How to Install Omarchy OS: The Arch Linux Hyprland OS by DHH
Why spend hours troubleshooting configurations when you can have perfection out of the box? Omarchy OS takes the raw potential of Arch Linux and wraps it in a breathtaking Hyprland setup.
Welcome back to MusaBase! Today, I'll be installing Omarchy OS. After using Caelestia for my daily workflow over the past five months, I felt the need for something fresh with better performance. I heard about a new Hyprland-based OS trending in the Linux community, so I decided to give it a try. At first, there was a learning curve due to the different keybindings and the keyboard-centric workflow, but after using it for three weeks, Omarchy has become my go-to Linux OS. In this guide, I will show you exactly how to install it on your machine.
By the end of this article, you will have a fully functional Omarchy system running on your PC. Here is what we will cover:
- Downloading the Omarchy ISO.
- Creating a bootable USB with the Omarchy ISO.
- Booting into the Omarchy Live environment.
- Setting up the base system and installing Omarchy OS.
- Logging into your newly installed Omarchy system.
What is Omarchy OS?
Omarchy OS was developed by DHH (David Heinemeier Hansson). He's also the creator of Ruby on Rails and Omakub which is just like Omarchy but for Ubuntu. The reason behind Omarchy was convenience: no more configuring Arch Linux for hours. With Omarchy it's literally plug and play.
At its core, Omarchy OS is a pre-configured Hyprland setup. But what makes it unique among its counterparts is how it takes subtle elements from several pre-existing dotfiles and blends them into one highly opinionated, optimized, and performance-focused system. Whether you're new to Hyprland or tiling window managers in general, want a distraction-free environment for focused work, or are interested in gaming on Linux, Omarchy is built for it all.
Prerequisites and System Requirements for Omarchy
Omarchy OS is an Arch-based Linux distribution that uses Hyprland with pre-configured system files and already installed essential packages to provide a fully fledged desktop environment. Because of Arch plus Hyprland, Omarchy's resource consumption is comparatively low, which means it can also function on older machines.
System Requirements
- Processor: 64-bit Intel or AMD processor. (Mine is an Intel i5 4th gen).
- RAM: 4 GB minimum, but for smooth animations and better performance 16 GB is recommended. (I'm using 16 GB DDR3 on my PC).
- Storage: For Omarchy OS alone, 20 GB is sufficient, but you can add more as needed.
Step 1: Boot Omarchy Live ISO Environment
In this step, we download the Omarchy ISO image and create a bootable USB stick to boot into the live Omarchy installation environment. For a straightforward, easy USB creation, I recommend using Balena Etcher.
1.1: Download Omarchy ISO
- Visit Omarchy.org.
- Click on the ISO button and the Omarchy ISO will start downloading.
- After the download completes, you will have an ISO file similar to this:
omarchy-3.7.0-2.iso
1.2: Create a Bootable USB with Omarchy OS
- Download and install BalenaEtcher.
- After the installation is complete, open BalenaEtcher.
- Click on Flash from file. A pop-up window will open. Navigate to the folder where your Omarchy ISO is stored and select it.
- Next, click on Select target and choose the USB drive you want to use for the Omarchy installation.
- Once everything is set, click Flash! and in 2–5 minutes your USB will be ready with the Omarchy ISO.
1.3: Boot into Omarchy ISO
- Reboot your PC.
- While your PC is turning on, press F9, F10, F11, F12, DEL or ESC key to open UEFI/BIOS settings.
- Locate and disable Secure Boot & Fast Boot option (Usually it's under Security or Advanced Settings tab).
- Save & Exit.
- Next, to boot from your Omarchy booted USB, press F9, F12, or ESC.
- If everything goes right, then you would be greeted by Omarchy OS splash screen from where, we can start setting up our base Omarchy system:
Step 2: Base System Settings for Omarchy OS
In this step, the Omarchy OS installer will prompt you for several basic options to configure the base system. These include the Keyboard/system language, a GitHub account email (which can be skipped by simply pressing ENTER), the Hostname, the root password, and your Timezone. After you have configured these options, the installer will display a final summary of the base system layout. Once confirmed, we can proceed to install Omarchy OS.
2.1: Select Keyboard Layout
- On the very first base system settings screen, Omarchy OS asks you to select your Keyboard layout.
- Select your preferred layout for your system (e.g., English, French, or Dvorak, etc.) and press ENTER. For my system, I'm selecting English (US).
2.2: Set Username
- On the second base system settings screen, Omarchy OS asks you to set your Username.
- Here, enter your username in lowercase letters (e.g., musabase).
