Antergos NeXT ISO

Looking for the old Arch/systemd version? See the before-systemd-change branch.

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

What changed

Before	After
Arch Linux (systemd)	Artix Linux (Dinit / OpenRC / Runit / S6)
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?

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, with your choice of Dinit, OpenRC, Runit, or S6. This keeps the familiar Pacman/Arch ecosystem while giving users the init freedom they want.

Why Dinit? We originally shipped OpenRC. Then Calamares kidnapped our pacman resolver and forced us to switch. Every --noconfirm call picked elogind-dinit (alphabetically before elogind-openrc), pulling in dinit-rc which conflicts with openrc. We tried --ignore, --assume-installed, --ask=12, and even a dummy package. Pacman laughed at all of them. Dinit works great. Stop asking.

Proof (our descent into madness):

fe4e862 fix: use --ignore instead of separate provider call   ← --ignore: pacman ignored it
69da290 fix: add --ask=12 safety net                           ← --ask=12: infinite loop
64b08a9 fix: replace with --assume-installed=init-logind       ← assume-installed: not checked for virtuals
2c0d242 fix: add --ignore to packages module too               ← same failure, other file
8a6fa3f docs: update AGENTS.md with --ignore approach          ← documented the failure

The conflict was dinit-rc vs openrc both providing+conflicting with virtual init-rc. Pacman --noconfirm picks elogind-dinit first alphabetically → dinit → dinit-rc → conflict. No flag in pacman can pin a virtual provider on a fresh install. Dinit wins by alphabetical destiny.

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 (Dinit, OpenRC, 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.