Antergos NeXT ISO

✅ Migration complete! Antergos NeXT has officially migrated from systemd/Arch to OpenRC/Artix. The builds are stable, the installer works, and we can say officially that the migration was a success!

See the before-systemd-change branch for the old systemd-based version and the reasoning behind the change.

A community revival of Antergos — now built on Artix Linux with OpenRC, KDE Plasma desktop, and the Calamares installer (offline + online modes).

"We can say officially that the migration was a success!"

What changed

Before	After
Arch Linux (systemd)	Artix Linux (OpenRC)
GNOME desktop	KDE Plasma desktop
archiso build system	artools (buildiso)
Custom Cnchi installer	Calamares (mature, upstream-supported)
Symlinked overlays	Resolved, self-contained profile overlays

Why Artix + OpenRC?

The systemd migration in the Linux ecosystem has been controversial, and the original Antergos community had a strong preference for alternatives. Artix Linux provides a clean Arch-like experience without systemd, using OpenRC as the default init system. This keeps the familiar Pacman/Arch ecosystem while giving users the init freedom they want.

Building

Requires an Artix-based system:

# Install build deps
pacman -S artools squashfs-tools
modprobe loop

# Clone and enter
git clone https://github.com/Antergos-NeXT/antergos-iso.git
cd antergos-iso

# Set workspace to repo root
export WORKSPACE_DIR="$PWD"

# Must use our pacman.conf (has antergos-pkgs repo)
mkdir -p ~/.config/artools/pacman.conf.d
cp pacman.conf.d/iso-x86_64.conf ~/.config/artools/pacman.conf.d/

# Build
sudo ./buildiso -p antergos

⚠️ VERY IMPORTANT: Use ./buildiso, not buildiso. The Artix system buildiso at /usr/bin/buildiso lacks the --overwrite='*' flag passed to basestrap, causing file conflicts (e.g. calamares vs calamares-branding-antergos-next both claiming /usr/share/calamares/branding/default/). Our repo's ./buildiso has it.

The .iso appears in /var/lib/artools/buildiso/iso/antergos/.

First build pulls ~5 GB from the internet. Subsequent builds use pacman cache.

Custom packages

The ISO pulls custom packages (branding, Calamares config, wallpapers) from our repo. Add it to your system:

[antergos-pkgs]
SigLevel = Optional TrustAll
Server = https://antergos-next.github.io/antergos-packages

Profile structure

iso-profiles/
├── antergos/
│   ├── profile.yaml          # Packages, services, build config
│   ├── root-overlay/         # Files merged into rootfs (os-release, pacman.conf, sddm)
│   └── live-overlay/         # Files for the live environment (Calamares configs, etc.)
├── common/
│   └── common.yaml           # Shared base packages
├── pacman.conf.d/
│   └── iso-x86_64.conf       # Pacman config used during ISO build
└── buildiso                  # Modified buildiso with Antergos branding

Overlays are self-contained (no symlinks to external directories) so the repo builds standalone.

Installer modes

Mode	Description
Offline	Unpacks a KDE Plasma squashfs — no internet needed
Online	Netinstall with init system choice (OpenRC, Dinit, Runit, S6) + desktop selection

The launcher (calamares-next) presents a mode picker before launching Calamares.

Download

No prebuilt ISOs yet. See Building above.

Sources

• Artix Linux — base distribution
• artools — ISO build tools
• Calamares — installer framework
• antergos-packages — custom PKGBUILDs
• Antergos wallpapers — original wallpapers

License

GPL-3.0

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A Note to the "Branding Police"

If you came here to hate and you're about to type "why are you using Antergos's branding" — pack your bags and go to Manjaro. We have Dustin's blessing. We are respectful. We are not them. Move on.

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Antergos launched in 2012 as Cinnarch (Cinnamon + Arch), renamed in 2013, and ran until 2019. NeXT continues the spirit with a modernized, Artix-based foundation — KDE Plasma, Calamares, and the same multi-desktop ambition you remember.

Dustin Falgout, one of the original Antergos developers, has given his blessing for this community revival (see NOTICES). Antergos NeXT is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the original Antergos project.