[~bandali/bndl.org] / posts / arch-macbook-air.md

title: Arch GNU/Linux on MacBook Air 2013
date: 2016-11-01 00:00
slug: arch-macbook-air
tags: arch, macbook
---

This post summarizes how I install and dual-boot Arch GNU/Linux with
Full-Disk Encryption alongside macOS.  It is not meant to be a
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/).  Rather, it
mostly serves as a small summary with a few useful notes about the
gotchas.

So, make sure you understand what you type into your terminal.  If you
don't, checking out the Arch wiki should probably be your first step.

_Note:_ you will need internet access throughout the installation and
the MacBook Air's WiFi doesn't work out of the box on Arch.  I
recommend using your phone's USB Tethering (if it does support it), or
using an Ethernet-USB adapter.

## Shrinking the macOS partition

The first step I take is resizing the HFS+ macOS partition to make
room for the new GNU/Linux installation.  There are plenty of
tutorials on how to do this using macOS's Disk Utility, so do that and
then come back!

## Creating a bootable Arch Installer USB

There are different ways of creating a bootable Arch USB, all
documented on the [USB flash installation
media](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/USB%5Fflash%5Finstallation%5Fmedia)
page on the Arch wiki, but the simplest one is using `dd` if you
already have access to another UNIX system.

**Warning:** make sure you backup the data on your flash drive, as
`dd` will irrevocably destroy all data on it.

Use `lsblk` to find the name (block device) of your USB drive, then
run `dd` (as root) as shown below:

```bash
dd bs=4M if=/path/to/archlinux.iso of=/dev/sdx status=progress && sync
```

Replace `/path/to/archlinux.iso` with the path to the Arch image you
have downloaded, and `/dev/sdx` with your drive.

## Booting up from the USB

After creating the install USB, reboot your laptop and hold the alt
key and boot into the USB.

When booting is complete and you're presented with the prompt, it's a
good time to make sure you're connected to the internet (see the
_note_ at the top of this post).

Use `ping` to verify that you've established a connection:

```bash
ping archlinux.org
```

## Updating the system clock

Once you're connected to the internet, make sure the system clock is
accurate:

```bash
timedatectl set-ntp true  # start and enable systemd-timesyncd
```

You can check the service status using `timedatectl status`.

## Partitioning

I won't dive into partitioning and instead, I'll refer you to the
[Partitioning](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Partitioning) page
of Arch wiki. Of the available partitioning tools, I personally prefer
`cfdisk`.

## Setting up LVM & LUKS

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 partition.

First, let's set up the underlying encrypted partition:

```bash
cryptsetup -v --cipher aes-xts-plain64 --key-size 512 --hash sha512 \
           --iter-time 5000 --use-urandom -y luksFormat /dev/sdaX
```

where `/dev/sdaX` is the partition you created in the last step
(e.g. `/dev/sda4`). For more information about the `cryptsetup`
options, see the [LUKS encryption
options](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Dm-crypt/Device%5Fencryption#Encryption%5Foptions%5Ffor%5FLUKS%5Fmode).

Then we open the container:

```bash
cryptsetup open --type luks /dev/sdaX lvm
```

Now it's time to use lvm and prepare the logical volume(s):

```bash
pvcreate /dev/mapper/lvm
vgcreate vg /dev/mapper/lvm
lvcreate --extents +100%FREE -n root vg
```

This will create a physical volume on the mapping we just opened,
create a volume group named `vg` on the physical volume, and create a
logical volume named `root` that spans the entire volume group. More
complex setups are possible thanks to the great flexibility of lvm.

We now format the logical volume with `ext4`:

```bash
mkfs.ext4 /dev/mapper/vg-root
```

## Installing the base system

Let's mount the logical volume, make a directory for the mount point
of the boot partition, and mount the boot partition (`/dev/sda1`):

```bash
mount /dev/mapper/vg-root /mnt
mkdir /mnt/boot
mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/boot
```

Finally, let's install the base system (and optionally `base-devel`):

```bash
pacstrap /mnt base base-devel
```

## Configuring the system

Let's generate the fstab:

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

Use your favorite terminal-based editor, edit the fstab file and add
the `discard` option for the root partition to enable TRIM on the SSD.

