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Offline installation

Offline installation copies the live system to the target disk, then writes user, locale, network, boot and cleanup configuration. It does not require a network connection and produces a system close to the live desktop and software set.

Use it when the network is unavailable, you want the default desktop, or you prefer a fast installation before updating and customizing the system.

Driver handling​

Offline installation does not run the full chwd --autoconfigure process.

  • The standard image does not carry the modern NVIDIA driver set.
  • The NVIDIA image removes NVIDIA-only packages when no NVIDIA GPU is detected.
  • On physical hardware it removes VirtualBox, VMware and QEMU guest tools used by the live environment.

Choose the correct image on the download page before installing.

Installation steps​

The screenshots are from an older Calamares interface. The layout may differ, but the main decisions are unchanged.

  1. Open the offline “Install CatOS” launcher.

    Open the CatOS installer

  2. Select language, timezone and keyboard layout.

    Select timezone

    Select keyboard layout

  3. Select the target disk and partition method.

    Select target disk

    Partition changes are destructive

    Verify the disk model and size. Existing partitions and files may become unrecoverable once writing starts.

    See partitioning and filesystems before using manual partitioning or dual boot.

  4. Create the user account and hostname.

    Create user

  5. Review the installation summary and start installation.

    Installation summary

    Confirm installation

  6. Wait without removing the USB drive or powering off the machine.

    Install system

    Installation progress

  7. Reboot and remove the USB drive.

    Installation complete

After first boot, update the complete system:

sudo pacman -Syu

Then follow the post-installation checks.