ML4W Hyprland Dotfiles on Arch Linux (Setup & Features Guide) 2026 Updated
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The Linux desktop is currently undergoing its most significant shift in decades as Wayland takes the throne from X11. At the forefront of this revolution is Hyprland, a dynamic tiling window manager that proves you don't have to sacrifice eye-candy for performance. Building your environment from scratch on Arch Linux is the best way to understand the true power of this modern compositor.
Hi all, welcome to MusaBase! In this guide, I will walk you through the process of installing Hyprland on Arch Linux to take your desktop experience to the next level. While setting up a dynamic tiling window manager can be challenging, this tutorial simplifies everything. By the end of this guide, we will have achieved:
- Installation of core dependencies on an Arch Linux system
- Configuration of essential Hyprland and Wayland packages
- Hassle-free deployment of ML4W dotfiles using a single command
- A fully functional, aesthetically pleasing Hyprland desktop environment
We will be using the popular ML4W dotfiles repository to automate the setup and ensure a professional look. Without further ado, let's get started.
Let's do this!
Prerequisites
For Hyprland ML4W to function correctly, you only need a base or minimal Arch Linux system. If you haven't installed Arch Linux yet, I have a detailed resource to help you get started. Follow the Comprehensive Manual Arch Linux Installation Guide for a deeper understanding of the process.
If you are hesitant about installing Hyprland on your main hardware, I highly recommend testing it first in a virtual environment. You can refer to my QEMU/KVM setup guide to create a high-performance VM for testing dotfiles and configurations risk-free.
Once your Arch Linux system is ready, come back to this tutorial to continue with the Hyprland and ML4W deployment.
What is Hyprland?
Hyprland is a dynamic tiling Wayland compositor and window manager for Linux, known for its smooth animations, customizable features, and clean codebase. It's written in C++ and focuses on providing a visually appealing and efficient way to manage windows and desktops.
Step 1: Installing Required Dependencies & Packages
In this step, we need to install packages like git, wget, curl and nano etc. And also we are going to install yay. The direct link of ML4W dotfile will install yay and all other required dependencies for it to work but covering these hurdles beforehand will make the installation even more smoother.
1.1: Install Essential Packages
- Run the following command:
sudo pacman -Syu kitty firefox kate hyprland sddm curl wget git
1.2: Install Yay
- Run the following commands consecutively:
cd ~
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/yay.git
cd yay
makepkg -si
Step 2: Configuring Services
Next, we need to enable and configure services for display, network and Hyprland.
2.1: Enable the SDDM Display Manager
- First we need to enable and start SDDM, so we can log into Hyprland.
- Run the following command:
sudo systemctl enable --now sddm
3.2: Login into Your Hyprland
At the login screen, enter your user's password and press Enter. After a few seconds, you will see the Hyprland desktop:
- Close any welcome dialog, then press SUPER + Q or Meta + Q or WindowsKey + Q to open kitty terminal emulator.
3.3: Configure the DNS Server (Optional)
Perform this step only if you encounter network issues while downloading or installing packages (e.g., package downloads aborting).
- Press SUPER + Q or WINDOW-KEY + Q to open kitty terminal emulator.
- In the terminal, run the following command:
sudo nano /etc/resolv.conf- It will open /etc/resolv.conf file in nano:
- In the /etc/resolv.conf file, add the following line:
nameserver 8.8.8.8 # Google's
# OR
nameserver 1.1.1.1 # Cloudflare's
- Next, press Ctrl + O to save changes then press Enter to apply the changes and then press Ctrl + X to exit the file.
If you are still experiencing slow Pacman/Yay downloads or failed package downloads, check out my detailed guide on Fixing Slow Pacman Downloads on Arch Linux.
Step 4: Install the ML4W (My Linux for Work) Dotfiles
- Now that everything is set up, let's install the ML4W Dotfiles.
- In the kitty terminal, run this command:
bash <(curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mylinuxforwork/dotfiles/main/setup-arch.sh)Important Update: ML4W has changed its installation method. The old one-line curl script is no longer used. Now, you need to clone the official ml4w-dotfiles-installer repository and install it globally using make install. After that, you can run the installer directly from your system.
Updated Commands:
git clone https://github.com/mylinuxforwork/ml4w-dotfiles-installer.git
cd ml4w-dotfiles-installer
make install
- This will clone the ML4W repository and execute the installation script to set up its dotfiles.
- This process can take 10-15 minutes, depending on your internet connection and CPU speed.
- During execution, the script will prompt you to choose options. You can accept the defaults (as I did), or customize them as needed.
For a visual of the installation prompts, refer to my video below:
π Congratulations! Your Arch Linux system with ML4W Hyprland dotfiles is now up and running!
Now that you have a fully configured ML4W environment, you can begin personalizing your workspace. To adjust keybindings for your terminal, browser, or file manager, simply edit the ~/.config/hypr/hyprland.conf file. Remember to reload your configuration by pressing SUPER + Shift + R or by running hyprctl reload in your terminal.
Stay tuned for more customization walkthroughs. If this guide helped you, feel free to subscribe to the newsletter.
101 out, I’ll see you in the next one! π