This is the most Unique Hyprland Setup: Caelestia Dots on a Arch Linux System

This is the most Unique Hyprland Setup: Caelestia Dots on a Arch Linux System

dotfiles Hyprland

Abdullah Musa

October 01, 2025

In a world of bloated interfaces and distracting animations, finding a setup that prioritizes focus without sacrificing aesthetics is rare. The Caelestia dotfiles bring a sense of calm and precision to Arch Linux that most desktop environments simply can't match.

Hi all, welcome to MusaBase! In today's guide, I'll walk you through installing Hyprland with the Caelestia dotfiles on Arch Linux. Caelestia is a minimalistic dotfile configuration with unique features that works right out of the box. In this guide, I will teach you how to:

• Perform a minimal Arch Linux installation using the archinstall script
• Configure and prepare the base Arch Linux system
• Install the required dependencies for Caelestia to run
• Cover both automatic and manual installation methods for the Caelestia dotfiles
• Finally, boot into Caelestia on Arch Linux

By the end of this guide, you will have a fully functional and one of the most epic Hyprland setups running on your Arch Linux system with ease. So without further ado, let's get started!

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Table of Contents:

• Prerequisites
• Step 1: Prepare Base Arch Linux System for Caelestia
• Step 2: Installing Caelestia
• Step 3: Launching Caelestia
• Explore Further

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Prerequisites

To set up the Caelestia dotfiles, you only need a base or minimal installation of Arch Linux. If you prefer an automated, desktop-free setup, check out my guide on automating a minimal Arch Linux installation using the archinstall script .

For users who want full control over the installation process, I also have a detailed manual Arch Linux installation guide which walks you through installing Arch Linux without any desktop environment. Once the installation is complete, return to this article to continue setting up Caelestia on Arch Linux.

System Requirements

• OS: Base/minimal Arch Linux
• RAM: Minimum 4GB (More Ram the better)
• Storage: Minimum 20GB free space
• CPU: Any x86-64 bit compatible
• GPU: Any modern GPU
• Internet: Stable connection

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Step 1: Prepare Base Arch Linux System for Caelestia

Before installing Hyprland with the Caelestia dotfiles, we need to install a few essential packages and configure some services, such as setting up a nameserver, installing and setting up yay and preparing other dependencies for compiling and installing Caelestia dotfiles. These steps are optional, but from my personal experience, completing them beforehand will make the Caelestia installation process much smoother and simpler.

1.1: Configure DNS Server

Adding a nameserver is my personal preference; you can skip this step if you like. In my case, after adding custom nameservers, I noticed a more stable connection to servers, many "couldn't resolve host" errors were resolved, and the overall speed felt more reliable compared to using the default settings.

• Run:

sudo echo -e "nameserver 8.8.8.8" | sudo tee /etc/resolv.conf

• /etc/resolv.conf: Linux uses this file to know which DNS servers to ask when converting user-friendly domain names (like google.com) into IP addresses.
• nameserver X.X.X.X: Tells the resolver the IP address of a DNS server to try. We can list multiple nameservers. The system will try them in sequence.

1.2: Update Arch Linux System

Updating the system before installing any package ensures that all dependencies are properly satisfied without conflict. It also helps in preventing partial-upgrade problems, which often lead to mismatched dependencies.

• Run:

sudo pacman -Syu

1.3: Install Essential Tools

Next, I'm going to install some tools that are essential for editing conf files and downloading software from GitHub in a command-line environment.

• Run:

sudo pacman -S wget curl git nano gcc make cmake python python-pip

• base-devel: This is a group of essential development tools (compiler, linker, make etc.). It basically provides tools to compile software from source.
• nano: It's a simple and extremely lightweight text editor that works in the terminal.
• git: Version control system used to clone repositories.
• wget: A command-line tool used for downloading files over HTTP/HTTPS/FTP etc.
• curl: Another command-line tool, just like wget, but offers more flexibility.
• ninja: A build system with minimal overhead optimized for fast incremental builds (like building Caelestia dotfiles).
• cmake: Generally responsible for managing the build process and generating native build files.
• python: The Python programming language interpreter & runtime. Caelestia dependencies heavily depend on it.
• python-pip: Python package installer for installing Python modules/packages from PyPI or other sources.

1.4: Install Yay

Installing yay is highly recommended because whether we install Caelestia manually or automatically, it will need yay to download and install its dependencies. Although Caelestia can install yay automatically, in my experience this often leads to package conflicts during automated processes. Installing yay manually beforehand helps avoid these issues.

• First we need to clone the yay repo, then cd into it, and make and install it.
• Run these commands consecutively:

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

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Step 2: Installing Caelestia

Installing Caelestia is super easy. We only need to clone its git repo and then, by simply running the fish script, we can begin the installation with a single command.

2.1: Install Fish

The Caelestia dotfiles repo's install script is written using Fish syntax. So we need Fish to run it. Fish is an interactive Unix shell designed to be user-friendly, more intuitive, and more modern than traditional shells like Bash or Zsh.