2.3: Set Password for User, Root and Encryption
- On the third base system settings screen, Omarchy OS asks you to set a password that will be used for your user, root and also encryption. Omarchy OS uses LUKS encryption to encrypt and lock the entire drive where Omarchy OS will be installed.
- Enter and re-enter your password. Make sure to set a strong password that includes uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters.
2.4: Add GitHub Account
- On the fourth base system settings screen, Omarchy OS asks you to connect your GitHub account. This step is optional and mostly for developers to link GitHub to Omarchy OS, since DHH created it as an opinionated and developer-focused system.
- You can add your account by entering your GitHub account's full name and email address. For my system I skipped it simply by pressing Enter.
2.5: Set Hostname
- On the fifth base system settings screen, Omarchy OS asks for the Hostname. Set any hostname you want for your system (e.g., MusaBase) and press ENTER. It's just for naming your machine on the network.
2.6: Select Timezone
- On the sixth base system settings screen, Omarchy asks you to set your Timezone. By default, the Omarchy OS installer will automatically pick your Region (e.g., Asia, Europe, etc.) and show you the available timezones.
- Select your preferred timezone (e.g., Asia/Istanbul, America/Los_Angeles, etc.) and press ENTER. For my system, I'm selecting Asia/Karachi.
2.7: Finalizing Setup
- On the seventh and final base system settings screen, the Omarchy installer will display the final layout of the base system with your previously set values.
- If everything is correct, press ENTER on Yes. If you want to change something, select No, change it and press ENTER. For my system everything is set correctly, so I will continue to the storage drive section.
Step 3: Install Omarchy OS
In this step, we will install Omarchy OS. But before that you will need to dedicate a full hard drive or SSD to Omarchy OS. Because during the auto installation, Omarchy OS will erase all existing data on your selected storage drive, create a new btrfs file system, and set up several partitions and sub‑partitions for root.
Omarchy OS Installation
- After completing the base system setup, the Omarchy installer will take you to the disk selection section. It will show all connected storage drives and ask you to select the disk where you want to install Omarchy OS.
- Select the one you want and press ENTER. For me it's /dev/sda.
- On the next screen, Omarchy OS will warn you that Everything will be overwritten. There is no recovery possible. Press ENTER on Yes, format disk and the installation will begin.
- On my system, it took 8 minutes and 26 seconds to install Omarchy OS.
- After the installation is complete, simply press ENTER on Reboot Now to reboot and boot into the freshly installed Omarchy OS.
Step 4: Boot into Freshly Installed Omarchy OS
After completing the Omarchy OS installation and rebooting, we will be greeted by Omarchy's Limine bootloader, which is themed and a little faster than GRUB:
- Press ENTER on linux and after a few seconds, you will be greeted by the Omarchy login screen.
- On the login screen, enter the password that you set during installation in 2.3: Set Password for user, root and encryption and press ENTER.
And, we are in!
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Omarchy OS free?
Yes, completely free. It is an open‑source project by DHH, just like Ruby on Rails and Omakub.
Can Omarchy run games?
Absolutely. Omarchy ships with Steam, RetroArch, and integrations for Lutris and Heroic, so it is ready for Linux gaming out of the box.
How long does the installation take?
On my Intel i5 4th‑gen with 16 GB RAM, it took 8 minutes and 26 seconds. That included formatting the drive and installing all packages.
Can I install Omarchy alongside Windows?
The installer wipes the entire selected drive, so dual‑booting on a single disk is not straightforward. It is best to dedicate a separate physical drive to Omarchy if you want to keep Windows.
What happens if I forget my encryption password?
There is no recovery. Omarchy uses LUKS encryption that locks the whole drive. If you lose the password, your data is gone, so store it safely.
Is Omarchy good for beginners?
Honestly, there is a learning curve. Everything is keyboard‑driven and the workflow is very different from Windows or standard GNOME. But if you are willing to adapt, it becomes fast and productive, just like it did for me after three weeks.
π Omarchy OS Installation Complete!
Omarchy OS is now fully installed and running on your system. Personally, I find this to be the most focused, keyboard‑driven Linux experience I have ever used—distraction‑free, fast, and surprisingly polished for a distribution that refuses to hold your hand. For more technical details, release notes, or to report issues, be sure to visit the official Omarchy GitHub repository. For keybinds visit the Omarchy's Hotkeys page. A huge thanks to DHH and all the contributors for creating and maintaining this incredible project.
If this setup transformed your Linux experience, stay tuned to MusaBase for more advanced customization tutorials.
101 out, I’ll see you in the next one! π