Omarchy, a Linux Distribution by DHH(omarchy.org)
omarchy.org
Omarchy, a Linux Distribution by DHH
https://omarchy.org/
85 comments
Cool idea, but supporting homebrew is a big yikes!
I hope no serious developers on linux ever use homebrew, it's the worst package manager by far.
Most package managers support versioning and keeping old versions of installs around, but not homebrew. That's why I'm boycotting it at this point, got burnt by it too many times.
I'd rather use pacman or apt-get or pkgsrc or nix or any other package manager than homebrew.
I hope no serious developers on linux ever use homebrew, it's the worst package manager by far.
Most package managers support versioning and keeping old versions of installs around, but not homebrew. That's why I'm boycotting it at this point, got burnt by it too many times.
I'd rather use pacman or apt-get or pkgsrc or nix or any other package manager than homebrew.
I don't use Homebrew because it installs to /home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew. It makes absolutely no sense to use a whole new user, and then use non-standard directories.
If you change where Homebrew installs, then you are on your own because they don't support changing the install path.
If you change where Homebrew installs, then you are on your own because they don't support changing the install path.
Personally, I would love to not use homebrew, but I'm practically forced to. The package management story in Linux is horrible, far worse than the general fans lead me to believe. Most tools I need are missing or ancient, even in the Fedora repos. That's one of the reasons so many modern tools will give you a shell script to pipe to bash for installation. It's the only way to make things installable in a simple, uniform way.
While homebrew isn't perfect, it's still a lot better than manually compiling every new version of a tool until the distros repo gets the update, or following custom install instructions for every tool (and then manually managing updates).
But I'm new to having Linux as a daily dev driver (only servers before), so if I'm missing an obvious fix to get 99% of tools in their up-to-date version installed and managed on Fedora (or ideally, anywhere), please let me know.
While homebrew isn't perfect, it's still a lot better than manually compiling every new version of a tool until the distros repo gets the update, or following custom install instructions for every tool (and then manually managing updates).
But I'm new to having Linux as a daily dev driver (only servers before), so if I'm missing an obvious fix to get 99% of tools in their up-to-date version installed and managed on Fedora (or ideally, anywhere), please let me know.
while I use Homebrew on macOS for the errant command line utility or library, I share your concern. I use the Universal Blue Silverblue variant for it's integrated Nvidia support with either mise-en-place[0], or the native toolbx[1] utility for isolated environments.
[0]https://mise.jdx.dev [1]https://containertoolbx.org
[0]https://mise.jdx.dev [1]https://containertoolbx.org
I use bluefin linux full time and don't use homebrew. I do all development in containers, so I can use whatever I want inside them.
Bluefin contributor here, why are you using homebrew that way? For development use a container.
Pardon my ignorance, but how else or what else would you use Homebrew?
A lot of people don't use containers/don't want to use containers. I guess Bluefin might just not be for them though.
This is my impression - if you explicitly don't want to use toolbox or devcontainers I don't think you're on Bluefin's happy path at all, and the maintainers don't seem concerned enough by that to improve other experiences.
Right, Bluefin is for container development.
Just since you are here, is it any good for Game dev with things like godot?
No but Bazzite DX is almost done so we can start working on Bazzite GDX soon, which is going to be our game dev image. Though hopefully as more things become flatpak native ideally someday the idea of specialized images won't be so necessary.
so Bluefin is using homebrew within containers only? why bother using homebrew at all then?
Homebrew is used by millions of devs, generally because the advantages are worth it.
You can't use pacman, apt or pkgsrc on image based distros. And nix is a big headache.
Of course anything that can easily run in a container is better, but I use brew for the stuff that doesn't and have few problems.
You can't use pacman, apt or pkgsrc on image based distros. And nix is a big headache.
Of course anything that can easily run in a container is better, but I use brew for the stuff that doesn't and have few problems.
I share your concerns about homebrew. It was one of the reasons I gave up on Silverblue/Bluefin.
Is there a simple summary of why homebrew is so problematic?
I've also been very happy with Silverblue (an alternate flavor of Universal Blue, the same guts as Bluefin). It took a bit of an adjustment period to get used to using an immutable distro, but given that I run this as the sole OS on my daily driver, reliability is paramount. It gives the same feeling of running a highly stable OS like MacOS, but with the power, ergonomics and customizability of Linux - and anything I need that isn't easy to fit into the immutable model is just a simple Distrobox invocation away.
It's "Container-driven development" done right - containerized applications and shells _feel_ native via Distrobox (which gives them access to the host FS, network, hardware, etc by default) but without the risks of native development causing dependency conflicts. And if I screw something up, I can just spin up a new container.
