Arch wsl setup for basic web development

Setting up Arch Linux on WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) for web development, along with various tools and enhancements like Zsh, Oh-My-Zsh, autosuggestions, Homebrew, and other utilities, is a comprehensive process. Here’s a step-by-step guide to configure everything from scratch:

Step 1: Install Arch Linux on WSL

1. Enable WSL:

   • Open PowerShell as Administrator and run:

    dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux /all /norestart
   

• Then, enable the Virtual Machine feature necessary for WSL 2:
  

   dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:VirtualMachinePlatform /all /norestart
  

• Restart your computer.

1. Download and Install Arch Linux:
   • You can download Arch Linux for WSL from a third-party source like WSL Arch Linux. Follow the instructions on the GitHub page to install it.

Step 2: Configure Arch Linux

1. Update the System:

   • Open Arch Linux from the start menu and run:

    pacman -Syu
   

Step 3: Install Zsh, Oh-My-Zsh, and Plugins

1. Install Zsh:

   pacman -S zsh

1. Install Oh-My-Zsh:

   • Use the curl command to install:

    sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.github.com/ohmyzsh/ohmyzsh/master/tools/install.sh)"
   

2. Install Zsh Autosuggestions:

   • Clone the repository:

    git clone https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-autosuggestions ${ZSH_CUSTOM:-~/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/plugins/zsh-autosuggestions
   

• Add zsh-autosuggestions to the plugins array in ~/.zshrc.

Step 4: Install Development Tools

1. Install Homebrew (Linuxbrew):

   • Install necessary packages:

    pacman -S base-devel git
   

• Install Homebrew:
  

   /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
  

• Follow the on-screen instructions to add Homebrew to your path.

1. Install Node.js via NVM:

   • Install NVM:

    curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.1/install.sh | bash
   

• Load NVM and install Node.js:
  

   export NVM_DIR="$([ -z "${XDG_CONFIG_HOME-}" ] && printf %s "${HOME}/.nvm" || printf %s "${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/nvm")"
   [ -s "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh" ] && \. "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh"  # This loads nvm
   nvm install node  # Install latest Node.js version
  

1. Install Python & Streamlit:

   • Install Python:

    pacman -S python python-pip
   

• Install Streamlit:
  

   pip install streamlit
  

Step 5: Install Additional Utilities

1. Install exa (a modern replacement for ls):

   pacman -S exa

1. Install lolcat:

   pacman -S lolcat

1. Install neofetch:

   pacman -S neofetch

Step 6: Configure Your Environment

• Configure .zshrc:

  • Add the following to ~/.zshrc to enable plugins and customize your shell:

  plugins=(git zsh-autosuggestions)
  alias ls='exa'
  alias cat='lolcat'
  

• Apply Configuration:

  • Source the Zsh configuration:

  source ~/.zshrc
  

Step 7: Test Your Setup

• Open a new terminal or type zsh to start using Zsh with your new configuration.
• Test Streamlit:

  streamlit hello

• Check Python installation:

  python --version

You now have a fully functional web development environment on your Arch Linux WSL setup, complete with a modern shell and essential development tools. This setup is flexible and allows you to extend