Now we change root into our newly installed system and will configure
it. Adjust these according to your own setup.

```bash
arch-chroot /mnt /bin/bash
passwd  # set the root password
echo myhostname > /etc/hostname  # set the hostname
ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/Canada/Eastern /etc/localtime  # time zone
hwclock --systohc --utc   # write system clock to hardware clock (UTC)
useradd -m -G wheel -s /bin/bash myuser  # create myuser
passwd myuser  # set the password for myuser
echo "myuser ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL" >> /etc/sudoers.d/myuser
# uncomment en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8 and other needed locales in /etc/locale.gen
locale-gen
echo LANG=en_US.UTF-8 > /etc/locale.conf
export LANG=en_US.UTF-8
```

Then adjust the initramfs hooks in `/etc/mkinitcpio.conf` and enable
the `encrypt` and `lvm2` hooks, and make sure `keyboard` is available
before `encrypt` so you can actually type in the LUKS password when
booting. Your `HOOKS` line should look similar to this:

```nil
HOOKS=(base udev autodetect keyboard keymap consolefont modconf block encrypt lvm2 filesystems fsck)
```

After adjusting the hooks, build the initramfs:

```bash
mkinitcpio -p linux
```

Create the `/boot/loader/loader.conf` with the following content
(adjust the timeout to your liking):

```nil
default arch
timeout 3
```

Then create the entry for Arch:

```bash
mkdir -p /boot/loader/entries
touch /boot/loader/entries/arch.conf
```

Now edit `/boot/loader/entries/arch.conf` to specify the Arch entry:

```nil
title    Arch GNU/Linux
linux    /vmlinuz-linux
initrd   /intel-ucode.img
initrd   /initramfs-linux.img
options  cryptdevice=/dev/sdaX:vg:allow-discards root=/dev/mapper/vg-root rw
```

Again, `/dev/sdaX` is the partition you created in the partitioning
step earlier as the underlying encrypted partition.

Finally, install the bootloader, exit the chroot, umount and reboot!

```bash
bootctl install
exit
umount -R /mnt
reboot
```

## Post-installation recommendations

Congratulations! You now have a minimal Arch installation.

At this point, I usually install my favorite AUR helper,
[pacaur](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/pacaur/), then I install
the
[mba6x\_bl-dkms](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/mba6x%5Fbl-dkms/)
backlight driver to fix the post suspend/resume issue where there's no
brightness after waking up from suspend, and the only available
brightness would be 100%.

```bash
pacaur -S linux-headers dkms  # linux-headers is required for dkms
pacaur -S broadcom-wl-dkms
pacaur -S mba6x_bl-dkms
```

Then, I'd like to install

-   input, graphics, and sound drivers,
-   a desktop environment (I prefer Xfce or LXQt),
-   a display manager for login screen (lightdm or sddm), and
-   a network manager (NetworkManager or ConnMan).

Check out the [General
recommendations](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/General%5Frecommendations)
for more details.

## References

Here are some resources I've come across each with lots of useful bits
and pieces, about installing Arch on a MacBook:

