ML4W Hyprland Dotfiles on Arch Linux (Setup & Features Guide)

ML4W Hyprland Dotfiles on Arch Linux (Setup & Features Guide)

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Abdullah Musa

May 29, 2025

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!

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Table of Contents:

• What is Hyprland?
• Prerequisites
• Step 1: Prepare the Base Arch Linux System
• Step 2: Installing Required Dependencies & Packages
• Step 3: Configuring Services
• Step 4: Install the ML4W (My Linux for Work) Dotfiles
• Explore More

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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 two detailed resources to help you get started. You can follow my Minimal Arch Linux Automated Script for a fast setup, or use my Comprehensive Manual 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.

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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.

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Step 1: Prepare the Base Arch Linux System

First we need to do some configuration and install necessary packages to perform an error-free Hyprland installation.

1.1: Adding User to Wheel Group for SUDO Privileges (If not done already)

1.1.1: Switch to Super-User (root)

• Run this command to switch user to the super-user or root.

su

• When prompted, enter the root password you set during installation.

When you switch from your local user to the super-user, the shell prompt will change (e.g., from $ to #).

1.2.2: Install the Nano Text Editor

• Next, run the following command to install nano, a command line text editor:

pacman -S nano

1.2.3: Enable sudo for the Wheel Group

• Now, we need to edit the sudoers file (visudo) to edit permissions for members of the wheel group.
• Run:

EDITOR=nano visudo

• It will open up sudoers file in nano:

• Press the Down Key () to navigate to downward in the file.
• Navigate all the way to bottom and look for lines containing:

## Uncomment to allow members of group wheel to execute any command
# %wheel ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL

• Uncomment the second line by deleting # from the start of the line.
• Next, press Ctrl + O to save the changes, then press Enter to apply the changes, then press Ctrl + X to exit the file.

1.2.4: Add User to the Wheel Group

• Run the following command:

usermod -aG wheel musabase

Note: Replace the musabase with your actual username.

1.2.5: Change back to Local User

Now that our user has sudo privileges, switch back from the super-user to your local user. It's best practice to perform administrative tasks as a normal user with sudo rather than as root.

• Run the following command:

su username

Note: Replace the username with your actual username.
When you change from the super-user to your local user i.e musabase, the shell prompt also changes from root to musabase. This indicates that you are now operating as your normal user.

1.2: System Update

• Now that our user has sudo privileges, let's run a system update using sudo.
• Run the following command (you will be prompted for your user's password):

sudo pacman -Syu

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Step 2: 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.

2.1: Install Essential Packages

• Run the following command:

sudo pacman -S kitty firefox kate hyprland sddm curl wget git

2.2: Install Yay

• Run the following commands consecutively:

cd ~
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/yay.git
cd yay
makepkg -si

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Step 3: Configuring Services

Next, we need to enable and configure services for display, network and Hyprland.

3.1: 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.

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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)

• 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:

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🎉 Congratulations! Your Arch Linux system with Hyprland dotfiles is now up and running!

Now that you have a fully configured 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.

What's Next?

🎨 Try a Different Aesthetic: If you want to explore more customization, check out my guide on Arch Linux with the Hyde Project for a unique and polished look.

⚡ Optimized Workflow: For those looking for one of the most popular automated setups, follow my tutorial on installing Jakoolit's Hyprland dotfiles.

📂 More Customization: I have a variety of setups available including Calestia and End_4. You can browse all my Hyprland tutorials to find the setup that best suits your style.

🛠️ Support & Feedback: If you hit any snags with the ML4W installation or if your keybindings aren't working as expected, drop a comment below. I am here to help you fine-tune your setup.

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! 🚀

Abdullah Musa May 29, 2025