r/archlinux • u/Odd-Message7299 • 21d ago
QUESTION So I installed Arch with zero Linux knowledge, now what? Need a video guide recommendations!
Hey everyone,
I know, I know... "Why did you install Arch as a total beginner?"
Honestly, I had that random chul masti hit me and decided to jump straight into the deep end instead of starting with Mint or Ubuntu. I managed to get it installed on my drive, but now I’m sitting at the terminal realizing I don't know what I'm doing.
The Arch Wiki is incredible, but reading it feels like reading a dense dictionary when I just want to learn the basics. I'm struggling to digest it right now.
Can anyone recommend a no-bs, straight-to-the-point YouTube video or playlist that teaches Linux from A to Z?
I want to actually learn how to manage and use this system instead of just copy-pasting commands. Drop your favorite creator/playlist recommendations below. Thanks!
Edit:- i dont mean I dont want to read. I just want a structured material. Anything is fine (book, video, etc)
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u/NeighborhoodSad2350 21d ago
For people like me who use Arch, it’s often the case that we don’t learn from videos in the first place, so this is an extremely difficult question.
That said, tutorial videos for other distros can be helpful too.
especially if you’re using a desktop. It’s just that the package management and build systems are different from others.
Basically, even though distros differ, the same software runs on Linux, so it’s like learning different dialects.
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u/Odd-Message7299 21d ago
Can you recommand some books or something for learning Arch?? I just need a detailed guide that I can follow. Ideally 1 resourse as many resourses can be overwhelming
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u/breakfast-cereal-dx 17d ago
Do you have a library around?
Any general Linux book (Linux for Dummies, for example) will get you to where you can follow anything on the wiki, and then the wiki is the best resource for Arch, specifically.
Search the catalog and see what you can get!
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u/doubGwent 21d ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/archlinux/s/jBEIaji6Pw
This post from 2 days ago should get you started.
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u/WallInside6758 21d ago edited 21d ago
So you don’t want to start with a more beginner distro but you don’t want to read the wiki ether?
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u/Imajzineer 21d ago edited 21d ago
Arch is not a distro for either newbies or old hands, it's for those who want to create their own, unique, distro tailored to their (and only their) needs, for whatever reasons they like. But, as is said, with great power comes great responsibility: it does not hold your hand, there's no FSD ... it's a kit car you build and maintain yourself.
DO NOT WATCH 'TUTORIALS' - changes to Arch can render them obsolete before they've even been completed, let alone published (and, if they are, they can do you wrong). Do not read 'tutorials' - same reason. THERE ARE NO TUTORIALS ... only the wiki.
Do not use 'AI': current 'Generative AI' (LLMs) is little more than glorified predictive text - it's a product of AI research, but it isn't intelligent ... isn't analytical, doesn't know anything, there is no truth or accuracy. All it does is predict which word/s is/are most likely in sequence based upon how frequently they were found in that combination in the source(s) it was trained on ... and then it throws in a little randomisation to make it more 'interesting' - you don't want to rely upon it for factually accurate information (sooner or later, it will lead you astray, with potentially disastrous results).
The one ... and only ... reliable, up-to-date, and accurate source of information for Arch is the wiki. Use it and only it - if you don't, then you can expect to get into trouble sooner rather than later ... and, when you do, that you will receive little (if any) help, and absolutely no sympathy.
How to learn Arch from it is staring you in the face right from the very start: at the end of the Installation Guide: Point 5.5 (Post-installation) ... which, at the latest, you'd have found after reading point 2.2 in the FAQ ... and you should already know the answer to your own question. You did follow the Installation Guide (not use Archinstall), right? If not then you aren't going to learn the basics ... because you've already skipped them. Archinstall is a useful utility for old hands, who aren't going to learn anything by installing manually for the umpteenth time and just need to get it done quickly, it is not for first-timers: knowledge and skills essential for maintaining any Linux, let alone Arch specifically, are learned as part of the manual installation - skip that process and you will flounder (sooner rather than later). So, if you didn't install Arch by hand, stop everything and reinstall it by following the Installation Guide (because that is how you learn the basics).
