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# All You Need to Know About Using Arch Linux on 32-Bit Systems
- URL: https://itsfoss.com/arch-linux-32-bit/
- Published: 2017-11-09T14:45:48.000Z
- Updated: 2023-01-11T09:56:26.000Z
- Author: Abhishek Prakash
- Tags: Random, #Import 2022-12-26 08:27

Looking to use Arch Linux on a 32-bit computer?

Well, I have both bad news and good news for you.

The bad news first. Arch Linux doesn’t support 32-bit systems for the past few years.

The good news is that you can still use Arch Linux on 32-bit computers thanks to the Arch Linux 32 project.

Intrigued? Let’s see it in detail.

## Arch Linux no longer provides ISO for 32-bit systems

Like most other Linux distributions, Arch Linux no longer serves 32-bit systems.

[Arch Linux](https://www.archlinux.org/?ref=itsfoss.com) ended support for i686 architecture, i.e., 32-bit systems, in 2017\. 

Decreasing popularity was cited as the driving factor behind this decision: *“Due to the decreasing popularity of i686 among the developers and the community, we have decided to phase out the support of this architecture.”* 

Since March 2017, 32-bit images of Arch Linux have not been available on the project website. Existing 32-bit installs were given this ‘grace period’ to plan their switch to [other Linux distributions that still support 32-bit processors](https://itsfoss.com/32-bit-linux-distributions/). Starting with December 2017, no updates were provided to the existing 32-bit Arch systems.

This means you can only [install Arch Linux](https://itsfoss.com/install-arch-linux/) 64-bit version now, officially. More on that in the next section.

Though Arch Linux has stopped the support for 32-bit systems, it doesn’t affect the multilib repository. You can still install Steam on Arch Linux.

## Arch Linux 32-bit lives in the form of archlinux32

One of the reasons [why I love Linux](https://itsfoss.com/linux-better-than-windows/) is its open source nature and the enthusiastic community.

Meet archlinux32, a community-maintained fork of Arch Linux 32-bit. They have official packages optimized for the i686 and pentium4 architectures.

The project was created when the official Arch Linux announced ending the support for 32-bit systems. It is heartening to see that the project has continued to be active even in 2022.

[Arch Linux 32](https://archlinux32.org/?ref=itsfoss.com)

Transition instructions from Arch Linux to archlinux32 are also explained. Check out the [transition instructions](https://archlinux32.org/download?ref=itsfoss.com). A [dual-bootable installation](https://mirror.archlinux32.org/archisos?ref=itsfoss.com) media has also been made available for users.