• To install fish, run:

sudo pacman -S fish

2.2: Clone Caelestia Repo

• Run:

git clone https://github.com/caelestia-dots/caelestia.git ~/.local/share/caelestia

2.3: Install Caelestia Dotfiles with Single Command

• Run:

~/.local/share/caelestia/install.sh
# OR
# for auto confirming the default options
~/.local/share/caelestia/install.sh --noconfirm

• The script will auto-handle all dependencies installation, services installation, and symlinking all files system-wide.
• It can take up to 15-30 minutes depending on the speed of your internet connection.
• The installer will ask for your password multiple times; just type in your password and hit ENTER to continue.
• It will also do some compiling when needed, and if everything goes right, the Caelestia dotfiles will be implemented on your Arch Linux system momentarily.

Install SDDM (Optional)

SDDM is a display manager for X11 and Wayland-based systems. It is usually used as a graphical login manager to log or boot into installed Desktop Environments or supported Compositors (like Hyprland).

• Run:

sudo pacman -S sddm

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Step 3: Launching Caelestia

Now, we can launch Hyprland with Caelestia dotfiles integrated either from TTY/console login (manual) or from a Graphical Login Manager (SDDM).

• For the manual method, we don't need to do much. Just simply run:

hyprland

• Or if you installed SDDM, then enable it and log into Hyprland from SDDM.
• Run the following command:

sudo systemctl enable sddm --now

• This will enable and start the SDDM service immediately.
• At the login screen, enter your password and press ENTER and you will be inside your Caelestia environment.

Fixing Missing Wallpaper

A missing wallpaper or this error doesn't mean the installation didn't complete successfully. Wallpapers are defined by users and can be easily fixed. Just do the following:

• Press SUPER + T or META + T or WINDOWS KEY + T, or use Q if T doesn't do anything. It will open the terminal.

sudo mkdir ~/Pictures
sudo mkdir ~/Pictures/Wallpapers
sudo chown -R $USER:$USER ~/Pictures/Wallpapers
cd ~/Pictures/Wallpapers

• Now in the wallpapers directory, for this guide, I'm downloading ML4W stored wallpapers. You can always download the ones you like and place them in ~/Pictures/Wallpapers.
• Run:

git clone https://github.com/mylinuxforwork/wallpaper.git

• After the cloning is complete, open the ~/Pictures/Wallpapers/wallpaper directory from Dolphin (if installed) or from the terminal with the cd command. Install Dolphin with sudo pacman -S dolphin.
• From the repo, copy all images and paste them into ~/Pictures/Wallpaper.

• By default, Caelestia will look for wallpapers at ~/Pictures/Wallpapers. You can change the default settings by editing the files at ~/.config/hypr/ or ~/.config/hypr/hyprland.conf.
• Next, reboot the system so the wallpaper application can apply the changes.
• After reboot and logging back into Caelestia, press META or SUPER or WINDOWS KEY to open Caelestia's application menu/launcher.
• In the application launcher, type >wallpaper and press ENTER:

>wallpaper

• The wallpaper application will load with all the wallpapers stored inside ~/Pictures/Wallpapers.
• Select the one you like by pressing the down arrow () or up arrow () and press ENTER to set the new wallpaper.

Changing Color Scheme with Wallpaper

Caelestia also configures the color scheme of the UI to match the current wallpaper. To set the color scheme to change with wallpaper, do the following:

• Open terminal with SUPER + T and run:

caelestia scheme set -n dynamic

• After running the color scheme command, open the wallpaper application from the application menu with >wallpaper.
• Now, when you change the wallpaper, your color scheme should change according to the colors of your current wallpaper.

Update Caelestia

• If you installed Caelestia dotfiles with the manual method, then do the following:

yay -Syu
cd $HOME/.config/quickshell/caelestia
git pull

• If you installed Caelestia dotfiles with the auto method, then do the following:

yay -Syu
cd ~/.local/share/caelestia
git pull

Caelestia Default Keybinds for Basic Functions

Super - open launcher
Super + # - switch to workspace #
Super + Alt + # - move window to workspace #
Super + T - open terminal (foot)
Super + W - open browser (zen)
Super + C - open IDE (vscodium)
Super + S - toggle special workspace or close current special workspace
Ctrl + Alt + Delete - open session menu
Ctrl + Super + Space - toggle media play state
Ctrl + Super + Alt + R - restart the shell

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✨ Caelestia Setup Complete!

Well, now the installation of your Caelestia dotfiles is complete. This setup offers a unique, modern aesthetic for your workflow. For deeper customization options, be sure to visit the official Caelestia Dots repository. If you opted for the manual installation method, I also recommend checking out Caelestia Shell for more detailed information on the underlying shell configurations.

Discover Other Hyprland Configurations

🚀 End-4 Dotfiles: If you are looking for a highly advanced and feature-packed Rice, follow my guide on installing End-4 Hyprland dotfiles on Arch Linux.

⚡ JaKooLit Setup: For a lightweight and nostalgically minimal experience, check out my walkthrough on how to install JaKooLit Hyprland dotfiles.

🛠️ Support & Troubleshooting: If you hit any errors or face any issues while following the steps in this guide, please let me know in the comments below. I will be more than happy to help you resolve them.

If this setup improved your desktop experience, stay tuned to MusaBase for more cutting-edge Linux customization guides.
101 out, I’ll see you in the next one! 🚀

Abdullah Musa October 01, 2025