Complete Installation Guide

This guide will help you fully transition from Windows to Meowrch — from creating a bootable USB drive to installing a ready-to-use system.

🖥️ Preparation in Windows

Download Rufus

Go to the official Rufus website and download the latest version of the program.

Rufus is a utility for creating bootable USB drives from ISO images.
Download EndeavourOS

Go to the EndeavourOS website and download the latest ISO image.

EndeavourOS is a user-friendly distribution based on Arch Linux with a convenient installer.
Prepare a USB Drive

You will need a USB flash drive with a minimum capacity of 4 GB.

All data on the flash drive will be deleted during the creation of the bootable media.

Launch Rufus

Open the downloaded Rufus file. If necessary, allow the program to make changes to your system.
Select USB Device

In the “Device” field, select your flash drive. Rufus will automatically detect connected drives.
Select ISO Image
- Click “SELECT” next to the “Boot selection” field
- Find the downloaded EndeavourOS ISO file and select it
Configure Settings
- Partition scheme: GPT (for modern UEFI computers)
- Target system: UEFI (not CSM)
- Other settings can be left at default
Create Bootable USB Drive

Click “START” and wait for the process to complete (usually 5-15 minutes).

Before installation, it’s recommended to allocate free space for Meowrch in Windows in advance:

Open Disk Management

Press Win + X → Disk Management.
Select Main Partition

Find the largest partition (usually C: drive), right-click → “Shrink Volume”.
Specify Shrink Amount

Enter the number of gigabytes you want to allocate for Meowrch (recommended 40 GB or more), click “Shrink”.
Verify Result

An “Unallocated space” block of the corresponding size should appear — leave it unallocated, don’t create anything.

Restart Computer

Without removing the flash drive, restart your computer.
Enter Boot Menu

During startup, press the key to access the Boot Menu:
- Asus: F8 or Esc
- MSI: F11
- Gigabyte: F12
- ASRock: F11
- Dell: F12
- HP: F9
- Lenovo: F12
Select USB Device

In the boot menu, select your flash drive and press Enter.
Boot into EndeavourOS

Select the first option in the EndeavourOS menu and press Enter.

Launch Installer

In the loaded system, click “Start the installer” in the welcome window.
Select Installation Type

Choose “Online” to access all desktop environments.
Configure Localization
Choose Desktop Environment

Choose “No Desktop” — this is critically important!
Meowrch will install its own window managers (BSPWM/Hyprland) and doesn’t require a pre-installed environment.
Select Bootloader

Choose GRUB as the bootloader!
This is necessary for correct Meowrch operation and multiboot with Windows.
Disk Partitioning

Choose Replace a partition and find the unallocated free space that you prepared in Windows. Select it.
Create User
- Enter your name and username
- Create a strong password
Complete Installation

Click “Install” and wait for the installation to complete (usually 15-30 minutes).
Reboot

After installation completes, restart your computer and remove the flash drive.

With the No Desktop option, the system will boot directly into TTY (fullscreen text terminal).

Log into System

Enter your username and password created during EndeavourOS installation.
Update System

Execute:
Terminal window
```
sudo pacman -Syu
```
Install Git
Terminal window
```
sudo pacman -S git
```

Clone Meowrch Repository

git clone --recurse-submodules --depth 1 https://github.com/meowrch/meowrch

Navigate to Project Directory
Terminal window
```
cd meowrch
```
Run Automatic Installation
Terminal window
```
sh install.sh
```
Follow Installer Instructions
Navigation in installer
- Select item: Spacebar
- Proceed to next step: Enter
- Exit: Ctrl + C
Reboot System

After installation, you must reboot to apply all changes.
Terminal window
```
sudo reboot
```