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| General recommendations
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| == System administration ==
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| This section deals with administrative tasks and system management. See [[Core utilities]] and [[:Category:System administration]] for more.
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| === Users and groups ===
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| A new installation leaves you with only the [[Wikipedia:Superuser|superuser]] account, better known as "root". Logging in as root for prolonged periods of time, possibly even exposing it via [[SSH]] on a server, [https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/192365/is-it-ok-to-use-the-root-user-as-a-normal-user/192422#192422 is insecure]. Instead, you should create and use unprivileged user account(s) for most tasks, only using the root account for system administration. See [[Users and groups#User management]] for details.
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| Users and groups are a mechanism for ''access control''; administrators may fine-tune group membership and ownership to grant or deny users and services access to system resources. Read the [[Users and groups]] article for details and potential security risks.
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| === Security ===
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| Read [[Security]] for recommendations and best practices on hardening the system.
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| For a list of applications to allow running commands or starting an interactive shell as another user (e.g. root), see [[List of applications/Security#Privilege elevation]].
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| === Service management ===
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| Arch Linux uses [[systemd]] as the [[init]] process, which is a system and service manager for Linux. For maintaining your Arch Linux installation, it is a good idea to learn the basics about it.
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| Interaction with ''systemd'' is done through the ''systemctl'' command. See [[systemd#Basic systemctl usage]] for more information.
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| A logging system is also provided, with the command ''journalctl''. See [[journal]] for more information.
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| === System maintenance ===
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| Arch is a rolling release system and has rapid package turnover, so users have to take some time to do [[system maintenance]].
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| == Package management ==
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| This section contains helpful information related to package management. See [[FAQ#Package management]] and [[:Category:Package management]] for more.
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| {{Note|It is imperative to keep up to date with changes in Arch Linux that require manual intervention '''before''' upgrading your system. Subscribe to the [https://lists.archlinux.org/mailman3/lists/arch-announce.lists.archlinux.org/ arch-announce mailing list] or the [https://archlinux.org/feeds/news/ recent news RSS feed]. Alternatively, check the front page [https://archlinux.org/ Arch news] every time before you update.}}
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| === pacman ===
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| [[pacman]] is the Arch Linux ''pac''kage ''man''ager: it is highly encouraged to become familiar with it before reading any other articles.
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| To enable downloading packages in parallel, see [[pacman#Enabling parallel downloads]].
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| For long term handling of cached packages, see [[pacman#Cleaning the package cache]].
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| See [[pacman/Tips and tricks]] for suggestions on how to improve your interaction with ''pacman'' and package management in general.
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| === Repositories ===
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| See the [[Official repositories]] article for details about the purpose of each officially maintained repository.
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| If you plan on using 32-bit applications, you will want to enable the [[multilib]] repository.
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| The [[Unofficial user repositories]] article lists several other unsupported repositories.
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| You may consider installing the [[pkgstats]] service.
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| === Mirrors ===
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| Visit the [[Mirrors]] article for steps on taking full advantage of using the fastest and most up to date mirrors of the official repositories. As explained in the article, a particularly good advice is to routinely check the [https://archlinux.org/mirrors/status/ Mirror Status] page for a list of mirrors that have been recently synced. This can be automated with [[Reflector]].
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| === Arch Build System ===
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| ''Ports'' is a system initially used by BSD distributions consisting of build scripts that reside in a directory tree on the local system. Simply put, each port contains a script within a directory intuitively named after the installable third-party application.
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| The [[Arch build system]] offers the same functionality by providing build scripts called [[PKGBUILD]]s, which are populated with information for a given piece of software: integrity hashes, project URL, version, license and build instructions. These PKGBUILDs are parsed by [[makepkg]], the actual program that generates packages that are cleanly manageable by ''pacman''.
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| Every package in the repositories along with those present in the AUR are subject to recompilation with ''makepkg''.
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| === Arch User Repository ===
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| While the Arch Build System allows the ability of building software available in the official repositories, the [[Arch User Repository]] (AUR) is the equivalent for user submitted packages. It is an unsupported repository of build scripts accessible through the [https://aur.archlinux.org/ web interface] or through the [[Aurweb RPC interface]].
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| == Booting ==
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| This section contains information pertaining to the boot process. An overview of the Arch boot process can be found at [[Arch boot process]]. See [[:Category:Boot process]] for more.
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| === Hardware auto-recognition ===
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| Hardware should be auto-detected by [[udev]] during the boot process by default. A potential improvement in boot time can be achieved by disabling module auto-loading and specifying required modules manually, as described in [[Kernel modules]]. Additionally, [[Xorg]] should be able to auto-detect required drivers using {{ic|udev}}, but users have the option to configure the X server manually too.