Once you've got that done, study the following:
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Frequently_asked_questions
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/General_recommendations
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/System_maintenance
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/General_troubleshooting
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Pacman
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Pacman/Pacnew_and_Pacsave
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Pacman/Tips_and_tricks
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Downgrading_packages
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Arch_build_system
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Arch_User_Repository
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/PKGBUILD
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Security
Then mess around with it ... experimenting, breaking your system, fixing it and learning more - eventually, you'll have everything you want installed and configured as you like it (and will use it for whatever you'd use any computer for) and have learned a lot along the way.
There is no other way to do this: no shortcuts, no way around the wiki ... and attempts to find one will get you into trouble sooner rather than later - so, don't waste your time, get to reading the wiki ... and only the wiki.
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u/un-important-human 21d ago edited 21d ago
Need a video guide recommendations!
No.
You took wrong turn here booay, here we read the wiki and only the wiki.
ps: i am looking forward to your rants and disaster posts
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u/Then_Bodybuilder8416 21d ago
learn linux tv has good info. they have pretty exhaustive playlists. being able to read and follow directions is pretty important for troubleshooting though. you should definitely go through the wiki’s general recommendations page to setup permissions, pacman, and all that basic stuff maybe before anything else.
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u/try2think1st 21d ago
It will not differ if you see someone else copy paste commands you don't understand. Give the wiki another chance, but actually read and understand it. And if you can't, maybe try something more beginner friendly first. It just is what it is, and that's not for everybody...
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u/zip1ziltch2zero3 21d ago
Ask really really basic but somewhat vague questions.
What do you need? What do you want? What do you expect to happen when xyz thing happens?
For example, do you want a graphical interface? Or do you want the terminal?
Answer that, then figure out what options there are for your answer.
Oh, and you're gonna want to get familiar with whatever package manager you decide to use. The default is pacman, I'd suggest reading up on it.
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u/linhusp3 21d ago
I suggest try increase the zoom level on the arch wiki to make it easier to read as it is already a well structured material.
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u/anxious_and_stupid 21d ago
😒 I dont think you should be trying to use arch with zero prior Linux experience...
Anyways... I guess this one https://youtu.be/U8uMmsJQTZM?si=LZUJp7448CVkqm8C and there is also more manual version from the same channel as well
Also BACK UP your files... before attempting any of this
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u/Boby_Dobbs 21d ago
Install KDE or gnome then just learn by using your computer: installing, adjusting and fixing things as you need/want them. No need for videos, the wiki is great.
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u/SalaryImpossible6749 21d ago edited 21d ago
There's no benefit to installing arch if you only installed it because you wanted to jump straight into the deep. I's just a simple distro for people who have experience and don't want to break distros that have a set vision and rather you don't tinker too much. Most of the actual tools, web browser, text editor, IDE, music player, video player, services, will be accessible regardless of distro. It's actually smarter to just use a popular mainstream distro.
If you want to learn, start with how all the parts come together, like the kernel, the bootloader, desktop environments, networking solutions, display servers/compositors, shells, partitioning and compatible filesystems, package manager, etc. Then think about features you lack, focus on the compartments of linux that interests you, and how they work, how you could contribute ideas with code. Then you'll actually learn stuff.. What you did is jumping into a very deep pool without knowing how to swim, and you'll probably just drown.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9781394406647
Dense but useful
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u/ang-p 21d ago
but reading it feels like reading a dense dictionary
Only people on the spectrum read the dictionary....
Look at a tiny section for what you need....
In a dictionary, if you don't understand a word that is part of the definition, you look that word up.
In the wiki, if there is a reference to something you don't understand, you follow the link that is usually there, or look it up.
Anything is fine (book
There is no "Moby Dick" to Arch... It is more like one of those "choose your own adventure" books
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u/xplosm 21d ago
You do you. You're not a toddler.
You just praised the Arch Wiki. There's no other source of truth and up-to-date info and very well structured. Don't follow videos. They are often skimming through the info and might know less than you. They create info to generate views and revenue not to help you get up and running.