How to install Blackarch Repositories on Arch Linux

Arch Linux is one of the most customizable Linux distributions available, and there are many popular distros based off of it. One of these is BlackArch Linux, a derivative of Arch Linux used for penetration testing.

BlackArch, however, can be a bit bloated, as it contains thousands of different security tools, many of which you will never use or need. Instead of using BlackArch, it is possible to install the BlackArch Linux repositories onto Arch Linux and download only the packages that you need from it.

In this tutorial, we will install the BlackArch Linux repositories onto Arch Linux, and go over using them.

Prerequisites

You will need:

• A computer or VM with Arch Linux installed
• A working Internet connection

Install BlackArch Repositories on Arch Linux

1. Install Strap Script

To begin, use curl to retrieve the strap.sh setup script from the Blackarch website:

# curl -O https://blackarch.org/strap.sh

2. Change Script Permissions

Now, you must give the script permission to execute:

# chmod +x strap.sh

3. Run Strap Script

Next, we will install the Blackarch repository by running strap.sh:

# ./strap.sh

Installing Blackarch repos

Using the Blackarch Repositories

4. Display Software Categories

Now that the Blackarch repositories are installed, you can list the different categories of software in it by using Pacman:

# pacman -Sg | grep blackarch

List categories

5. Display Packages in Category

You can also display all the packages in a specific category with:

NOTE: In this example, we are using the blackarch-wireless category, but it works with any

# pacman -Sgg | grep blackarch-wireless

List packages in the category

6. Install from the Repository

You can install packages from the Blackarch repository either by category or one at a time. To install all the packages in a category with:

# pacman -S blackarch-category

Where blackarch-category is the category, you want to install. To install packages individually:

# pacman -S package-name

Where package-name is the name of the package, you want to install.

Conclusion

Now you have installed the Blackarch Linux repositories onto your system. You also know how to install them and enable your Arch Linux machine into a powerful penetration testing tool.