It's "Container-driven development" done right - containerized applications and shells _feel_ native via Distrobox (which gives them access to the host FS, network, hardware, etc by default) but without the risks of native development causing dependency conflicts. And if I screw something up, I can just spin up a new container.
Silverblue is a Fedora project. The Universal Blue and its flavors (Bluefin, Bazzite, Aurora) are based on its image. They are basically community maintained versions of silverblue because Fedora is very cautious (and stubborn) in including QoL things.
[1]: https://fedoraproject.org/atomic-desktops/silverblue/
[1]: https://fedoraproject.org/atomic-desktops/silverblue/
That’s a more accurate way of putting it, thanks!
I really appreciate that he included a video with great narration. So much better than the animated gifs that provide too little context and go too fast.
Ok, so I checked it out slightly more and noticed that the omarchy installation script enables the chaotix.cx repo, which contains packages automatically built from AUR. I.e. packages contributed by practically anyone. So you'll be trusting not just one unknown set of people (AUR) but a completely second one too (chaotic.cx).
Omarchy enables all this silently with pacman -U --noconfirm.
This is probably fine for a hobbyist, and this is what people in the Linux world generally do, but also constitutes a pretty bad supply side attack vector. Then again, not significantly worse than what things like npm/node do.
On a positive note, using the concept of migrations in a tool like this is neat.
Omarchy enables all this silently with pacman -U --noconfirm.
This is probably fine for a hobbyist, and this is what people in the Linux world generally do, but also constitutes a pretty bad supply side attack vector. Then again, not significantly worse than what things like npm/node do.
On a positive note, using the concept of migrations in a tool like this is neat.
I've been using this on a mini pc I bought and I'm really digging it. I could see myself using it as my daily driver instead of macOS one day. I also am floored by how low the resource consumption is on it
I've been following his journey here since Omakub. I plan on refurbishing a 2015 MBP that had its HDD die to run Omarchy this weekend. I've heard it runs well on old hardware. Will be nice to have a mobile dev machine again.
did you go for it? I have a base 13" 2015 mbp that's pretty much unusable, planning the same.
I used the one he put together for Ubuntu. My setup had become old and clunky. My dotfiles had become a mass. It was nice to go from 0 to something useful without effort. Now I just make changes as I see fit.
Distribution is too much.. it's archlinux with Hyprland configured
Yeah and "distribution" isn't even mentioned on the page.
I flagged this post for the misleading title. Although this is kind of interesting it's nowhere near as interesting as a new distribution.
I flagged this post for the misleading title. Although this is kind of interesting it's nowhere near as interesting as a new distribution.
In an interview, DHH referred to it as a remix. It's more than just Hyprland configured, but it's definitely not a distribution.
Reminds me of crunchbang, in that it's a small opinionated distro-ish. Seems like a fun try.
Crunchbang was such a good distro! I ran linux for about seven years. Ubuntu and then Crunchbang. Had my 2012 MacBook Pro dual boot into Crunchbang. Battery life was awful. It had no automatic fan control, so the laptop got so hot I could barely touch it. I ended up writing a bash script to manually control the fans using function keys https://gist.github.com/nwjlyons/b29ee6f7e26595f55a2a
As cool as it was, I can't be bothered with any of that these days. Just give me a Macbook Pro, as I know it will work and have amazing battery life!
As cool as it was, I can't be bothered with any of that these days. Just give me a Macbook Pro, as I know it will work and have amazing battery life!
It's still around in its spiritual successor! https://crunchbangplusplus.org/
The config is really well setup - i am using Omarchy on a second pc (main one being a mac). Some thoughts:
DHH has good taste - leaving besides application choices (some of which I changed, e.g <insert_browser> instead of Chromium, no 1password), the configuration defaults all make sense (coming from a mac) - especially the key bindings.
Arch Linux by itself is a bit scary and requires config to make it "nice" so basically Omarchy takes away all the choices and config learning / pain - this tweet is a good summary:
> I've poured in endless hours configuring Hyprland + Arch, GTK/QT theming/scaling, auxiliary apps, and more to give you a superb base that can either be taken as-is or used to keep tweaking.[1]
Tiling window managers are great - I have young kids using computers for their hw and they prefered this over mac - windows. Which suprised me as personally it is a much bigger change for me after decades of regular windows/mac window management.
Linux / Hyperland Pros:
- I had a old pc from 2014 - which I put a minimal fresh new install of windows 10 - and it has been dog slow enough that it was waiting to be replaced. After installing Omarchy (Arch + Hyperland) it's perfectly fast and usable.
Cons: 1. Its designed to be a single user setup - the idea being u use HD encryption and login straight to the one true user. So for a shared pc its not ideal - the way its currently configured I think you need to run the omarchy bash install script for each user and also update individually for each one - not ideal for a pc shared with kids.
