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Launcher default 11

Calamares Launcher

The calamares-next script (calamares-next.sh) handles the installer boot flow. It is installed by the calamares-branding-antergos-next package to /usr/bin/calamares-next.

Boot flow

  1. Notice — displays a YAD information dialog explaining why the offline install mode was removed
  2. Welcome — presents a branded splash screen with a single "Install" button
  3. Configuration — copies calamares-online/settings.conf to /etc/calamares/settings.conf after removing any existing file (the removal is necessary to prevent cp from following symlinks)
  4. Launch — runs calamares -D8 with the online config; debug output is redirected to a log file at ~/antergos-install.log

Desktop entry

/usr/share/applications/calamares.desktop in the live-overlay launches with:

Exec=sudo -E calamares-next

sudo -E preserves environment variables (WAYLAND_DISPLAY, XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP, etc.) when launched from the SDDM session. Without it, Calamares may not detect the display server correctly.

Module config resolution

The online settings file specifies modules-search: [ local ], which resolves to the directory containing the settings file itself. After SetConfig() copies the file to /etc/calamares/settings.conf, modules are loaded from /etc/calamares/modules/. The calamares-online/modules/ directory in the live-overlay is not used as a module source during installation — its contents exist only as a reference; the active module configs are those under calamares/modules/.

Pacman log capture

During installation, the launcher polls for the existence of a pacman log file within the chroot (at /tmp/calamares-root-*/var/log/pacman.log). When detected, a copy is written to ~/pacman-install.log. No terminal windows are opened to display installation progress.

Installer flow

The launcher shows a YAD info notice explaining the removal of the offline mode, then presents a branded splash with a single "Install" button. Calamares launches in online mode with the desktop environment selector.

Config switching

SetConfig() in calamares-next.sh:

  1. rm -f the existing settings file at /etc/calamares/settings.conf
  2. cp the online settings file to /etc/calamares/settings.conf
  3. Calamares reads the config on launch

Hiding "Install Artix"

The live-overlay includes calamares-config-switcher.desktop with NoDisplay=true. This hides the upstream Artix "Install Artix Linux" desktop entry while keeping the binary available for other uses.

Module configs

Configs live in live-overlay/etc/calamares/modules/:

  • packagechooser_dm.conf — display manager selector using method: netinstall-select
  • initcpiocfg.conf — mkinitcpio configuration
  • services-artix.conf — service enablement via artix-service
  • grubcfg.conf — GRUB default configuration (/etc/default/grub)
  • bootloader.conf — bootloader installation parameters