Archinstall 2.7, which has been an option in ARCH Linux installation ISO images since April 2021, has been published. Archinstall is a console mode installer that can be used as an alternative to the manual mode of installation for the distribution. While a separate implementation of a graphic installation interface called Archinstall GUI has been developed, it has not been included in the Arch Linux installation images and has not been updated for more than three years.
Archinstall provides dialogue and automated modes of operation. In dialogue mode, the user is asked a series of questions that cover basic settings and actions from the installation manual. In automated mode, scripts can be used to deploy typical configurations. The installer also supports installation profiles such as “Desktop” for selecting a desktop environment (KDE, GNOME, AWESOME) and installing the necessary packages for its operation, or the “WebServer” and “Database” profiles for selecting and installing web server and DBMS components.
Among the changes in the new version of Archinstall are:
- Added support for the Unified Kernel Image (UKI) format, which combines a UEFI Boot Stub processor, Linux kernel image, and Initrd system environment in one file. The UKI image, generated in the distribution infrastructure and certified by the digital signature of the distribution, allows for the testing of integrity and reliability of not only the kernel but also the Initrd contents. This is important as the keys are extracted in this environment to decipher the root FS.
- When installing NVIDIA proprietary drivers, the NVIDIA-DKMS package is installed.
- Added the “–Skip-NTP” parameter to disable the determination and verification of the NTP server for systems where time is set manually.
- Added a more updated version check when starting Archinstall.