pacstrap

Install base package, Linux kernel and firmware

$ sudo pacstrap /mnt base linux linux-firmware

$ sudo pacstrap /mnt base base-devel linux-lts

$ sudo pacstrap -P /mnt [packages]

$ sudo pacstrap -C [path/to/pacman.conf] /mnt [packages]

$ sudo pacstrap -c /mnt [packages]

$ sudo pacstrap -K /mnt [packages]

$ sudo pacstrap -i /mnt [packages]

pacstrap [-C config] [-c] [-G] [-i] [-K] [-M] [-N] [-P] root [packages...]

pacstrap is designed to create a new system installation from scratch. It installs packages to a specified new root directory, typically used during Arch Linux installation to bootstrap the base system.
The tool handles mounting the target filesystem, installing packages using pacman, and optionally copying the host's configuration. It is part of the arch-install-scripts package.

-C _config_

Use alternate pacman configuration file

Use package cache on host instead of target

Avoid copying host's pacman keyring to target

Prompt for package confirmation (interactive mode)

Initialize empty pacman keyring in target

Avoid copying host's mirrorlist to target

Run in unshare mode as regular user

Copy host's pacman config to target

Requires root privileges unless using -N flag. The target directory must be mounted before running. Package signatures are verified using the host's keyring by default. Network access is required for downloading packages.

pacstrap is part of the arch-install-scripts package developed by the Arch Linux team. It replaces manual chroot-based installation methods with a streamlined tool that handles the complexities of bootstrapping an Arch system.

pacman(8), arch-chroot(1), genfstab(8)