Insert a DVD or a bootable USB stick containing the installation image for openSUSE Leap, then reboot the computer to start the installation program. On machines with a traditional BIOS you will see the graphical boot screen shown below. On machines equipped with UEFI, a slightly different boot screen is used. Secure boot on UEFI machines is supported.

On BIOS machines, use F2 to change the language for the installer. A corresponding keyboard layout is chosen automatically. See Section 2.2.1, “The boot screen on machines equipped with traditional BIOS” or Section 2.2.2, “The boot screen on machines equipped with UEFI” for more information about changing boot parameters. On UEFI machines adjust the language and keyboard settings in the next step.

Select Installation on the boot screen, then press Enter. This boots the system and loads the openSUSE Leap installer.

On systems with a traditional BIOS the Language and Keyboard Layout settings are initialized with the language you chose at the boot screen. If you did not change the default, or are using a UEFI machine it will be English (US). Change the settings here, if necessary. Use the Keyboard Test text box to test the layout.

Read the License Agreement. It is presented in the language you have chosen. Other License Translations are available. Proceed with Next.

If the network can not be configured automatically, the Network Settings dialog opens. Choose a network interface from the list and configure it with Edit. Alternatively, Add an interface manually. See Section 3.4, “Network settings” and Book “Reference”, Chapter 13 “Basic networking”, Section 13.4 “Configuring a network connection with YaST” for more information. If you prefer to do an installation without network access, skip this step without making any changes and proceed with Next.

A system analysis is performed, where the installer probes for storage devices, and tries to find other installed systems. If a network connection with Internet access is available, you will be asked to activate the online repositories. Answer with Yes to proceed. In case you do not have Internet access, this step will be skipped.

The online repositories are official openSUSE package sources. They not only offer additional packages not included on the installation media, but also the update repositories containing security and bug fixes. Using the default selection is recommended. Add at least the Main Update Repository, because it makes sure the system is installed with the latest security patches.

You have the following choices:

Confirm your selection with Next. Depending on your choice, you need to confirm one or more license agreements. Do so by choosing Next until you proceed to the System Role screen. Now choose Next to proceed.

Choose a general software and system configuration with this step by selecting a desktop or server configuration.

For a desktop installation, choose between Desktop with KDE Plasma, Desktop with GNOME, Desktop with Xfce or Generic Desktop. KDE and Xfce are somewhat similar to Windows. GNOME offers an alternative, innovative environment. If you prefer an alternative to the KDE, GNOME, or Xfce desktops, choose Generic Desktop. You will be able to choose between the LXDE, MATE and others later in the installation process by selecting Software in the Installation Settings dialog.

If you are setting up a server, you probably do not need a graphical user interface. Choose Server (Text Mode) in this case. Alternatively, set up a server system with a read-only root partition and transactional updates by choosing Transactional Server. This selection also is a prerequisite for setting up openSUSE Kubic. See https://kubic.opensuse.org/blog/2018-04-04-transactionalupdates/ for more information on transactional updates.

You can also manually choose the software configuration for your system. Select Custom and then Next to get to the Software Selection and System Tasks dialog. Choose one or more patterns for installation. By clicking Details, you can select individual packages.

Tip: Release notes

From this point on, the Release Notes can be viewed from any screen during the installation process by selecting Release Notes.

Define a partition setup for openSUSE Leap in this step. Review the partition setup proposed by the system. If necessary, change it. You have the following options:

Note: Separate home partition

The default proposal no longer suggests to create a separate partition for /home. The /home directory contains the user's data and personal configuration files. Placing it on a separate directory makes it easier to rebuild the system in the future, or allows to share it with different Linux installations on the same machine.

In case you want to change the proposal to create a separate partition for /home, choose Guided Setup and click Next until you reach the Filesystem Options screen. Check Propose Separate Home Partition. By default it will be formatted with XFS, but you can choose to use a different file system. Close the dialog by clicking Next again.

To accept the proposed setup without any changes, choose Next to proceed.

Select the clock and time zone to use in your system. To manually adjust the time or to configure an NTP server for time synchronization, choose Other Settings. See Section 3.8, “Clock and time zone” for detailed information. Proceed with Next.

To create a local user, type the first and last name in the User’s Full Name field, the login name in the Username field, and the password in the Password field.

The password should be at least eight characters long and should contain both uppercase and lowercase letters and numbers. The maximum length for passwords is 72 characters, and passwords are case-sensitive.

For security reasons it is also strongly recommended not to enable the Automatic Login. You should also not Use this Password for the System Administrator but rather provide a separate root password in the next installation step.

If you install on a system where a previous Linux installation was found, you may Import User Data from a Previous Installation. Click Choose User for a list of available user accounts. Select one or more user.

In an environment where users are centrally managed (for example by NIS or LDAP) you may want to skip the creation of local users. Select Skip User Creation in this case.

Proceed with Next.

Provide a password for the system administrator account (called the root user).

You should never forget the root password! After you entered it here, the password cannot be retrieved. See Section 3.10, “Authentication for the system administrator root” for more information. Proceed with Next.

Tip: Passwords and keyboard layout

It is recommended to only use US ASCII characters. In case of a system error or when you need to start your system in rescue mode, the keyboard may not be localized.

In case you would like to enable password-less authentication via SSH login, you can import a key via Import Public SSH Key. If you want to completely disable root login via password, upload a key only and do not provide a root password. A login as system administrator will only be possible via SSH using the respective keyin this case.

Use the Installation Settings screen to review and—if necessary—change several proposed installation settings. The current configuration is listed for each setting. To change it, click the headline. Some settings, such as firewall or SSH can directly be changed by clicking the respective links.

Important: Remote access

Changes you can make here, can also be made later at any time from the installed system. However, if you need remote access directly after the installation, you have to adjust the Security settings.

After you have finalized the system configuration on the Installation Settings screen, click Install. Depending on your software selection you may need to agree to license agreements before the installation confirmation screen pops up. Up to this point no changes have been made to your system. After you click Install a second time, the installation process starts.

During the installation, the progress is shown in detail on the Details tab. The openSUSE Leap Release Notes tab shows important information; reading them is recommended.

After the installation routine has finished, the computer is rebooted into the installed system. Log in and start YaST to fine-tune the system. If you are not using a graphical desktop or are working from remote, refer to Book “Reference”, Chapter 1 “YaST in text mode” for information on using YaST from a terminal.