We don't need a complex tiling compositor just to enjoy a clean, modern Linux workspace. Caelestia KDE dots on Arch Linux give us the best of both worlds: high-end Material You styling built directly on top of KDE Plasma’s legendary flexibility and stability.
Also, all credit for the original Caelestia design and shell goes to soramanew, the creator of the Caelestia dotfiles and Caelestia Shell. Caelestia-KDE is just a KDE Plasma port built on top of that work.
Hello there, welcome to MusaBase! I have tried several pre-configured Hyprland dotfiles on my Arch Linux system, like Caelestia or End 4 or JaKooLit to name a few. But I mainly used KDE Plasma as my desktop environment for testing and productive purposes. It has been one and a half years since I made my switch to Linux and I have been using Arch Linux with KDE Plasma as my daily driver. And because I have been switching between Hyprland and KDE, I kinda wished that there should be a similar UI for a traditional desktop environment like KDE Plasma. Sure I could manually configure and do some ricing on my existing KDE Plasma but as lazy as I am, I began to look for pre-configured setups. Luckily at the same time a developer named ladybug-me dropped Caelestia-KDE, the exact same thing I was looking for. And in today's guide, I will show you exactly how to apply Caelestia Shell's tiling management with amazing animations and effects on your KDE Plasma desktop environment too.
In this article, we will cover, how to:
- Prep Arch Linux with KDE for Caelestia-KDE dots.
- Initialize the Caelestia-KDE installation.
- Configure base Caelestia-KDE installation settings.
- Install the actual Caelestia-KDE.
- And finally, logging into Caelestia-KDE on Arch Linux.
⚡ TL;DR: Install Caelestia KDE Dots on Arch Linux
A quick reference for installing Caelestia-KDE on Arch Linux with KDE Plasma, including prepping the system, running the installer TUI, selecting packages, appearance, shell, and applications, and logging into the themed SDDM session.
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Prep Arch Linux and KDE Plasma:
Make sure you have Arch Linux and KDE Plasma 6 on Wayland already installed. Then update your system:
(See the "Prerequisites" and "Update Arch Linux" sections for details.)sudo pacman -Syyu -
Add custom DNS if GitHub is blocked:
(See the "Add Custom DNS" section for details.)sudo echo "nameserver 1.1.1.1" | sudo tee /etc/resolv.conf -
Run the Caelestia-KDE installer:
(See the "Caelestia-KDE Initial Set Up" section for the full walkthrough.)curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ladybug-me/caelestia-kde/main/install.sh | sh - Configure inside the TUI: Select your preferred Packages, Appearance, Shell, Applications, and Installer options using SPACEBAR. Press ESC to return to the main Configuration screen after each menu. (See sections 2.2 through 2.6 for details.)
- Review and install: Press ENTER on the Configuration screen to begin. The installer compiles packages from source, mainly quickshell, so expect 1 to 2 hours depending on your hardware and internet. (See the "Review Configurations and Install Caelestia-KDE" section for details.)
- Log out and log back into Caelestia-KDE: After installation completes, type Y and press ENTER to log out. At the themed SDDM login screen, enter your password to enter the Caelestia-KDE session. (See the "Caelestia-KDE" section for details.)
💡 If you encounter "Could not resolve host" errors while cloning repos or downloading packages, add custom nameservers (1.1.1.1 and 8.8.8.8) to /etc/resolv.conf as a temporary fix. For a permanent solution, see the Fixing Slow Pacman Downloads on Arch Linux guide. Caelestia-KDE requires KDE Plasma 6 on Wayland and Qt 6.9+.
Prerequisites
I won't be covering the installation of Arch Linux and KDE Plasma in this guide. So this guide assumes that you have already installed Arch Linux and set KDE Plasma as its desktop environment. However, we do need KDE Plasma installed because the Caelestia-KDE installer expects KDE Plasma's libraries and system files to apply its configuration on top of it. If you don't have Arch Linux and KDE Plasma installed, and want a straightforward smooth installation guide, then I've covered both:
- For Arch Linux installation follow my How To Install Arch Linux: A Comfy 100% Arch Installation Guide , in this guide, I covered all the steps necessary for building an Arch system.
