--- /dev/null
+title: Arch Linux on MacBook Air 2013
+date: 2016-11-01
+---
+
+# Arch Linux on MacBook Air 2013
+
+This post summarizes how I install and dual-boot Arch Linux with
+Full-Disk Encryption alongside macOS. It is not meant to be a
+replacement for the [Installation Guide][installation] or the
+former [Beginner's Guide][beginners]. Rather, it mostly serves as a
+small summary with a few useful notes about the gotchas.
+
+[installation]: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/installation_guide
+[beginners]: https://csdietz.github.io/arch-beginner-guide/
+
+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 Linux. 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 <abbr>GNU/Linux</abbr> 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 Linux Installer USB
+
+There are different ways of creating a bootable Arch Linux USB, all
+documented on the [USB flash installation media][usb_install] page on
+the Arch wiki, but the simplest one is using `dd` if you already have
+access to another UNIX system.
+
+[usb_install]: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/USB_flash_installation_media
+
+<span class="red">Warning:</span> 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][partitioning] page of Arch wiki. Of the available
+partitioning tools, I personally prefer `cfdisk`.
+
+[partitioning]: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Partitioning
+
+## Setting up LVM & LUKS
+
+I use a [LVM on LUKS][lvm_on_luks] 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][luks_options].
+
+[lvm_on_luks]: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Dm-crypt/Encrypting_an_entire_system#LVM_on_LUKS
+[luks_options]: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Dm-crypt/Device_encryption#Encryption_options_for_LUKS_mode
+
+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:
+
+```
+HOOKS="base udev autodetect modconf block keyboard encrypt lvm2 filesystems fsck"
+```
+
+After adjusting the hooks, build the initramfs:
+
+``` bash
+mkinitcpio -p linux
+```
+
+Now, install the `intel-ucode` package. We'll configure the bootloader
+to enable intel microcode updates.
+
+``` bash
+pacman -S intel-ucode
+```
+
+Create the `/boot/loader/loader.conf` with the following content
+(adjust the timeout to your liking):
+
+```
+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:
+
+```
+title Arch 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 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][pacaur], then I
+install the [broadcom-wl-dkms][broadcom-wl-dkms] wireless driver
+and [mba6x_bl-dkms][mba6x_bl-dkms] backlight driver to fix the post
+suspend/resume issue where three's no brightness after waking up from
+suspend, and the only available brightness would be 100%.
+
+[broadcom-wl-dkms]: https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/broadcom-wl-dkms/
+[mba6x_bl-dkms]: https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/mba6x_bl-dkms/
+
+``` bash
+pacaur -S linux-headers dkms # linux-headers is required for dkms
+pacaur -S broadcom-wl-dkms
+pacaur -S mba6x_bl-dkms
+```
+
+[pacaur]: https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/pacaur/
+
+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][gen_reqs] for more details.
+
+[gen_reqs]: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/General_recommendations
+
+## 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/)
: "${RSS_AUTHOR:=amin@aminb.org}"
: "${RSS_DESCRIPTION:=Personal website}"
: "${COPYRIGHT_FROM_YEAR:=2016}"
+: "${DOCS:=out}"
##########################################################################
RSS_URL="$SERVER_PROTO://$SERVER_NAME/rss.xml"
SITEMAP="$TEMP_DIR/sitemap.xml"
-ANNOUNCEMENT_FILE="$PWD/announcement.html"
-FOOTER_FILE="$PWD/footer.html"
-HEADER_FILE="$PWD/header.html"
+ANNOUNCEMENT_FILE="$PWD/_announcement.html"
+FOOTER_FILE="$PWD/_footer.html"
+HEADER_FILE="$PWD/_header.html"
[ -f "$ANNOUNCEMENT_FILE" ] &&
ANNOUNCEMENT_TEXT=$(cat "$ANNOUNCEMENT_FILE")
[ -f "$HEADER_FILE" ] &&
[ -f "$FOOTER_FILE" ] &&
FOOTER=$(cat "$FOOTER_FILE") ||
FOOTER=$(cat << EOF
-Copyright $COPYRIGHT_YEAR–$(date +%Y)
-<a href="/about.html">$WEBSITE_TITLE</a>
+Copyright $COPYRIGHT_FROM_YEAR–$(date +%Y)
+<a href="/">$WEBSITE_TITLE</a>
+<span class="bar">|</span>
+<a href="/colophon">colophon</a>
EOF
)
md_to_html() {
find "$TEMP_DIR" -type f -name '*.md'|
while read -r file; do
- lowdown -D html-skiphtml -d metadata \
+ lowdown -D html-skiphtml -D html-head-ids \
"$file" > "${file%\.md}.html" &&
rm "$file"
done
/index.html)
title='Home'
head_title="$WEBSITE_TITLE"
- header__home=''
+ ;;
+ /contact.html)
+ head_title="Contact | $WEBSITE_TITLE"
;;
*)
title="${line#*====}"
- head_title="$title - $WEBSITE_TITLE"
- header__home="$HEADER"
+ head_title="$title | $WEBSITE_TITLE"
;;
esac
# merge page with html template
<input class="light-off" type="checkbox" id="light-off">
<div class="page">
$announcement
-<div class="header">
-<div class="header__left">$header__home</div>
-<div class="header__right">
-<label for="light-off" class="light-off-button"></label>
-</div>
-</div>
-<div class="article">$article</div>
-<div class="footer">$FOOTER</div>
+<header>
+$HEADER
+</header>
+<div class="article clear">$article</div>
+<footer>$FOOTER</footer>
</div>
</body>
</html>
projects / ~bandali / bndl.org / commitdiff