Manjaro Linux Installation

In this guide, we’ll perform an installation of Manjaro Linux. Manjaro is a versatile and user friendly Linux disribution with minimal system requirements. It’s quickly rising in popularity and making a name for itself in the Linux world. Now is a great time to get into it.

You’ll be able to follow along with the steps in this tutorial whether you are installing Manjaro onto a physical system or as a virtual machine. Let’s get started.

In this tutorial you will learn:

  • How to download Manjaro Linux ISO image
  • How to create bootable installation media
  • How to install Manjaro Linux

A new installation of Manjaro Linux, running Xfce desktop environment

A new installation of Manjaro Linux, running Xfce desktop environment

Software Requirements and Linux Command Line Conventions
Category Requirements, Conventions or Software Version Used
System Manjaro Linux
Software N/A
Other Privileged access to your Linux system as root or via the sudo command.
Conventions # – requires given linux commands to be executed with root privileges either directly as a root user or by use of sudo command
$ – requires given linux commands to be executed as a regular non-privileged user

Download Manjaro

The first step is to download a Manjaro ISO image. You can get them from Manjaro’s official download page or check out our full guide on downloading Manjaro.

On Manjaro’s download page, there are a few choices depending on which desktop environment you’d like to run. Among those available are Xfce, KDE, and GNOME. It all depends on user preference, so pick whichever one you’d like.

Create Installation Media

If you are installing Manjaro to a physical machine, you’ll need to create installation media from the ISO file you downloaded. This way, you can boot to the media when your computer starts up and select the option to install Manjaro.

If you are installing Manjaro to a virtual machine, you won’t need to create bootable media, but just point your virtualization software towards the Manjaro ISO file you downloaded.

See our full guide on creating a Manjaro Linux bootable USB stick if you need help creating the installation media.



Boot to Manjaro Installation Media

Your computer may boot to the installation media automatically, or you may need to access the system’s boot menu in order to instruct it to boot to your USB stick or DVD, etc. The boot menu of most computers can be accessed by pressing F11, F12, or Esc. When your computer first boots up, instructions on how to access the boot menu and BIOS/UEFI should briefly pop up.

Begin Manjaro Linux Installation

  1. After successfully booting into your installation media, you’ll be greeted with the Manjaro welcome screen. Here you can configure system settings before booting into Manjaro, but in the vast majority of cases you won’t need to. You can press Enter on your keyboard to begin loading into Manjaro, or the option will be automatically selected for you in about 10 seconds.
    Manjaro boot menu

    Manjaro boot menu

  2. Your computer will load into Manjaro’s live system environment, which allows you to give Manjaro a little test run or get straight into installing it. Double click on the “Install Manjaro Linux” icon on your desktop to begin installing the operating system to disk.
    Click the Install Manjaro Linux desktop shortcut

    Click the Install Manjaro Linux desktop shortcut

  3. Select your language and click next.
    Select system language

    Select system language



  4. Select your timezone and click next.
    Select system timezone

    Select system timezone

  5. Select your keyboard layout and click next.
    Select your keyboard layout

    Select your keyboard layout

  6. On this screen, you can select which hard drive to install Manjaro to and configure partitioning. If Manjaro will be the only operating system on your disk, or if you are installing into a virtual machine, you can click on “Erase disk” (pictured below) to let Manjaro format the entire selected disk. Otherwise, configure your partitioning as needed. Click next.
    Select hard disk and configure partitioning

    Select hard disk and configure partitioning

  7. Next, fill out a new username, password, hostname, and root password for the system. When finished, click next.
    Configure user and root settings

    Configure user and root settings

  8. Manjaro will ask you which office suite you’d like to install on the system. This includes a word processor, spreadsheet application, etc. You can choose between LibreOffice or FreeOffice. Or, if you don’t want either of them or you don’t feel like deciding right now, just highlight “No Office Suite.” Once you’ve made your selection, click next.
    Select office suite for Manjaro

    Select office suite for Manjaro

  9. This screen gives you a summary of all the changes that are to be made to your system. Give them all a once over to make sure you have everything configured as intended. Pay special attention to the hard disk partitioning, as that may not be so easy to change afterwards, whereas the other settings are. Once you’re sure everything is correct, click on Install.
    Confirm all the changes that Manjaro is about to make to your system

    Confirm all the changes that Manjaro is about to make to your system



  10. Manjaro asks us one last time if we are sure. Click Install Now.
    Click Install Now to begin Manjaro installation

    Click Install Now to begin Manjaro installation

  11. Manjaro will now be installed on your system. Depending on your hardware, this could take only a few minutes or much longer. Relax, grab a coffee, and be patient.
    Manjaro will take a little while to install

    Manjaro will take a little while to install

  12. When Manjaro finishes up, you’ll be prompted to restart your PC. First, make sure you remove the installation media from the USB port or disc tray (or from your hypervisor if you created a virtual machine). Then, you can check the “Restart now” box and click Done.
    Check the Restart now box and click Done to reboot into your new Manjaro install

    Check the Restart now box and click Done to reboot into your new Manjaro install

That’s all there is to it. When your computer reboots, you’ll load into the freshly installed Manjaro and it will be ready to use.

Manjaro Linux is freshly installed!

Manjaro Linux is freshly installed!

Conclusion

In this guide, we learned how to download Manjaro Linux, create bootable installation media, and install Manjaro Linux. Manjaro is a lovely distribution with a lot to offer. It’s based on the powerful Arch Linux distro and goes toe to toe with other desktop giants like Ubuntu and Fedora. Have fun with your new Manjaro install!



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