Arch Linux on the Framework Laptop 13 Pro

First, download Arch Linux from Arch's website. Arch Linux has a detailed installation guide that you can follow. We'll go through the steps in this Guide assuming you have a simple installation scenario of a fresh install on a blank drive.

Download balenaEtcher as a tool to create the USB installer from the ISO. balenaEtcher is available for MacOS. Install it.

Launch balenaEtcher. Insert your USB drive (8GB or larger). Click on "Flash from file" and select the Arch Linux iso that you downloaded. Click on "Select target" and choose your USB drive. Click "Flash" and wait a minute or two for it to complete.

Once the USB drive creation is complete, you can close balenaEtcher and eject the USB drive from your OS.

First, download Arch Linux from Arch's website. Arch Linux has a detailed installation guide that you can follow. We'll go through the steps in this Guide assuming you have a simple installation scenario of a fresh install on a blank drive.

New line.Download Rufus as a tool to create the USB installer from the ISO - select the top download option from the link provided. Rufus is available for Windows. Install it.

Launch Rufus. Insert your USB drive (8GB or larger). Click on "Flash from file" and select the Arch Linux iso that you downloaded. Click on "SELECT" and choose your USB drive. Click "START" and wait a minute or two for it to complete.

Enforce Secure Boot must be Disabled: While Arch Linux can be configured to support Secure Boot, the Live ISO does not ship with a signed bootloader by default. Information about Secure Boot on Framework Computers can be found here.

To disable Secure Boot, repeatedly tap F2 after turning on the computer to enter the BIOS Menu. Then use the arrow keys to select "Administer Secure Boot" then use the arrow keys to change "Enforce Secure Boot" to "Disabled". Press F10 to save the changes and reboot.

Information about implementing Secure Boot with Arch Linux can be found on the Arch Wiki.

Insert the USB drive into the powered off computer, and then power on. If an existing OS is installed on the Storage drive in your laptop, immediately after the power light turns on, repeatedly tap the F12 key.

If there is no internal storage drive installed or it is blank, the laptop will boot to the USB drive directly.

Hit Enter again to boot into and install Arch Linux.

This is a distribution of Linux that ships in an extremely minimal state. Please utilize the Arch Wiki to for more detailed information on how to install it.

This guide follows a fast track method for installation using archinstall designed to make the process more user friendly.

Once booted into a live environment, a command line is presented automatically logged in with the root account to provide full admin access.

Having root access means that anything targeting the internal drive or other drives connected to the computer can result of loss of data. If possible, back up any important data before continuing with this install process.

Start by connecting to a network. Wired networks over the Ethernet expansion card will automatically configure. For wireless networks use the command iwctl station wlan0 connect SSID replacing SSID with the name of the desired wireless network.

Once connected to the internet, install the latest version of the archinstall script by running pacman -Sy archinstall then entering Y when prompted.

When this finishes, start the archinstall script. The true Arch Linux installer starts here.

The starting point for archinstall is a list of stages, with the first stage being to select a language for the installer. The installer is primarily navigated using the arrow keys, enter key, and space bar.

After choosing a language for the installer, use the arrow keys and enter key to select Locales. If the default options shown are acceptable, this can be skipped.

Now use the keyboard to select the Mirrors and Repositories menu.

Choose "Select regions" and use the arrow keys to select the nearest geographic region to get the best performance for system updates.

Choose "Optional repositories" if the multilib repository is needed to provide libraries for packages such as Steam.

Select "Disk configuration" to bring up a screen showing just options for "Partitioning" and "Back". Choose "Partitioning".

Select "Use a best-effort partitioning layout" to enter the disk selection menu.

Select a disk for install by using the space bar to mark that disk with an X while its line is highlighted. Typically the disk should be the one with the path /dev/nvme0n1.

On the "Select main filesystem" screen, select the preferred filesystem. Users who do not know the differences between filesystems are probably safest choosing ext4 or xfs as these are generally considered time-tested.

btrfs includes additional prompts for choosing whether to use features like subvolumes, compression, and snapshots. More information about these features can be found on the Arch Wiki.

Encryption can be enabled by entering the Disk encryption submenu, choosing LUKS, then using the space bar to select the main partition made earlier for encryption.

Back out of "Disk configuration" when finished and enter the "Swap" menu. Here select Yes to enable zram, which uses compressed sections of system memory in place of a swap file or partition. Then select the default option of zstd for compression.

Select the "Bootloader" menu, then again the "Bootloader" submenu. For maximum compatibility and ease of maintenance later, select GRUB or Limine as a bootloader.

Back out of the "Bootloader" menu and move on to the "Kernels" menu. For simplicity's sake select Linux here.

Back out of the "Kernels" menu and enter the Hostname menu. This is where the name the computer uses to identify itself on the network is set. It is usually safest to limit this to alphanumeric characters.

After setting hostname, enter the "Authentication" menu to create the first user.

Root password can be skipped, which disables the administrator account. The first user created will be given administrator privileges.

Select "User account", then enter a username and password. After confirming the password, choose yes when asked if the new user should be a superuser. Then select "Confirm and exit".

Back out of "Authentication" and enter the "Profile" menu then the "Type" submenu. Select the "Desktop" profile. This will open a selection for desktops. Choose according to preference.

KDE, Gnome, and Cosmic will most likely be the most comfortable choices for users new to Linux.

Enter the "Graphics driver" submenu. The default of "All open-source" is safe and makes it easier to transfer the drive between computers.

Select a greeter if one was not already selected by the desktop selection. This is a matter of user preference.

Back out of "Profile" and enter the "Applications" to set up some essential apps and services including Bluetooth and Additional Fonts.

The recommended option for Audio is pipewire, and the recommended option for Power Management is tuned. It is also helpful to install all of the additional fonts.

Back out of "Applications" and enter the "Network configuration" menu. Select "Use Network Manager (default backend)" for the simplest configuration.

Back out of "Network Configuration". The "Pacman" section can be skipped as it only has a toggle for colorizing terminal text on compatible terminals and displays.

The "Additional Packages" section allows the user to install any additional packages that are not included in the selections made up to this point. It is optional and any packages that can be added in this section can also be added post-install.

Enter the "Timezone" to select the timezone for displayed time on the system. "Automatic time sync (NTP)" can be skipped as it is already enabled by default.

Select "Install" then confirm by selecting "Yes". Installation time will depend heavily on the internet speed.

Select "Reboot system" when the install is completed.

Arch Linux allows for many different choices of desktop environment or window manager, so this guide will focus on the command line method for enrolling fingerprints.

Install the package fprintd for managing fingerprints if it is not already installed. This can be done by opening a terminal and running sudo pacman -S fprintd.

With fprintd installed, fingerprints can be enrolled by running the command ``fprintd-enroll` which defaults to enrolling the right index finger.

Other fingers can be chosen by adding -f after the fprintd-enroll command. Fingers are named in all lower case with dashes used in place of spaces. For example fprintd-enroll -f right-middle-finger.

After running this command tap and lift the finger repeatedly until enrollment is complete.

Further information on the fprint can be found on the Arch Wiki.

If you're experiencing issues getting your fingerprint reader working, please follow our help guide to get your reader working for you on Fedora.

The Arch Wiki configuration knowledge base from the Arch Community.