WSL_1

Arch on WSL

These are the basic instructions to build Arch on WSL.

These instructions will not allow you to install from PKGBUILD files. makepkg will not build packages on Arch WSL without a custom compiled fakeroot. The kernel in WSL does not support sysv, so you would need to build a copy of fakeroot-tcp from source, then install it. Basic instructions are included in the file fakeroot.md.

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Installing Arch WSL from bootstrap

1. Install the Windows Subsystem for Linux. Open PowerShell and enter:

   Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux

2. Reboot, when prompted.

3. Open Windows Command Prompt.

   cmd

4. Uninstall any existing installs.

   lxrun /uninstall /full /y

5. Install Ubuntu base.

   lxrun /install /y

6. Enter root bash.

   bash ~

7. Get the Arch Linux bootstrap (latest version at time of writing).

   wget https://mirrors.kernel.org/archlinux/iso/latest/archlinux-bootstrap-2018.04.01-x86_64.tar.gz

8. Extract the image.

   tar -zxvf archlinux-bootstrap-2018.04.01-x86_64.tar.gz

9. Uncomment some servers in the pacman mirrorlist.

   vim ~/root.x86_64/etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist

10. Update name servers (swap IP's for preferred DNS).

echo "nameserver 8.8.8.8" >> ~/root.x86_64/etc/resolv.conf

echo "nameserver 8.8.4.4" >> ~/root.x86_64/etc/resolv.conf

11. Exit bash.

    exit

12. Go to lxss directory and rename rootfs directory.

    %LOCALAPPDATA%\lxss\ and rename directory rootfs to rootfs_old

13. Now, go here and and rename extracted Arch root.x86_64.

    %LOCALAPPDATA%\lxss\root\ and rename directory root.x86_64 to rootfs

14. Move (cut), do not copy directory (if you copy, it will break symlinks).

    %LOCALAPPDATA%\lxss\root\rootfs to %LOCALAPPDATA%\lxss\rootfs

15. Enter bash.

    bash ~

16. Initialize Arch keyring.

    pacman-key --init

    pacman-key --populate archlinux

17. Install base.

    pacman -Syyu base base-devel git vim wget reflector

18. Enable multilib (if you want).

    linenumber=$(grep -nr "\\#\\[multilib\\]" /etc/pacman.conf | gawk '{print $1}' FS=":")

    sed -i "${linenumber}s:.*:[multilib]:" /etc/pacman.conf

    linenumber=$((linenumber+1))

    sed -i "${linenumber}s:.*:Include = /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist:" /etc/pacman.conf

19. Sync package databases.

    pacman -Syy

20. Update mirror list (replace United States with preferred repo mirror country).

    reflector --country "United States" --age 12 --protocol https --sort rate --save /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist

21. Set root user password.

    passwd

22. Create new user.

    useradd -m -G wheel username

23. Set password on user.

    passwd username

24. Enable wheel group.

    sed -i '/%wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL/c\%wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL' /etc/sudoers

25. Edit Arch locale and regenerate.

    sed -i 's:#en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8:en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8:g' /etc/locale.gen

    locale-gen

    echo LANG=en_US.UTF-8 >> /etc/locale.conf

    echo LANGUAGE=en_US.UTF-8 >> /etc/locale.conf

    echo LC_ALL=en_US.UTF-8 >> /etc/locale.conf

26. Exit bash.

    exit

27. In Command Prompt, set default user for linux subsystem.

    lxrun /setdefaultuser username

28. On next enter, you should login as your newly created user.

    bash ~

29. Replace bash.ico in %LOCALAPPDATA%\lxss\ with preferred Arch icon. Be sure to name bash.ico.

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Install Yay AUR Helper and Pacman Wrapper (https://github.com/Jguer/yay)

1. You will first need to rebuild fakeroot following the instructions here

2. Create a directory for the yay PKGBUILD files and enter it.

   mkdir ~/yay cd ~/yay

3. Download yay PKGBUILD from AUR.

   wget --no-check-certificate https://aur.archlinux.org/cgit/aur.git/plain/PKGBUILD?h=yay --output-document=./PKGBUILD

4. Run makepkg to build and install yay.

   makepkg -si

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Install wsl-terminal and z shell

1. Download wsl-terminal.

2. Extract folder and launch wsl-terminal.

3. Enter home directory.

   cd ~

4. Right-click the title bar, select Options then select your theme from the Looks section.

5. Install zsh.

   sudo pacman -S zsh

6. Install oh-my-zsh.

   sh -c "$(wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/robbyrussell/oh-my-zsh/master/tools/install.sh -O -)"

   Note: This will install oh-my-zsh and set zsh to be the logged in users default shell, but since WSL launches bash, you will need to add the line bash -c zsh to your ~/.bashrc file.

7. Configure your zsh theme.

   vim ~/.zshrc

   ZSH_THEME="agnoster" (This is my preferred theme)

8. Download and install fonts for Powerline. Download here.

9. Right-click the title bar, select Options, then select your installed font from the Text section.

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Launch X11 apps from the shell to Windows display

1. Download and install Xming, and X11 display server for Windows.

2. Install an xorg app for testing (We will use the Xorg Calculator).

   sudo pacman -S xorg-xcalc

3. Export output to display.

   export DISPLAY=:0

   Note: If you add this line to your .bashrc or .zshrc you won't need to type it again on the next WSL launch.

4. Launch xcalc to test.

   xcalc

5. If Xming is working properly, Xorg Calculator should popup as a new window.