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ZDNET key takeaways
- Omarchy is an Arch-based distribution that uses Hyprland.
- This distribution is not for the faint of heart.
- You’ll need skill and patience to get the most out of this OS.
Hyprland is getting tons of coverage within the Linux community. If you’ve never heard of Hyprland, you’re in for a treat.
What is Hyprland? It’s a highly customizable, dynamic tiling compositor for Wayland on Linux. Hyprland is beautiful and efficient, but it isn’t exactly what I’d call a desktop for those new to Linux. Hyprland is a very keyboard-centric environment, so if you prefer using your mouse, there’s nothing for you to see here. In fact, everything happens on Omarchy via the keyboard.
You can forget about your mouse, because it’s not wanted or needed for this desktop distribution.
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That reliance on the keyboard is what makes Hyprland so efficient. You can work with the desktop without ever moving your fingers from the keyboard keys. Hyprland also automatically arranges applications in tiles and is fast, secure, and can be configured to be visually stunning.
But how can you check out Hyprland? You could try to install it on your distribution of choice, but I would recommend that you give Omarchy a go.
What is Omarchy?
Omarchy is considered an Omakase distribution. If you’ve never heard the term, you’re not alone. Omakase is a Japanese word that means “I’ll leave it up to you.” Omarchy doesn’t try to be familiar, so Windows or MacOS users will have an easy time adjusting. Instead, Omarchy sets out to be beautiful and better, while embracing the “Linux-ness” of it all.
In other words, Omarchy isn’t afraid or ashamed to remind users that they are working with Linux.
As I said earlier, Omarchy is all about the keyboard. For example, if you hit the Super + Space keyboard combination, the application launcher appears. Hit Super + Alt + Space, and the Omarchy menu opens.
The Omarchy app menu is fast and efficient.
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
Yep, it’s a festival of keyboard shortcuts, and without them, you won’t be able to get much done.
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That’s the most challenging aspect of Hyprland — remembering all of the keyboard shortcuts. Of course, a new user can get by with the Super + Space combination, as that gives you access to the app menu.
As well, moving app windows around the desktop is also done via keyboard shortcuts. You can stack windows horizontally (instead of vertically) with Super + J. You can swap windows with Super + Shift + Arrow Right.
Other shortcuts include:
- Super + Ctrl + T starts the Activity Monitor.
- You can tile a window with Super + T or hit the combination a second time to float a window.
- Super + Shift + F opens the file manager.
- Super + Shift + 2 moves the current focused application onto the second workspace.
- Super + Shift + 1 moves the window back.
- Super + Shift + Alt + 2 moves the current focused application onto the second workspace without switching to it.
You can learn more about the various keyboard shortcuts from this official listing.
Omarchy ships with all of the applications you need, such as Chromium, 1Password, an office suite, Signal, ChatGPT, and more. You could easily install Omarchy and not have to install any extra software to be productive. Omarchy is a good option for everyday users, power users, developers, gamers, etc.
If you have a use for it, Omarchy most likely has it installed, you just won’t know it out of the box, thanks to its lack of a clickable, mouseable desktop menu. To access the app menu, you hit Super + Space to open the menu, and then use your down arrow and up arrow to navigate the menu.
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Of course, you could, using your up and down arrow keys, scroll through the list of installed software, or use the search functionality to find what you’re looking for.
The most important thing you need to know about Omarchy is that it does not hold your hand as you learn. This is primarily due to Hyprland, which has a steep learning curve because you have to remember so many keyboard shortcuts.
However, as you learn Hyprland, you start to realize that it’s not only efficient, it’s pretty cool, especially given how customizable it is.
Guess what? Customizing Hyprland is done via the text file ~/.config/hypr/hyprland.conf. Yep, you customize your desktop by changing values in that file. For example, you might want to remove the autogenerated warning that might pop up on your desktop by changing autogenerated = 1 to autogenerated = 0.
In fact, Hyprland is pretty much an a la carte desktop, where you add and customize the bits and pieces that you want. I would very strongly recommend you visit the Hyprland Wiki to learn more about this.
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But isn’t this about Omarchy? It is, but it’s impossible to talk about Omarchy without talking about Hyprland.
Who is this thing for?
Omarchy is not a Linux distribution for the average user, not even remotely.
This take on Linux requires skill, determination, and a desire to have the most efficient desktop possible. The type of user Omarchy is made for includes hackers, developers, and those who like to spend hours customizing their desktops. Omarchy is the distribution you use if you want to install the OS and dive right into work, all the while using a desktop that isn’t mouse-friendly.
I will say that of all my attempts at using Hyprland, Omarchy has been the best, most painless option. I had Omarchy installed in minutes and found zero problems using Hyprland. I’ve installed Hyprland on other distributions, only to discover a plethora of issues.
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In the end, if you’re interested in Hyprland, skip all the other distributions and install Omarchy.