- For installing KDE Plasma on Arch Linux, follow my Arch Linux KDE Plasma: Complete Setup & Optimization Guide to set up KDE Plasma as your desktop environment.
First complete the Arch Linux and KDE Plasma installations, then come back to this guide and continue.
Step 1: Prep Arch Linux for Caelestia-KDE
In this step, we will prepare our Arch Linux system beforehand, such as updating the system and adding custom DNS, so the errors that I faced during installation of Caelestia-KDE won't happen for you.
1.1: Update Arch Linux
- Run:
sudo pacman -Syyu # OR yay -Syyu - If there's a new kernel update, remember to reboot your PC. So the new kernel patches can be applied.
1.2: Add Custom DNS
- Run:
sudo echo "nameserver 8.8.8.8" | sudo tee /etc/resolv.conf # If you prefer Google's # OR sudo echo "nameserver 1.1.1.1" | sudo tee /etc/resolv.conf # If you prefer Cloudflare's
Adding custom nameservers or DNS is my personal preference. Mostly because with the default ISP provided DNS blocks me from downloading GitHub repos. Maybe this issue could be related to my region only, it may not happen on your side. But if you face couldn't resolve host error during the cloning git repos or package installation then add custom nameservers to your /etc/resolv.conf.
But this should be treated as a temporary fix. For a complete solution, I've documented a full dedicated article in my Fixing Slow Pacman Downloads on Arch Linux guide. If you face the same issue, you can also try installing the packages while connected to a VPN.
Step 2: Install Caelestia-KDE
In this step, we will install the Caelestia-KDE on our KDE Plasma desktop in Arch Linux. This step involves a single install command provided by the Caelestia-KDE installer, plus we need to do some initial settings as to what features or components we want in our Caelestia-KDE ecosystem.
2.1: Caelestia-KDE TUI
- Run the following command to install Caelestia-KDE:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ladybug-me/caelestia-kde/main/install.sh | sh
- When the Caelestia-KDE install command completes the cloning of caelestia-kde repo, it will open up Caelestia's TUI:
Here, press ENTER to continue.
- Next, the Caelestia-KDE TUI will prompt for a Caelestia Setup window:
Here, press ENTER on > Install Caelestia.
- On the next step, the Caelestia-KDE TUI will prompt for PRIVILEGE ESCALATION:
Here, enter your password and press ENTER.
- On the next step, the Caelestia-KDE TUI will prompt for a CONFIGURATION window:
Here, we can select what we want in our Caelestia-KDE system, such as:
- Component
- Desktop themes and Login manager (SDDM) theme
- Icons
- Packages
- Installer options
2.2: Caelestia-KDE Packages
- Press ENTER on Packages > to select which package you want to install with the Caelestia-KDE installation.
- Currently, in the Packages list, the Caelestia-KDE provides us with:
- Fish shell: Will be used as the command-line shell in the Caelestia-KDE environment which provides us with features like syntax highlighting, autosuggestions, and command completion.
- Papirus icon theme: Implements the Papirus icon theme used by Caelestia-KDE to give applications and the desktop a consistent and modern icon style.
- Darkly theme package: Implements the Darkly QT theme used to give applications a consistent dark appearance within the Caelestia-KDE setup.
- Kvantum theme engine: Integrates the Kvantum theme engine, which allows Caelestia-KDE to apply custom QT themes and maintain a visual appearance across QT applications.
- Thunar integration files: Integrates the Thunar for applications and desktop components that rely on its file-management functionality, helping maintain compatibility with the Caelestia-KDE environment.
- Here, select the package you want with SPACEBAR. When we select a package from the Caelestia-KDE's list, its checklist will be marked with [X]. After the selection, press ESC key to get back to the main Configuration screen.