-   [pandeiro/arch-on-air](https://github.com/pandeiro/arch-on-air)
-   [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/)
-   [Installing Archlinux on Macbook Air 2013](http://frankshin.com/installing-archlinux-on-macbook-air-2013/)
-   [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/)
-   [Installing (encrypted) Arch Linux on an Apple MacBook Pro](https://visual-assault.org/2016/03/05/install-encrypted-arch-linux-on-apple-macbook-pro/)
-   [Installing Arch Linux on a MacBook Air 2013](http://alexeyzabelin.com/arch-on-mac)
-   [Arch Linux running on my MacBook](https://medium.com/phils-thought-bubble-of-recent-stuff/arch-linux-running-on-my-macbook-2ea525ebefe3)
-   [Dual boot Arch Linux on MacBook Pro Installation](http://codylittlewood.com/arch-linux-on-macbook-pro-installation/)
Commit	Line	Data
dd631811 AB	1	title: Arch GNU/Linux on MacBook Air 2013
	2	date: 2016-11-01 00:00
	3	slug: arch-macbook-air
	4	tags: arch, macbook
	5	---
	6
	7	This post summarizes how I install and dual-boot Arch GNU/Linux with
	8	Full-Disk Encryption alongside macOS. It is not meant to be a
	9	replacement for the [Installation
	10	Guide](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/installation%5Fguide) or
	11	the former [Beginner's
	12	Guide](https://csdietz.github.io/arch-beginner-guide/). Rather, it
	13	mostly serves as a small summary with a few useful notes about the
	14	gotchas.
	15
	16	So, make sure you understand what you type into your terminal. If you
	17	don't, checking out the Arch wiki should probably be your first step.
	18
	19	_Note:_ you will need internet access throughout the installation and
	20	the MacBook Air's WiFi doesn't work out of the box on Arch. I
	21	recommend using your phone's USB Tethering (if it does support it), or
	22	using an Ethernet-USB adapter.
	23
	24	## Shrinking the macOS partition
	25
	26	The first step I take is resizing the HFS+ macOS partition to make
	27	room for the new GNU/Linux installation. There are plenty of
	28	tutorials on how to do this using macOS's Disk Utility, so do that and
	29	then come back!
	30
	31	## Creating a bootable Arch Installer USB
	32
	33	There are different ways of creating a bootable Arch USB, all
	34	documented on the [USB flash installation
	35	media](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/USB%5Fflash%5Finstallation%5Fmedia)
	36	page on the Arch wiki, but the simplest one is using `dd` if you
	37	already have access to another UNIX system.
	38
	39	Warning: make sure you backup the data on your flash drive, as
	40	`dd` will irrevocably destroy all data on it.
	41
	42	Use `lsblk` to find the name (block device) of your USB drive, then
	43	run `dd` (as root) as shown below:
	44
	45	```bash
	46	dd bs=4M if=/path/to/archlinux.iso of=/dev/sdx status=progress && sync
	47	```
	48
	49	Replace `/path/to/archlinux.iso` with the path to the Arch image you
	50	have downloaded, and `/dev/sdx` with your drive.
	51
	52	## Booting up from the USB
	53
	54	After creating the install USB, reboot your laptop and hold the alt
	55	key and boot into the USB.
	56
	57	When booting is complete and you're presented with the prompt, it's a
	58	good time to make sure you're connected to the internet (see the
	59	_note_ at the top of this post).
	60
	61	Use `ping` to verify that you've established a connection:
	62
	63	```bash
	64	ping archlinux.org
65	```
66
67	## Updating the system clock
68
69	Once you're connected to the internet, make sure the system clock is
70	accurate:
71
72	```bash
73	timedatectl set-ntp true # start and enable systemd-timesyncd
74	```
75
76	You can check the service status using `timedatectl status`.
77
78	## Partitioning
79
80	I won't dive into partitioning and instead, I'll refer you to the
81	[Partitioning](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Partitioning) page
82	of Arch wiki. Of the available partitioning tools, I personally prefer
83	`cfdisk`.
84
85	## Setting up LVM & LUKS
86
87	I use a [LVM on
88	LUKS](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Dm-crypt/Encrypting%5Fan%5Fentire%5Fsystem#LVM%5Fon%5FLUKS)
89	setup, where I set up LVM on top of the encrypted partition.
90
91	First, let's set up the underlying encrypted partition:
92
93	```bash
94	cryptsetup -v --cipher aes-xts-plain64 --key-size 512 --hash sha512 \
95	--iter-time 5000 --use-urandom -y luksFormat /dev/sdaX
96	```
97
98	where `/dev/sdaX` is the partition you created in the last step
99	(e.g. `/dev/sda4`). For more information about the `cryptsetup`
100	options, see the [LUKS encryption
101	options](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Dm-crypt/Device%5Fencryption#Encryption%5Foptions%5Ffor%5FLUKS%5Fmode).
102
103	Then we open the container:
104
105	```bash
106	cryptsetup open --type luks /dev/sdaX lvm
107	```
108
109	Now it's time to use lvm and prepare the logical volume(s):
110
111	```bash
112	pvcreate /dev/mapper/lvm
113	vgcreate vg /dev/mapper/lvm
114	lvcreate --extents +100%FREE -n root vg
115	```
116
117	This will create a physical volume on the mapping we just opened,
118	create a volume group named `vg` on the physical volume, and create a
119	logical volume named `root` that spans the entire volume group. More
120	complex setups are possible thanks to the great flexibility of lvm.
121
