Minimal Arch Linux Installation Guide: UEFI to Sway Boot Chain Tuning

Preface

Core philosophy: At every layer, show text when possible, skip graphics when possible; load only what’s needed.

1. UEFI Firmware Settings

Different vendors:

• Lenovo: Boot Mode → Diagnostics
• Dell: Disable Logo or Quiet Boot
• ASUS: Disable Boot Logo Display

2. GRUB Configuration

2.1 GRUB Timeout to 1 Second

sudo sed -i 's/GRUB_TIMEOUT=5/GRUB_TIMEOUT=1/' /etc/default/grub
sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

2.2 Removing Arch Boot Logo

If using archinstall with UKI, remove the --splash parameter from /etc/mkinitcpio.d/linux.preset and regenerate:

sudo mkinitcpio -p linux

3. Kernel Parameters

Append to GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT in /etc/default/grub:

quiet loglevel=3 udev.log_priority=3

4. Skip Plymouth

Don’t install Plymouth — it adds dependencies and delays boot. The system goes directly from kernel messages to getty or display manager.

5. Display Manager vs Direct Sway

5.1 No DM, Start Sway from tty

In ~/.bash_profile or ~/.zprofile:

if [ -z "$WAYLAND_DISPLAY" ] && [ "$(tty)" = "/dev/tty1" ]; then
    exec sway
fi

5.2 If You Need a DM

Use lightdm + lightdm-gtk-greeter, disable the background:

[greeter]
background=

6. Final Boot Chain

Power → UEFI text POST (0.5s) → GRUB (1s timeout) → Kernel init → Black (0.5s) → tty1 login → exec sway

No images, no logos — just black text on white background from power-on to workspace.