- I'm selecting all packages that the Caelestia-KDE installer provides.
2.3: Caelestia-KDE Appearance
- Press ENTER on Appearance > to set up for our Caelestia-KDE environment.
- In the Appearance screen, the Caelestia-KDE installer provides us:
- Apply Darkly theme: Which will set the overall style, window decorations, and borders to Darkly aesthetics.
- Custom fonts: This will apply Rubik and JetBrains Mono Nerd fonts across the system.
- Custom lockscreen: It will install the Caelestia lock screen greeter for KDE Plasma.
- SDDM greeter theme: It will apply the Material You theme to login screen with wallpaper and color.
- SDDM theme variant: Here we can choose whether we want our SDDM fully themed or minimal. I'm choosing full, but you can choose according to your preferences.
- Here, select the appearance you want for your system with SPACEBAR. After the selection, press ESC to get back to the main Configuration screen.
- I'm selecting all appearance options that the Caelestia-KDE installer provides.
2.4: Caelestia-KDE Shell
- Press ENTER on Shell > to choose which shell you want for your terminal or CLIs.
- Currently, the Caelestia-KDE installer provides us with three options to choose from:
- fish: Which gives us the autosuggestions and syntax highlighting features.
- bash: Provides the Bash shell, a widely used command-line shell.
- zsh: Provides the Zsh shell, for advanced customization, completion, and scripting features.
- Select the shell that you want as your default shell then press ESC to go back to Configuration screen.
- I'm choosing fish as my default shell for my Caelestia-KDE environment.
2.5: Caelestia-KDE Applications
- The Applications menu in Caelestia-KDE is not about installing the given applications, but it's Caelestia's theme and styling that we can choose to apply to the applications.
- Currently, Caelestia-KDE gives us themes for six applications:
- VSCode / VSCodium: Caelestia theme for IDEs, such as the official Visual Studio Code or if you want to use open-source community driven IDE VSCodium.
- Zed: Apply theme for a minimalist code editor Zed.
- Spicetify: This will apply theme for digital music service called Spotify.
- Discord / Equibop: This applies theme for Discord or Equibop depending on whichever you will use.
- Todoist: This will apply Caelestia-KDE theme for work organizer called Todoist
- Firefox theming: This will apply Caelestia-KDE theming for Firefox the web browser.
- Select the theme options for the application you want with SPACEBAR, after selecting, press ESC to get back to the Configuration screen.
- I'm choosing VSCode / VSCodium, Discord / Equibop, and Firefox theming.
2.6: Caelestia-KDE Installer Options
- Currently, the Installer options menu in Caelestia-KDE has only two options:
- Remove build cache after install: Which will remove all cache (quickshell, cmake, ninja, etc) after completing the Caelestia-KDE installation.
- Skip the full system update: This option will only skip the full system update (sudo pacman -Syu).
- Select the installer options you want and press ESC.
- I'm leaving both options unchecked because I can wipe the build cache after the installation, and I have already run the system's update command in the Update Arch step.
2.7: Review Configurations and Install Caelestia-KDE
- Now that everything is set, let's review our configurations and begin the Caelestia-KDE installation:
- Press ENTER to start the Caelestia-KDE installation.
- First the Caelestia-KDE installer will read all the configuration changes that we did, then it will start making changes to the system and downloading and installing everything it needs to run Caelestia on KDE Plasma.
- The Caelestia-KDE installer will also compile and build some components and packages from source, mainly quickshell.
- While the Caelestia-KDE installer itself is TUI, the installation verbose or logs are not shown on the main installation screen. However, we can press the L key to view logs and progress in real time. But it's gonna take a lot and I mean a lot of time to complete the Caelestia installation on KDE Plasma.
- On my PC, the complete Caelestia-KDE installation took 1h 47m and 8s, but I think the main reason for this much time was because my internet connection was being disrupted. It could take less time on your PC, but still it's gonna take time for compiling and downloading bigger files.