122	We now format the logical volume with `ext4`:
123
124	```bash
125	mkfs.ext4 /dev/mapper/vg-root
126	```
127
128	## Installing the base system
129
130	Let's mount the logical volume, make a directory for the mount point
131	of the boot partition, and mount the boot partition (`/dev/sda1`):
132
133	```bash
134	mount /dev/mapper/vg-root /mnt
135	mkdir /mnt/boot
136	mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/boot
137	```
138
139	Finally, let's install the base system (and optionally `base-devel`):
140
141	```bash
142	pacstrap /mnt base base-devel
143	```
144
145	## Configuring the system
146
147	Let's generate the fstab:
148
149	```bash
150	genfstab -U /mnt >> /mnt/etc/fstab
151	```
152
153	Use your favorite terminal-based editor, edit the fstab file and add
154	the `discard` option for the root partition to enable TRIM on the SSD.
155
156	Now we change root into our newly installed system and will configure
157	it. Adjust these according to your own setup.
158
159	```bash
160	arch-chroot /mnt /bin/bash
161	passwd # set the root password
162	echo myhostname > /etc/hostname # set the hostname
163	ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/Canada/Eastern /etc/localtime # time zone
164	hwclock --systohc --utc # write system clock to hardware clock (UTC)
165	useradd -m -G wheel -s /bin/bash myuser # create myuser
166	passwd myuser # set the password for myuser
167	echo "myuser ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL" >> /etc/sudoers.d/myuser
168	# uncomment en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8 and other needed locales in /etc/locale.gen
169	locale-gen
170	echo LANG=en_US.UTF-8 > /etc/locale.conf
171	export LANG=en_US.UTF-8
172	```
173
174	Then adjust the initramfs hooks in `/etc/mkinitcpio.conf` and enable
175	the `encrypt` and `lvm2` hooks, and make sure `keyboard` is available
176	before `encrypt` so you can actually type in the LUKS password when
177	booting. Your `HOOKS` line should look similar to this:
178
179	```nil
180	HOOKS=(base udev autodetect keyboard keymap consolefont modconf block encrypt lvm2 filesystems fsck)
181	```
182
183	After adjusting the hooks, build the initramfs:
184
185	```bash
186	mkinitcpio -p linux
187	```
188
dd631811 AB	189	Create the `/boot/loader/loader.conf` with the following content
	190	(adjust the timeout to your liking):
	191
	192	```nil
	193	default arch
	194	timeout 3
	195	```
	196
	197	Then create the entry for Arch:
	198
	199	```bash
	200	mkdir -p /boot/loader/entries
	201	touch /boot/loader/entries/arch.conf
	202	```
	203
	204	Now edit `/boot/loader/entries/arch.conf` to specify the Arch entry:
	205
	206	```nil
	207	title Arch GNU/Linux
	208	linux /vmlinuz-linux
	209	initrd /intel-ucode.img
	210	initrd /initramfs-linux.img
	211	options cryptdevice=/dev/sdaX:vg:allow-discards root=/dev/mapper/vg-root rw
	212	```
	213
	214	Again, `/dev/sdaX` is the partition you created in the partitioning
	215	step earlier as the underlying encrypted partition.
	216
	217	Finally, install the bootloader, exit the chroot, umount and reboot!
	218
	219	```bash
	220	bootctl install
	221	exit
	222	umount -R /mnt
	223	reboot
	224	```
	225
	226	## Post-installation recommendations
	227
	228	Congratulations! You now have a minimal Arch installation.
	229
	230	At this point, I usually install my favorite AUR helper,
	231	[pacaur](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/pacaur/), then I install
	232	the
dd631811	233	[mba6x\_bl-dkms](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/mba6x%5Fbl-dkms/)
19ecc5d3	234	backlight driver to fix the post suspend/resume issue where there's no
dd631811 AB	235	brightness after waking up from suspend, and the only available
	236	brightness would be 100%.
	237
	238	```bash
	239	pacaur -S linux-headers dkms # linux-headers is required for dkms
	240	pacaur -S broadcom-wl-dkms
	241	pacaur -S mba6x_bl-dkms
	242	```
	243
	244	Then, I'd like to install
	245
	246	- input, graphics, and sound drivers,
	247	- a desktop environment (I prefer Xfce or LXQt),
	248	- a display manager for login screen (lightdm or sddm), and
	249	- a network manager (NetworkManager or ConnMan).
	250
	251	Check out the [General
	252	recommendations](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/General%5Frecommendations)
	253	for more details.
	254
	255	## References
	256
	257	Here are some resources I've come across each with lots of useful bits
	258	and pieces, about installing Arch on a MacBook:
	259
	260	- [pandeiro/arch-on-air](https://github.com/pandeiro/arch-on-air)
	261	- [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/)
	262	- [Installing Archlinux on Macbook Air 2013](http://frankshin.com/installing-archlinux-on-macbook-air-2013/)
	263	- [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/)
	264	- [Installing (encrypted) Arch Linux on an Apple MacBook Pro](https://visual-assault.org/2016/03/05/install-encrypted-arch-linux-on-apple-macbook-pro/)
	265	- [Installing Arch Linux on a MacBook Air 2013](http://alexeyzabelin.com/arch-on-mac)
	266	- [Arch Linux running on my MacBook](https://medium.com/phils-thought-bubble-of-recent-stuff/arch-linux-running-on-my-macbook-2ea525ebefe3)
	267	- [Dual boot Arch Linux on MacBook Pro Installation](http://codylittlewood.com/arch-linux-on-macbook-pro-installation/)