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| === Microcode ===
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| Processors may have [https://www.anandtech.com/show/8376/intel-disables-tsx-instructions-erratum-found-in-haswell-haswelleep-broadwelly faulty behaviour], which the kernel can correct by updating the ''microcode'' on startup. See [[Microcode]] for details.
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| === Retaining boot messages ===
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| Once the login prompt appears, the messages from boot are cleared, leaving users unable to gather feedback from them. [[Disable clearing of boot messages]] to overcome this limitation.
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| === Num Lock activation ===
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| [[Wikipedia:Num Lock|Num Lock]] is a toggle key found in most keyboards. For activating Num Lock's number key-assignment during startup, see [[Activating numlock on bootup]].
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| == Graphical user interface ==
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| This section provides orientation for users wishing to run graphical applications on their system. See [[:Category:Graphical user interfaces]] for additional resources.
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| === Display server ===
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| [[Xorg]] is the public, open-source implementation of the [[Wikipedia:X Window System|X Window System]] (commonly X11, or X). It is required for running applications with graphical user interfaces (GUIs).
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| [[Wayland]] is a newer, alternative display server protocol with several [[Wayland#Compositors|compositors]] to choose from. Its advantages over Xorg are enhanced security features, more efficient handling of modern graphics tasks and active development while retaining compatibility through [[Xwayland]].
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| === Display drivers ===
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| The default ''modesetting'' display driver will work with most video cards, but performance may be improved and additional features harnessed by installing the [[Xorg#Driver installation|appropriate driver]] for [[Xorg#AMD|AMD]] or [[NVIDIA]] products.
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| === Desktop environments ===
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| Although the display server provides the basic framework for building a graphical environment, additional components may be considered necessary for a complete user experience. [[Desktop environment]]s such as [[KDE]], [[GNOME]], [[Xfce]], [[Cinnamon]], [[LXDE]], bundle together a wide range of well-integrated applications, such as a window manager or compositor, panel/taskbar, file manager, terminal emulator, text editor, icons, and other utilities. Users with less experience may wish to install a desktop environment for a more familiar environment. See [[:Category:Desktop environments]] for additional resources.
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| === Window managers or compositors ===
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| A full-fledged desktop environment provides a complete and consistent graphical user interface, but tends to consume a good amount of system resources. Users seeking to maximize performance or otherwise simplify their environment may opt to install a [[window manager]] or [[Wayland#Compositors|compositor]] alone and hand-pick desired extras. Using [[Xorg]], most desktop environments allow use of an alternative window manager as well. [[:Category:Dynamic window managers|Dynamic]], [[:Category:Stacking window managers|stacking]], and [[:Category:Tiling window managers|tiling]] window managers differ in their handling of window placement.
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| === Display manager ===
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| Most desktop environments include a [[display manager]] for automatically starting the graphical environment and managing user logins. Users without a desktop environment can install one separately. Alternatively you may [[start X at login]] as a simple alternative to a display manager.
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| === User directories ===
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| Well-known user directories like Downloads or Music are created by the {{ic|xdg-user-dirs-update.service}} user service, that is provided by {{Pkg|xdg-user-dirs}} and enabled by default upon install. If your desktop environment or window manager does not pull in the package, you can [[install]] it and run {{ic|xdg-user-dirs-update}} manually as per [[XDG user directories#Creating default directories]].
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| == Power management ==
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| This section may be of use to laptop owners or users otherwise seeking power management controls. See [[:Category:Power management]] for more.
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| See [[Power management]] for more general overview.
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| === ACPI events ===
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| Users can configure how the system reacts to ACPI events such as pressing the power button or closing a laptop's lid. For the recommended method using [[systemd]], see [[Power management#ACPI events]]. For the old method, see [[acpid]].
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| === CPU frequency scaling ===
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| Modern processors can decrease their frequency and voltage to reduce heat and power consumption. Less heat leads to more quiet system and prolongs the life of hardware. See [[CPU frequency scaling]] for details.
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| === Laptops ===
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| For articles related to portable computing along with model-specific installation guides, please see [[:Category:Laptops]]. For a general overview of laptop-related articles and recommendations, see [[Laptop]].
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| === Suspend and hibernate ===
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| See the main article: [[Power management/Suspend and hibernate]].
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| == Multimedia ==
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| [[:Category:Multimedia]] includes additional resources.
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| === Sound system ===
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| [[ALSA]] is a kernel [[sound system]] that should work out the box (it just needs to be [[Advanced Linux Sound Architecture#Unmuting the channels|unmuted]]). [[Sound server]]s such as [[PipeWire]] and [[PulseAudio]] can offer additional features and support more complex audio configuration.
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| See [[Professional audio]] for advanced audio requirements.
