Introduction

Welcome, intrepid free-software explorer! You’re about to embark on a journey to install
Parabola GNU/Linux-libre, a truly libre operating system derived from Arch GNU/Linux.
If you cherish software freedom, minimalism, and the sheer pleasure of building your system from the ground up,
you’ve come to the right place. Strap in, grab a beverage of your choice, and let’s get this rolling—without non-free firmware in sight!

Why Parabola?

• Libre software only: No binary blobs, no proprietary drivers.
• Rolling-release: Always up-to-date without big disruptive upgrades.
• Pacman power: The same blazing-fast package manager as Arch.
• Community-driven: Rooted in the Free Software Foundation guidelines.

Prerequisites

• A computer with 64-bit (x86_64) or ARM64 architecture.
• An empty USB stick (at least 1 GiB) for the installation medium.
• A reliable internet connection.
• Basic familiarity with the command line (fear not, we’ll explain each step!).

Step 1: Download the ISO and Create Bootable Media

1. Visit the official Parabola download page:
   
   https://www.parabola.nu/download
   
2. Choose your architecture (most likely x86_64) and download the ISO or torrent.
3. Create a bootable USB:

   dd if=parabola-YYYY.MM.DD-x86_64.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress  sync
         

   (Replace /dev/sdX with your USB device identifier! Double‐check with lsblk.)

Step 2: Boot into the Live Environment

Reboot your machine and select the USB stick as the boot device. If everything goes well,
you’ll land in a minimal Parabola live shell with root access:

root@parabola ~ #
    

Step 3: Networking

Check if networking is up—this is essential for fetching packages later.

ping -c 3 archlinux.org
  

If you see responses, great! If not, configure networking:

Wired Connection

systemctl start dhcpcd
  

Wireless Connection

wifi-menu
systemctl enable net-auto@wlan0.service
  

(Replace wlan0 with your interface name from ip link.)

Step 4: Partition the Disk

We’ll use cfdisk, but you may choose fdisk or parted. A typical layout:

cfdisk /dev/sda
  

Write your changes and quit.

Step 5: Format Partitions

mkfs.fat -F32 /dev/sda1
mkswap /dev/sda2  swapon /dev/sda2
mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda3
  

Step 6: Mount the Filesystems

mount /dev/sda3 /mnt
mkdir /mnt/boot
mkdir /mnt/boot/efi
mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/boot/efi
  

Step 7: Install the Base System

Parabola provides pacstrap to bootstrap the environment:

pacstrap /mnt base base-devel linux-libre linux-firmware syslinux 
  vim man-db man-pages dialog
  

(We include linux-firmware for libre firmware such as GNU Linux-libre drivers.)

Step 8: Generate fstab

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

Step 9: Chroot and Configure

arch-chroot /mnt /bin/bash
  

Set the Time Zone

ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/Region/City /etc/localtime
hwclock --systohc
  

Localization

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

Hostname and Hosts

echo myparabola > /etc/hostname
cat < /etc/hosts
127.0.0.1   localhost
::1         localhost
127.0.1.1   myparabola.localdomain myparabola
EOF
  

Root Password

passwd
  

Step 10: Bootloader Installation

We’ll use Syslinux for demonstration—feel free to substitute GRUB if you prefer.

pacman -S syslinux efibootmgr dosfstools
syslinux-install_update -i -a -m
mkdir -p /boot/syslinux
cp /usr/lib/syslinux/efi64/ldlinux.e64 /boot/syslinux/
cp /usr/lib/syslinux/efi64/libutil.e64 /boot/syslinux/
cp /usr/lib/syslinux/efi64/menu.c32 /boot/syslinux/
cp /usr/share/syslinux/syslinux.cfg /boot/syslinux/

Edit /boot/syslinux/syslinux.cfg if needed. Then:

efibootmgr --create --disk /dev/sda --part 1 
  --label Parabola GNU/Linux-libre --loader EFIsyslinuxsyslinux.efi
  

Step 11: Networking Services

pacman -S dialog wpa_supplicant openresolv
systemctl enable dhcpcd
# For wireless:
systemctl enable net-auto@wlan0.service
  

Step 12: Optional Desktop Environment

If you prefer a GUI, install one of these (pick your flavor):

pacman -S 
systemctl enable .service
  

Step 13: Final Touches and Exit

1. Ensure everything is configured properly.
2. Exit the chroot: exit.
3. Unmount and reboot:

   umount -R /mnt
   reboot
         

Post-Install Tips

• Enable AUR with aurman or yay:

  pacman -S yay --needed

• Security: Install ufw or iptables to manage firewall.
• Backups: Consider rsync or BorgBackup for peace of mind.
• Documentation: Keep the
  Parabola Wiki and
  Arch Wiki handy.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You now have a fully libre, rolling-release powerhouse at your fingertips.
Revel in the satisfaction of fully controlling every bit of your system—without any
proprietary shackles. Now go forth, customize, break things intentionally (and fix them!),
and contribute back to the community. After all, freedom isnt free—it’s built by you!