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archlinux(7)
============

NAME
----
archlinux - basic configuration

SYNOPSIS
--------
Overview of the basic configuration of Arch Linux.

DESCRIPTION
-----------
Arch Linux exposes the user to the system without hiding any details.
This man page gives a brief overview of the configuration files that should be set up on a fresh install.

SYSTEM SERVICES[[S]]
--------------------
System services to be started at boot can be enabled using 'systemctl enable <name>'.
To view available services, use 'systemctl list-unit-files'.

HOSTNAME[[H]]
-------------
The hostname of the machine can be set using 'hostnamectl set-hostname <hostname>'.
It will then be written to /etc/hostname.

LOCALIZATION[[L]]
-----------------
Various locales may be enabled in /etc/locale.gen and are generated by 'locale-gen'.
The system-wide locale to be used can be configured in /etc/locale.conf.
These settings can be overridden on a per-user basis by keeping a user-specific locale.conf in $HOME/.config/locale.conf.
The user-specific file will take precedence if it exists.

VIRTUAL CONSOLE[[V]]
--------------------
The virtual console is configured in /etc/vconsole.conf.
It allows you to set a font and a keyboard layout, among other things.
Note that these settings only apply to the console and do not apply if you use X.

TIME[[T]]
---------
The local time zone is configured by calling 'timedatectl set-timezone <Region/City>'.
A relative *symlink* is then created from /etc/localtime to the correct zoneinfo file under /usr/share/zoneinfo/. For example,

    /etc/localtime -> ../usr/share/zoneinfo/Europe/Paris

The real-time clock, which keeps track of time when the computer is off, can be configured to either
be in UTC or in local time by calling 'timedatectl set-local-rtc <false|true>'.
The default is UTC.

FILE SYSTEMS[[F]]
-----------------
File systems are configured in /etc/fstab, and encryption mappings are configured in /etc/crypttab.

INITRAMFS[[R]]
--------------
The initramfs is generated by 'mkinitcpio -p <preset>'.
The default preset is "linux".
The initramfs can be configured in /etc/mkinitcpio.conf and must be regenerated after making configuration changes.

PACKAGE MANAGER[[P]]
--------------------
The package manager, pacman, is configured in /etc/pacman.conf.

BOOT LOADER[[B]]
----------------
GRUB's configuration is generated from /etc/default/grub by 'grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg'.
Syslinux is configured in /boot/syslinux/syslinux.cfg.

MODULES[[M]]
------------
Most modules should be loaded on-demand.
Modules to be unconditionally loaded at boot can be specified in /etc/modules-load.d/,
and modules to be blacklisted from automatically loading can be configured in /etc/modprobe.d/.

SEE ALSO
--------

*systemctl*(1), *hostnamectl*(1), *hostname*(5), *locale.conf*(5),
*vconsole.conf*(5), *timedatectl*(1), *timezone*(3), *hwclock*(8),
*fstab*(5), *crypttab*(5), *mkinitcpio*(8), *pacman*(8), *pacman.conf*(5),
*grub-mkconfig*(8), *syslinux*(1), *modules-load.d*(5), *modprobe.d*(5),
*systemd*(1)

AUTHORS
-------
Written by Tom Gundersen.