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| == Networking ==
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| This section is confined to small networking procedures. See [[Network configuration]] for a full configuration guide and [[:Category:Networking]] for related articles.
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| === DNS security ===
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| For better security while browsing the web, paying online, connecting to [[SSH]] services and similar tasks consider using [[DNSSEC]]-enabled [[DNS resolver]] that can validate signed [[Wikipedia:Domain Name System|DNS]] records, and an encrypted protocol such as [[Wikipedia:DNS over TLS|DNS over TLS]], [[Wikipedia:DNS over HTTPS|DNS over HTTPS]] or [[Wikipedia:DNSCrypt|DNSCrypt]]. See [[Domain name resolution]] for details.
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| === Setting up a firewall ===
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| A firewall can provide an extra layer of protection on top of the Linux networking stack. While the stock Arch kernel is capable of using [[Wikipedia:Netfilter|Netfilter]]'s [[iptables]] and [[nftables]], neither are enabled by default. It is highly recommended to set up some form of firewall. See [[:Category:Firewalls]] for available guides.
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| === Network shares ===
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| To share files among the machines in a network, follow the [[NFS]] or the [[SSHFS]] article.
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| Use [[Samba]] to join a Windows network. To configure the machine to use Active Directory for authentication, read [[Active Directory integration]].
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| See also [[:Category:Network sharing]].
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| == Input devices ==
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| This section contains popular input device configuration tips. See [[:Category:Input devices]] for more.
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| === Keyboard layouts ===
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| Non-English or otherwise non-standard keyboards may not function as expected by default. The necessary steps to configure the keymap are different for virtual console and [[Xorg]], they are described in [[Keyboard configuration in console]] and [[Keyboard configuration in Xorg]] respectively.
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| === Mouse buttons ===
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| Owners of advanced or unusual mice may find that not all mouse buttons are recognized by default, or may wish to assign different actions for extra buttons. Instructions can be found in [[Mouse buttons]].
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| === Laptop touchpads ===
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| Many laptops use [https://www.synaptics.com/ Synaptics] or [https://www.alps.com/ ALPS] "touchpad" pointing devices. For these, and several other touchpad models, you can use either the Synaptics input driver or libinput; see [[Touchpad Synaptics]] and [[libinput]] for installation and configuration details.
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| === TrackPoints ===
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| See the [[TrackPoint]] article to configure your TrackPoint device.
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| == Optimization ==
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| This section aims to summarize tweaks, tools and available options useful to improve system and application performance.
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| === Benchmarking ===
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| [[Benchmarking]] is the act of measuring performance and comparing the results to another system's results or a widely accepted standard through a unified procedure.
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| === Improving performance ===
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| The [[Improving performance]] article gathers information and is a basic rundown about gaining performance in Arch Linux.
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| === Solid state drives ===
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| The [[Solid state drive]] article covers many aspects of solid state drives, including configuring them to maximize their lifetimes, e.g. with [[TRIM]].
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| == System services ==
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| This section relates to [[daemons]].
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| === File index and search ===
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| Most distributions have a ''locate'' command available to be able to quickly search files. Arch Linux provides several alternatives, see [[locate]] for details.
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| [[List of applications/Utilities#File searching|Desktop search engines]] provide a similar service, while better integrated into [[desktop environment]]s.
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| === Local mail delivery ===
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| A default setup does not provide a way to synchronize mail. A list of mail delivery agents is available in the [[Mail server]] article.
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| === Printing ===
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| [[CUPS]] is a standards-based, open source printing system developed by OpenPrinting for Linux. See [[:Category:Printers]] for printer-specific articles.
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| == Appearance ==
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| This section contains frequently-sought "eye candy" tweaks for an aesthetically pleasing Arch experience. See [[:Category:Eye candy]] for more.
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| === Fonts ===
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| You may wish to install a set of TrueType fonts, as only unscalable bitmap fonts are included in a basic Arch system. There are several general-purpose [[Fonts#Families|font families]] providing large [[Wikipedia:Unicode|Unicode]] coverage and even [[Metric-compatible fonts|metric compatibility]] with fonts from other operating systems.
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| A plethora of information on the subject can be found in the [[Fonts]] and [[Font configuration]] articles.
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| If spending a significant amount of time working from the virtual console (i.e. outside an X server), users may wish to change the console font to improve readability; see [[Linux console#Fonts]].
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| === GTK and Qt themes ===
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| A big part of the applications with a graphical interface for Linux systems are based on the [[GTK]] or the [[Qt]] toolkits. See those articles and [[Uniform look for Qt and GTK applications]] for ideas to improve the appearance of your installed programs and adapt it to your liking.
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| == Console improvements ==
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| This section applies to small modifications that improve console programs' practicality. See [[:Category:Command-line shells]] for more.
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