Really interested to see where Omarchy ends up. Its also given my usability ideas for my mac.
[1]: https://x.com/dhh/status/1932130355663761794
DHH has good taste - leaving besides application choices (some of which I changed, e.g <insert_browser> instead of Chromium, no 1password), the configuration defaults all make sense (coming from a mac) - especially the key bindings.
Arch Linux by itself is a bit scary and requires config to make it "nice" so basically Omarchy takes away all the choices and config learning / pain - this tweet is a good summary:
> I've poured in endless hours configuring Hyprland + Arch, GTK/QT theming/scaling, auxiliary apps, and more to give you a superb base that can either be taken as-is or used to keep tweaking.[1]
Tiling window managers are great - I have young kids using computers for their hw and they prefered this over mac - windows. Which suprised me as personally it is a much bigger change for me after decades of regular windows/mac window management.
Linux / Hyperland Pros:
- I had a old pc from 2014 - which I put a minimal fresh new install of windows 10 - and it has been dog slow enough that it was waiting to be replaced. After installing Omarchy (Arch + Hyperland) it's perfectly fast and usable.
Cons: 1. Its designed to be a single user setup - the idea being u use HD encryption and login straight to the one true user. So for a shared pc its not ideal - the way its currently configured I think you need to run the omarchy bash install script for each user and also update individually for each one - not ideal for a pc shared with kids.
Really interested to see where Omarchy ends up. Its also given my usability ideas for my mac.
[1]: https://x.com/dhh/status/1932130355663761794
I'm going to try this out. I used i3 as my main desktop for a long spell. I don't remember the specifics but I eventually moved back to Mate due to some inconveniences. I've never heard of Hyprland TBH.
If you're used to i3, maybe you would be interested in Sway. It's a port of i3 to Wayland.
I partially applied the omarchy scripts on my Manjaro for trying it out. Feels cool to use it but not on the state were I'm more productive (not done yet though). Be careful if you try this, because part of the script overwrite your login manager
I have to mention that the 'web2app' function is super cool. It transforms and website to a desktop file launching it in an own chromium. That is super neat, especially in a tiling window manager
A version of the script which installs omarchy next to a running desktop would be nice
I have to mention that the 'web2app' function is super cool. It transforms and website to a desktop file launching it in an own chromium. That is super neat, especially in a tiling window manager
A version of the script which installs omarchy next to a running desktop would be nice
Observing the progression of DHH's Linux journey has been entertaining, and I don't mean that in a condescending way! A mix of lighthearted enjoyment, and anticipation of which part of the tech tree is next for him. Will the next rabbit hole he stumbles into be immutable distros? If so, will he take the Silverblue path or the NixOS path?
And so on.
And so on.
Yes, agree. It reminded me of my toddlers, when they learned walking (also in a non condescending way). I hope he discovers FreeBSD next.
I floated the idea of using Nix for Omakub but he rather emphatically shot the idea down.
Choosing whimsical tools instead of the most useful tools is kind of DHHs thing though, like still using Rails in 2025.
Choosing whimsical tools instead of the most useful tools is kind of DHHs thing though, like still using Rails in 2025.
I find it moderately amusing that it seems like this ships with Chromium instead of Firefox, and doesn't note this anywhere in the manual. The manual just says "Browser" but like, really. I also find that this is definitely throwing someone off the deep end (Hyprland + neovim are not that difficult to learn, but not exactly intuitive), but I guess that's what Omakub is for (to not throw people off the deep end but still be on Linux instead of macOS).
It is opinionated just like Rails.
It's no surprise given the distro name, and DHH's previous use of the word Omakase [1, or, perhaps, 2]
[1]: https://dhh.dk/2012/rails-is-omakase.html [2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E99FnoYqoII
[1]: https://dhh.dk/2012/rails-is-omakase.html [2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E99FnoYqoII
Chromium choice is easy to explain due to PWA-shortcuts integration. That's less clunky than shipping Firefox with an extension or adding an external GUI PWA-manager.
Oh that's surprising, Omakub had Firefox. I thought DHH mainly used Firefox too.
Hyprland seems to be the compositor/environment getting all the attention at the moment, I've been meaning to try it out.
Here's a port to NixOS which I haven't had the time to try out yet but will try to soon: https://github.com/henrysipp/omarchy-nix
Super cool and I want to try it out. My only issue is that sometimes my wife uses my laptop occasionally. She can navigate Gnome + Dock easily, but a tiling WM might be a step too far...
I thought I had missed a new development here but it's still not a distro, it's a set of scripts to /configure/ a distro, just like Omakub. Which I actually prefer.
Having it be "just scripts" leaves all of the energy and time to be spent on the itch that DHH wants to scratch instead of all the plumbing that others have solved several times already. It also removes a plethora of thresholds someone has to overcome before they get to start developing their app in Linux.
