Installation Software

Software Choices

These four steps pick the everyday applications that come preinstalled: an AUR helper, a text editor, a file manager, and a browser.

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Step 20 · AUR helper

The AUR (Arch User Repository) is where community packages live, millions of packages not in the official repos. The installer picks your AUR helper:

• yay — the most popular AUR helper.
• paru — a Rust-based alternative.

Both work the same way day-to-day (yay -S <pkg> vs paru -S <pkg>). Your retro commands use whichever you choose for package operations.

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Step 21 · Default text editor

Pick the editor used by default across the system (for $EDITOR, git commits, cron, and other tools):

• nvim (Neovim) — modern, feature-rich, recommended for most people.
• vim — the classic.
• vi — the bare minimum.
• nano — the simplest, easiest for beginners.

Tip

New to terminal editors? nano is the friendliest. nvim is worth learning eventually but has a learning curve.

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Step 22 · Default file manager

Choose the file manager used when you open folders:

• nemo — feature-rich and user-friendly (the default).
• thunar — fast and lightweight.
• nautilus — GNOME's file manager.
• yazi — a blazing-fast terminal file manager.

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Step 23 · Browser

Pick which browser to install:

• Firefox — the default, privacy-respecting choice.
• Zen — a modern, customizable Firefox-based browser.
• Chromium — the open-source base of Chrome.
• None — skip installing a browser.

Your choice is stored as BROWSER_CHOICE and set as the default XDG browser on first boot.

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Related

• Config & After — the final step and what happens next
• App Manager — managing applications after install

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Continue the walkthrough

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