How do I install Manjaro MATE with LVM on LUKS and dual boot with Windows?

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It’s the method used to encrypt the master key embedded in the LUKS header.

Grub currently does not support Argon for LUKS2, but you can override the initial LUKS creation using PBKDF instead. (Trivia: PBKDF is used in LUKS1).

Some of the terminology overlaps. Mount points and partitions are sometimes used as interchangable terms.

To make it easier to visualize:

Partitions

  • ESP
    – AKA: “EFI System Partition”
    – Formatted as FAT32
    – Under a running Linux system, usually mounted at /boot/efi or /efi
    – Can be shared (often is) between multiple OSes, including Windows and Linux
    – Usually sized around 300-500MB, but not a hard requirement, can be smaller (mine is 128M)[1]

  • Boot partition
    – AKA: Where your kernel, initramfs, grub menus, etc, live here
    – Not always a separate partition, sometimes it lives in the Root partition as a folder under /boot
    – If used as a separate partition, commonly formatted as Ext4
    – Under a running Linux system, usually mounted at /boot, if it’s a separate partition
    – Can vary in size, usually around a few hundred MB for room to spare for multiple kernels

  • Root partition
    – AKA: The “OS” or “System” partition where your OS, programs, system files, etc, live here
    – Can even include everything in the /boot folder if you don’t have a separate Boot partition
    – Can even include everything in the /home folder if you don’t have a separate Home partition
    – Can be formatted to whatever you prefer, such as Ext4, XFS, Btrfs
    – Under a running Linux system, always mounted at /
    – Usually sized large enough to hold the OS with plenty of breathing room

  • Home partition
    – AKA: Where your user data and personal files, live here
    – Not always a separate partition, sometimes it lives in the root partition as a folder under /home
    – If used as a separate partition, formatted to whatever you prefer, such as Ext4, XFS, Btrfs
    – Under a running Linux system, always mounted at /home, if it’s a separate partition
    – Usually sized large enough to hold your data and personal files, and so forth

Partitions and mount points are two different things. Think of a partition as the actual “block device”, and the mount point as the folder where this block device “begins its journey”.

If there is no separate partition (i.e, no separate block device), then the mount point is meaningless. So if you don’t have a separate boot partition (i.e, no separate block device formatted as Ext4), then /boot/ is in fact just a folder that lives in your Root partition, which upon browsing this folder you will see your kernel, initramfs, and grub menu/theme files.

[1] If you ever plan to use systemd-boot, it’s best to have a decently-sized ESP, so that it can comfortably house multiple kernels and initramfs’es. The reason I can get away with a tiny ESP is because I don’t plan to use systemd-boot. If I ever change my mind, I will need to upsize my ESP to something like 300 or 500 MB.