archinstall changed the way Arch Linux is installed. It's still not a graphical installer, but using something guided has made more users turn to Arch Linux. There won't be too many, since you still have to start almost from scratch and you have to make all the decisions, but aid never hurts. If the Arch base is used more, it is thanks to the distributions that do use a graphical installer, and GarudaLinux it has that and also a visually appealing user experience with good performance.
Today we are going to explain how to install Garuda Linux step by step. Regarding the installation, the good thing about this and other Linux distributions is that they use Squid, a graphical installer that allows you to install the operating system in an easy and intuitive way. As if that were not enough, and as we will explain later, it allows you to install it on removable drives without any danger, and not like others that I know that, although it is true that they allow it, it is also true that if you do not do it as it wants, it can kidnap you. the GRUB.
Garuda Linux Installation Process
First of all, you have to create an installation USB. To do this you can choose software such as (Raspberry Pi) Imager, Etcher (here a tutorial) or even dd. The download page is this, and later we will talk a little about the editions in which it is available.
With the USB created, to install Garuda Linux you have to follow these steps:
- The first thing we will see will be a screen like the following. It's not a major step for the installation itself, but it's worth getting into (selecting with the keyboard arrows and Enter) to tz and choose the time zone, to keytable and choose the keyboard layout already long and choose the language of the interface. From here we can also choose if we want to use the NVIDIA drivers or not.
- Once we enter the operating system we will see a welcome window. We can start the installer from it or close it and do it from the shortcut on the desktop. Double click on the “Install Garuda Linux” icon.
- When Calamares opens, the first thing we have to do is choose the language, which will already appear in ours if we have indicated it in the first step, and then click on "Next".
- In the next we have to choose the time zone, which will also be on your site if we have indicated it in the first step. If not, with the mouse we click on our country, and below you can click on one or both of the "Change..." buttons to change the interface language and the format of numbers and dates. Once it is as we like, we click on “Next”.
- The next window will also be configured automatically if we have done the first step, but it is already the last one that we will not have to configure for ourselves. Choose a language, the variant and click on "Next". As data, below there is a text box where you can test that the keys work as expected.
- The window that we will see next will be the one of the installation itself. By default it already detects the hard drive and how it should be. Here we can choose to erase the entire disk, if we want to add swap and how (with hibernation, without hibernation or to file) or do it manually. If the manual option is chosen, we will have to indicate the mount point, the personal folder, the root and others. It is not recommended for inexperienced users, and at most it is recommended to accept dualboot, an option that will appear if we already have an operating system installed. Once this step is configured, we click on “Next” again.
- The next window is the user creation window. We put the full name, if we wish, then the username, the team name and the passwords. In this step we can also tell him to log in without asking for the password and if we want it to be the same for the administrator. If we uncheck the last verification box we can create a user root for the most important tasks. With everything filled out, click on “Next”.
- Next we will see a window with a summary. We look at everything it shows to make sure that it is what we want and click on “Install”. As a two-step verification, a pop-up window will appear and we have to click on “Install now”.
- We wait for the installation to finish.
- And that would be all. Now we can check the "Restart now" box and click "Done" to restart, or turn off the computer and do it manually. The only important thing is that when restarting the USB is no longer in the port, since if it is, it will start the Live Session again.
How to install it on a flash drive
As we have mentioned, Garuda Linux uses Calamares to install the operating system, which makes things much easier. We wrote a file a while back on how to do the same in Manjaro, and it's perfectly valid for Garuda. The link, although with its time, is this, and basically it explains that you have to use two flash drives, one for the Live Session and another to install the operating system, and in the installation step choose the installation USB as the destination drive. It is not necessary to do any extra steps to make sure that it is not going to touch anything on the hard drive, but it is necessary to check several times so as not to delete anything that we do not want.
Installing the operating system on a flash drive will allow us to take it anywhere, but keep a couple of things in mind: the performance is not the same as if we installed it on the hard disk, especially if it is SSD; And if we use it on different computers, be careful with updating the system or doing certain things, since it can install drivers that we don't want to have. But, uh, I have used and still use Ubuntu, KDE neon, Garuda itself...
Garuda Linux Editions
As promised, at this point we are going to talk over the editions of Garuda Linux:
- There are up to four editions with KDE:
- KDE Dr460nized would be the main version. It is the one with the colorful design, with the Malefor background and, ultimately, the one that is seen in most of the captures.
- KDE Dr460nized Gaming Edition. When I told you that most of the screenshots are from the normal edition, I told a little lie: the ones in this tutorial are from the Gaming Edition. It is the same as the normal one, but it has installed by default everything necessary to improve the gaming experience. Among them, Steam, Proton, WINE, several games, emulators... To be honest, I think that having it all will make us have some software, and I would recommend using the normal edition and installing what we want from the Gamer section of the wizard. But for those who want to have it all after installing dero, choose this Gaming edition.
- Linux KDE lite is an edition without customization like Garuda, that is, Garuda Linux with the typical KDE interface and without extra software.
- Linux KDE-git is the one that gets the KDE software the soonest, also with a pure KDE without extra software. This and the previous one are for advanced users.
- The rest of the options it is in are GNOME, Cinnamon, Xfce, MATE, LXQT-Kwin, Wayfire, Sway, i3wm and Qtile, all without customization as unique as Dr460n1z3d.
How to set up Garuda Linux
The good thing about Garuda Linux is that it is already designed with the end user in mind, so there is little to nothing to configure. Yes, some advice can be given on what to do after installation, and personally I would say that you have to take a walk through the wizard and make the tweaks that suit you best.
For example, we can enter the Gamer Zone and install emulators and games, and also access the kernel section (search in the application launcher) and install another version of Linux. The Zen kernel can work very well, but in some scenarios it might not. It is recommended to install at least one Mainline kernel, preferably an LTS one. It is also recommended to install some software store, like Pamac or Bauh. The first is the one that has worked best for me to apply large updates, and the second is life insurance if we want to install packages of all kinds, including AppImage and webapps.
If you are thinking of taking a new leap, Garuda Linux is an option that must be taken into account.