- After the completion, type Y and press ENTER to log out of the current KDE Plasma session to log back into Caelestia-KDE environment.
Caelestia-KDE
After logging out of the KDE Plasma session in which we installed the Caelestia-KDE, we will get to our new Caelestia's custom themed login manager (SDDM):
- Enter your password to log into Caelestia-KDE
And, we are in!
Get the Benefits of Material You on Caelestia-KDE
The thing I like most about Caelestia is its choice of implementing Material You. Which basically changes the colors of every aspect with either the current wallpaper (dynamic) or even one single wallpaper of our choice.
- To set your Caelestia-KDE environment coloring to a particular wallpaper, run:
caelestia wallpaper -f path_to_wallpaper #replace with actual path - To set the coloring to dynamic meaning the colors will change with each wallpaper, run:
caelestia scheme set -n dynamic
Caelestia-KDE Keybinds
These are the default keybinds, taken from the Caelestia-KDE repo. They could change with future updates, so if one doesn't work for you, check the repo.
Super Opens the app launcher
Super + / Shows the keybind cheatsheet
Super + Enter Opens the terminal
Super + Tab Opens the overview
Super + 1-5 Jumps to workspace 1 to 5
Super + B Opens the notification sidebar
Super + V Opens the clipboard history
Super + Shift + S Takes a screenshot
Super + Shift + A Starts Google Lens
Super + Shift + D Starts text recognition
Super + Ctrl + S Starts the screen recorder
Super + Shift + C Opens the color picker
Super + Shift + V Opens the emoji pickerHow to Uninstall Caelestia-KDE
- To uninstall Caelestia-KDE, either run the installer TUI command:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ladybug-me/caelestia-kde/main/install.sh | sh - This will open the same TUI environment from which we installed the Caelestia-KDE, and from there we can uninstall it.
- For a simpler and one-line solution, run:
cd ~/caelestia-kde bash ./uninstall.sh
FIN!!!
❓ Frequently Asked Questions: Installing Caelestia KDE Dots on Arch Linux
What are the requirements for Caelestia-KDE on Arch Linux?
You need an Arch-based distribution with KDE Plasma 6 on Wayland and Qt 6.9 or newer installed. The installer also supports Fedora and Debian/Ubuntu, but this guide focuses on Arch Linux. Make sure your system is fully updated before starting, and that you have a working internet connection since the installer clones GitHub repositories and compiles some packages from source.
Why does the Caelestia-KDE installation take so long?
The installer compiles and builds some components from source, mainly quickshell. On my PC, the complete installation took 1 hour 47 minutes and 8 seconds, though my internet connection was being disrupted during that time. Depending on your CPU, internet speed, and whether you choose to skip the full system update, it could take anywhere from 1 to 2 hours. The installer runs sudo pacman -Syu by default unless you tick the "Skip the full system update" option.
Can I use Caelestia-KDE without a tiling compositor like Hyprland?
Yes, that is exactly the point of this project. Caelestia-KDE is the KDE Plasma port of the original Caelestia dotfiles, which were built for Hyprland. It runs the same shell on KWin and Plasma instead of Hyprland. You get Caelestia's Material You styling, the Nexus settings app, the keybinds, and the dynamic color engine, all on top of a traditional KDE Plasma desktop. You do not need to install Hyprland at any point.
What is the fish shell option during installation, and should I choose it?
The installer offers fish, bash, and zsh as shell options. Choosing fish gives you features like syntax highlighting, autosuggestions, and command completion out of the box. I chose fish as my default shell for the Caelestia-KDE environment. If you prefer to keep bash or zsh, you can select either of those instead. This is a personal preference and does not affect the rest of the installation.
What does the "Remove build cache after install" option do?
This option removes build artifacts from tools like quickshell, cmake, and ninja after the Caelestia-KDE installation completes. It saves disk space but means you cannot reuse those cached builds if you reinstall later. I left it unchecked because I can wipe the build cache manually after installation. The "Skip the full system update" option, if ticked, skips the sudo pacman -Syu step the installer would otherwise run.