I think Omakub and Omarchy are great examples of something that should be in the base repo of most distros. A package-manager installable tool that lets you completely transform the default desktop, preferences, plugins and installed apps to a specific purpose and aesthetic.
Kind of a theme manager that also includes functionality.
Having it be "just scripts" leaves all of the energy and time to be spent on the itch that DHH wants to scratch instead of all the plumbing that others have solved several times already. It also removes a plethora of thresholds someone has to overcome before they get to start developing their app in Linux.
I think Omakub and Omarchy are great examples of something that should be in the base repo of most distros. A package-manager installable tool that lets you completely transform the default desktop, preferences, plugins and installed apps to a specific purpose and aesthetic.
Kind of a theme manager that also includes functionality.
I used to run Linux on my home computer between 1998-2007 (Slackware, Gentoo, Arch Linux) but it often felt like there was a lot of extra work with configuring and fixing drivers and so on. After that I switched to MacOS and never looked back until now.
The appeal of Omakub & Omarchy to me is that it minimizes the amount of time wasted on getting everything setup.
I setup Omakub on a 2015 MBP at the beginning of this year. I'll definitely be switching to Omarchy soon.
My only thought is that it would be nice if Omarchy/Omakub used something more declarative than a bunch of bash scripts, like nix or something else.
The appeal of Omakub & Omarchy to me is that it minimizes the amount of time wasted on getting everything setup.
I setup Omakub on a 2015 MBP at the beginning of this year. I'll definitely be switching to Omarchy soon.
My only thought is that it would be nice if Omarchy/Omakub used something more declarative than a bunch of bash scripts, like nix or something else.
> I setup Omakub on a 2015 MBP at the beginning of this year. I'll definitely be switching to Omarchy soon.
Why? And... why? If you like omakub than why switch? What does omarchy do better?
Wrt the bash scripts, parts look extremely brittle: this stuff is sure to stop setting up new machines in the future...
Why? And... why? If you like omakub than why switch? What does omarchy do better?
Wrt the bash scripts, parts look extremely brittle: this stuff is sure to stop setting up new machines in the future...
mostly because I like Arch Linux better than Ubuntu. I like pacman so much better than apt-get.
Also Omarchy has the hyperland setup, I don't think he's bringing that to Omakub?
Also Omarchy has the hyperland setup, I don't think he's bringing that to Omakub?
A lot of people post their dot files. It’s an interesting idea but I would not run Omarchy as my main dev machine.
Is distribution the right word here?
I'd probably call this an Arch Linux setup instead. A curated set of configs. Kind of like how i'm using LazyVim instead of rolling my own NeoVim configuration these days
[deleted]
> wget -qO- https://omarchy.org/install | bash
Right!
Right!
Well it's not worse than picking up a random usb stick on the street and running the exe from it
It appears there's no versioning, nor even an upgrade path? I'm a fan of DHH but I think actual distro maintainers do a better job of this.
This isn't true at all, it uses a Rails-inspired migration system: https://github.com/basecamp/omarchy/tree/master/migrations
Is it a read-only distribution?
This is an awesome project
I mean, if you think DHHs workflow might work for you, I don't see the harm in trying it out. It just feels like one of those things where people think that they'll become just like the author, if they adopt their tooling.
Ironic how DHH ditched everything Apple after the whole lawsuit shenanigans, but keeps using Google stuff.
Chrome is nearly singlehandedly responsible for the open web being as good as it is and the whole web 2.0 boom. Computing changed after Chrome was released... Between Chrome and Google Docs, it basically made platform agnostic computing possible...
Also Google makes it easy to skirt around the 30% through sideloading and web signups.
Also Google makes it easy to skirt around the 30% through sideloading and web signups.
Similarly that people are interested in running anything made by him after he's repeatedly shown his true colors.
What are his true colors?
Does this kind of woke scolding still work?
No, and thats a good thing
Yes, and that's a good thing.
I don’t necessarily agree with his political opinions. And that’s a huge understatement.
But DHH has, and continues, to do a lot to share his obvious passion and endless curiosity for tech. I’m not going to stop following him and enjoying his work just because he is not as woke as I am. Politics is not everything.
But DHH has, and continues, to do a lot to share his obvious passion and endless curiosity for tech. I’m not going to stop following him and enjoying his work just because he is not as woke as I am. Politics is not everything.
He a self important egotistic who's finally admitted he's been wrong the whole time and "discovered" what's been under his nose for over 20 years after all the people he kept shitting on did all the hard work to make Linux a fantastic option for dev work.
If you don't care about the privacy angle, and he apparently doesn't, Google's offerings are hard to beat.
> wayland
Ctrl_W
Ctrl_W
https://projectbluefin.io/