Create the `/boot/loader/loader.conf` with the following content
202 (adjust the timeout to your liking):
209 Then create the entry for Arch:
212 mkdir -p /boot/loader/entries
213 touch /boot/loader/entries/arch.conf
216 Now edit `/boot/loader/entries/arch.conf` to specify the Arch entry:
221 initrd /intel-ucode.img
222 initrd /initramfs-linux.img
223 options cryptdevice=/dev/sdaX:vg:allow-discards root=/dev/mapper/vg-root rw
226 Again, `/dev/sdaX` is the partition you created in the [partitioning](#partitioning)
227 step as the underlying encrypted partition.
229 Finally, install the bootloader, exit the chroot, umount and reboot!
239 ## Post-installation recommendations {#post-installation-recommendations}
241 Congratulations! You now have a minimal Arch installation.
243 At this point, I usually install my favorite AUR helper, [pacaur](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/pacaur/), then
244 I install the [broadcom-wl-dkms](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/broadcom-wl-dkms/) wireless driver and [mba6x\_bl-dkms](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/mba6x%5Fbl-dkms/)
245 backlight driver to fix the post suspend/resume issue where three's no
246 brightness after waking up from suspend, and the only available
247 brightness would be 100%.
250 pacaur -S linux-headers dkms # linux-headers is required for dkms
251 pacaur -S broadcom-wl-dkms
252 pacaur -S mba6x_bl-dkms
255 Then, I'd like to install
257 - input, graphics, and sound drivers,
258 - a desktop environment (I prefer Xfce or LXQt),
259 - a display manager for login screen (lightdm or sddm), and
260 - a network manager (NetworkManager or ConnMan).
262 Check out the [General recommendations](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/General%5Frecommendations) for more details.
265 ## References {#references}
267 Here are some resources I've come across each with lots of useful bits
268 and pieces, about installing Arch on a MacBook:
270 - [pandeiro/arch-on-air](https://github.com/pandeiro/arch-on-air)
271 - [Arch Linux on MacBook Pro Retina 2014 with DM-Crypt, LVM and suspend to disk](https://loicpefferkorn.net/2015/01/arch-linux-on-macbook-pro-retina-2014-with-dm-crypt-lvm-and-suspend-to-disk/)
272 - [Installing Archlinux on Macbook Air 2013](http://frankshin.com/installing-archlinux-on-macbook-air-2013/)
273 - [Arch Linux Installation with OS X on Macbook Air (Dual Boot)](http://panks.me/posts/2013/06/arch-linux-installation-with-os-x-on-macbook-air-dual-boot/)
274 - [Installing (encrypted) Arch Linux on an Apple MacBook Pro](https://visual-assault.org/2016/03/05/install-encrypted-arch-linux-on-apple-macbook-pro/)
275 - [Installing Arch Linux on a MacBook Air 2013](http://alexeyzabelin.com/arch-on-mac)
276 - [Arch Linux running on my MacBook](https://medium.com/phils-thought-bubble-of-recent-stuff/arch-linux-running-on-my-macbook-2ea525ebefe3)
277 - [Dual boot Arch Linux on MacBook Pro Installation](http://codylittlewood.com/arch-linux-on-macbook-pro-installation/)
279 [//]: # "Exported with love from a post written in Org mode"
280 [//]: # "- https://github.com/kaushalmodi/ox-hugo"