How do I set the Material You color scheme to dynamic?
To make the colors change with each wallpaper, run:
caelestia scheme set -n dynamicTo lock the color scheme to one specific wallpaper, run:
caelestia wallpaper -f path_to_wallpaperThe stock KDE wallpaper manager does not drive the Caelestia color scheme, so you should set your wallpaper through the Caelestia shell (Nexus) or the CLI rather than through KDE's own settings.
How do I uninstall Caelestia-KDE if I want to go back to stock KDE Plasma?
Run the installer command again:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ladybug-me/caelestia-kde/main/install.sh | shThis opens the same TUI environment you used to install Caelestia-KDE. From there, select Uninstall. For a one-line solution, you can also run bash ./uninstall.sh from the cloned installer directory. Your KDE Plasma installation remains intact throughout.
What should I do if widgets are not appearing or colors are not applying after login?
For missing widgets, log out and back in, or run caelestia shell -d to start the shell manually. For colors not applying, run caelestia scheme set -n dynamic or set a wallpaper with caelestia wallpaper -f path_to_img. If the install failed mid-way, re-run bash ./scripts/setup.sh. For a full reset, check the TROUBLESHOOTING.md on the official repo. Enable Debug Mode in Nexus → About → Advanced, then run caelestia shell -l for detailed logs.
Can I update Caelestia-KDE after installation?
Yes. You can update in three ways. Through the installer TUI, run the installer and choose Update. Through the Nexus GUI, go to Updates, select a branch, and click Install Updates. Through the CLI, run bash update.sh and choose main for stable or dev for bleeding edge. Your shell settings are preserved across updates.
Do I need to disable KDE Plasma's own desktop effects or window manager?
No. Caelestia-KDE runs on top of KWin, KDE Plasma's existing window manager. You do not disable KWin or Plasma. The installer applies its theming, shell, and configurations on top of your existing KDE Plasma setup. Your Plasma panels, widgets, and settings remain accessible, though Caelestia replaces the default shell experience with its own bar, launcher, and Nexus settings app.
What keybinds does Caelestia-KDE use?
Here are the built-in shortcuts: Super for the app launcher, Super + / for the keybind cheatsheet, Super + Enter for Terminal, Super + Tab for Overview, Super + 1-5 for switching workspaces, Super + B for the notification sidebar, Super + V for clipboard history, Super + Shift + S for Screenshot, Super + Shift + A for Google Lens, Super + Shift + D for Text recognition, Super + Ctrl + S for Screen recorder, Super + Shift + C for Color picker, and Super + Shift + V for Emoji selector.
What is Nexus in Caelestia-KDE?
Nexus is Caelestia's built-in settings application. Open it by pressing Super and then typing >Settings. From Nexus, you can configure Appearance (wallpaper, colors, fonts, wallpaper slideshow), Panels (every bar element, dashboard, launcher, sidebar, overview), Desktop (window rules, context menu, Krohnkite tiling), Shortcuts (rebind any built-in shortcut or add command shortcuts), and Plugins (browse the plugin store or install your own). Settings are written to ~/.config/caelestia/shell.json.
🚀 Caelestia-KDE on Arch Linux: Fully Set Up!
We now have Caelestia's Material You aesthetic running on top of KDE Plasma's rock-solid foundation. Between the dynamic color engine, the Nexus settings app, the custom SDDM greeter, and the tiling management borrowed from the Hyprland original, your KDE Plasma desktop has been transformed into something that feels entirely new while keeping the stability you rely on. No compositor swap required, no Hyprland installation, just Caelestia on the desktop environment you already trust.
If this brought a fresh look to your KDE Plasma desktop, stick around. MusaBase has plenty more Linux, BSD, and virtualization guides where this came from.
101 out, I'll see you in the next one! 🚀