Installing Arch Linux with BTRFS and Disk Encryption

Arch Linux is known for its simplicity, flexibility, and control. But with great power comes great responsibility—especially when it comes to partitioning and file systems. In this guide, we’ll walk through installing Arch Linux with BTRFS as the root filesystem and full disk encryption using LUKS.

This setup offers a modern, feature-rich filesystem with compression, snapshots, and subvolumes—while keeping your data safe with encryption.

Prerequisites

• A UEFI-capable machine.
• Arch Linux ISO (latest).
• USB stick for installation media.
• Familiarity with command line and basic Linux tools.

Step 1: Boot into the Arch Installer

Download the latest Arch ISO, flash it to a USB drive, and boot into it. Make sure you’re in UEFI mode.

Check with:

ls /sys/firmware/efi/efivars

If the directory exists, you’re in UEFI mode.

Step 2: Connect to the Internet

For Wi-Fi:

iwctl
> station wlan0 connect YourSSID

Verify with:

ping archlinux.org

Step 3: Prepare the Disk

Let’s assume your drive is /dev/nvme0n1. Replace with your actual device.

Partitioning

Use fdisk or cgdisk. Example layout:

• EFI System Partition (ESP): 512M
• Linux encrypted partition: rest of the disk

gdisk /dev/nvme0n1

# Partition 1: EFI (type ef00)
# Partition 2: Linux filesystem (type 8300)

Step 4: Set Up Encryption

Encrypt the second partition using LUKS:

cryptsetup luksFormat /dev/nvme0n1p2
cryptsetup open /dev/nvme0n1p2 cryptroot

Step 5: Create BTRFS Filesystem

mkfs.btrfs /dev/mapper/cryptroot

Mount it:

mount /dev/mapper/cryptroot /mnt

Create subvolumes:

btrfs subvolume create /mnt/@
btrfs subvolume create /mnt/@home
btrfs subvolume create /mnt/@log
btrfs subvolume create /mnt/@snapshots

Unmount and remount with options:

umount /mnt

mount -o noatime,compress=zstd,subvol=@ /dev/mapper/cryptroot /mnt
mkdir /mnt/{boot,home,var/log,.snapshots}
mount -o noatime,compress=zstd,subvol=@home /dev/mapper/cryptroot /mnt/home
mount -o noatime,compress=zstd,subvol=@log /dev/mapper/cryptroot /mnt/var/log
mount -o noatime,compress=zstd,subvol=@snapshots /dev/mapper/cryptroot /mnt/.snapshots

Format and mount the EFI partition:

mkfs.fat -F32 /dev/nvme0n1p1
mount --mkdir /dev/nvme0n1p1 /mnt/boot

Step 6: Install the Base System

pacstrap -K /mnt base linux linux-firmware btrfs-progs vim

Step 7: Configure the System

Generate fstab:

genfstab -U /mnt >> /mnt/etc/fstab

Change root:

arch-chroot /mnt

Set timezone, locale, hostname:

ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/Region/City /etc/localtime
hwclock --systohc
echo "en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8" >> /etc/locale.gen
locale-gen
echo "LANG=en_US.UTF-8" > /etc/locale.conf
echo "archbox" > /etc/hostname

Step 8: Initramfs and Encryption Hook

Edit /etc/mkinitcpio.conf:

HOOKS=(base udev autodetect keyboard keymap modconf block encrypt filesystems fsck)

Then run:

mkinitcpio -P

Step 9: Set Root Password

passwd

Step 10: Install a Bootloader

Install systemd-boot:

bootctl install

Create a loader entry at /boot/loader/entries/arch.conf:

title   Arch Linux
linux   /vmlinuz-linux
initrd  /initramfs-linux.img
options cryptdevice=UUID=<UUID-of-partition>:cryptroot root=/dev/mapper/cryptroot rootflags=subvol=@ rw

Find the UUID:

blkid /dev/nvme0n1p2

Create the loader config at /boot/loader/loader.conf:

default arch
timeout 3
editor no

Step 11: Reboot

Exit, unmount, and reboot:

exit
umount -R /mnt
reboot

Remove the installation media.

Wrapping Up

You now have a clean Arch Linux installation with:

• BTRFS subvolume layout for better organization and snapshotting.
• LUKS full disk encryption for privacy and security.
• systemd-boot for a fast and modern UEFI bootloader.

From here, you can add a desktop environment, configure snapshots with Snapper or Timeshift, and start tailoring the system to your needs.