Getting Started
Omarchy runs on Arch Linux, so you must install that first. This will wipe everything on the drive you're going to use, so ensure you have a backup! There isn't any dual-boot option either (since that's incompatible with disk encryption). This is a clean-sweep install process.
- Download the Arch Linux ISO, put it on a USB stick (use balenaEtcher on Mac/Windows), and boot off the stick (remember to turn off Secure Boot in the BIOS!).
- If you're on wifi, start by running
iwctl, then typestation wlan0 scan, thenstation wlan0 connect <tab>, pick your network, and enter the password. If you're on ethernet, you don't need this. - Run
archinstalland pick these options (and leave anything not mentioned as-is):
| Section | Option |
|---|---|
| Mirrors and repositories | Select regions > Your country |
| Disk configuration | Partitioning > Default partitioning layout > Select disk (with space + return) |
| Disk > File system | btrfs (default structure: yes + use compression) |
| Disk > Disk encryption | Entryption type: LUKS + Encryption password + Partitions (select the one) |
| Hostname | Give your computer a name |
| Authentication > Root password | Set yours |
| Authentication > User account | Add a user > Superuser: Yes > Confirm and exit |
| Applications > Audio | pipewire |
| Network configuration | Copy ISO network config |
| Additional packages | Add wget (type "/wget" to filter list) |
| Timezone | Set yours |
Beware that you must setup disk encryption to use Omarchy as designed! The setup relies exclusively on disk encryption to secure your device, as it'll auto-login the user after the disk has been decrypted at boot.
Just note that this encryption setup won't allow you to enter the password from a Bluetooth keyboard at startup. Just like you can't use a Bluetooth keyboard to enter the BIOS on a PC. You'll need a keyboard that either uses a 2.4ghz dongle or a cable (which is much nicer for latency anyway!). I personally love the Lofree Flow84!
Here's what the disk encryption setup should look like. You need to pick LUKS, then set the encryption password, then apply to the partition (this step is crucial or nothing gets encrypted!):
If any of this is new to you, I recommend following the video tour of how to run the archinstaller.
Once Arch has been installed, pick reboot, login with the user you just setup, and now you're ready to install Omarchy by running:
wget -qO- https://omarchy.org/install | bash (capital oh not zero in -q0-)
It'll first ask you to sudo, then shortly thereafter, it'll ask for your name and email address. Those credentials are used to preconfigure git (git config --global user.name/email) and set for auto-expansion on CapsLock Space E (email) and CapsLock Space N (name). After that, it'll run by itself for 5-30 minutes, depending on the speed of your internet connection. When it's all done, it'll ask for your permission to reboot the system.
Now you're ready to Omarchy!
"Bare mode" without (almost) any preinstalled applications
If you're a purist who does not want Omarchy to install any of the full-featured applications like Spotify, Pinta, LocalSend, OBS Studio, and everything else in the GUI apps sections, you can run the installer in "bare mode". Then you only get the basic essential system tools along with Chromium, Alacritty, and neovim. Everything else you'll be responsible for:
wget -qO- https://omarchy.org/install-bare | bash