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Hi friend,

Welcome to the very first issue of Omarchy FTROU: Omarchy For The Rest Of Us. I'm Katherine. I'm not a real developer. I've used Windows, macOS, and a handful of Linux flavors over the years, on desktops, workstations, and on servers, most recently Manjaro (an Arch-based Linux like Omarchy). Less than a month ago I installed Omarchy, and I've been keeping notes on everything that confused me, delighted me, or made me say "wait, what just happened?"

This newsletter is those notes, tidied up for you. Oh, and this issue is probably longer than usual simply because of all the intro stuff.

So what is Omarchy?

Omarchy is ... but you already know or you wouldn't be reading this. So I won't waste time – yours or mine – reiterating what others have already said quite well. See the Omarchy manual (https://omarchy.org/manual/), for instance, or any of the myriad recent appearances online by @dhh (David Heinemeier Hansson, creator of Omarchy) if you need more background. Instead, let me tell you about this newsletter and why it exists.

My Story

I'd been using Manjaro on my primary desktop for the past year or two. My brother (a software engineer) had suggested trying Arch since I'd complained to him about not liking "bloatware" – lots of preinstalled applications I won't use that just take up disk space and can be difficult to uninstall without breaking other things. The reputation of Arch as being difficult to install put me off a bit, although I was interested in a system I could build from the ground up so to speak. So when I heard that Manjaro was a "friendly" Arch distro with actual desktop environments available along with a "clean" install (without a lot of preinstalled apps), I got it and was happy with it. However, about a month ago there was a lot of chatter on X.com about a new Linux distro from the creator of Ruby on Rails, that has built-in AI agents. So I decided to try it, and I haven't looked back since then. It's lots of fun!

The First Tip

One critical item that is a little bit obscure when you first start using Omarchy is the Super key. It took me a bit of stumbling around before I found out what that is. Since Omarchy is largely keyboard driven, and most commands are combinations ("key-bindings") of the Super key plus some other key or keys, unless you already know what key is "super" you are lost right away. So here's the answer: it depends. Most typically your keyboard has a key marked with a logo instead of a letter, depending on the brand of computer it is intended for. Windows computers have a "Windows key" that is marked with either a Windows logo or "Win". Mac keyboards instead have a key with an Apple logo. So that's what Omarchy calls the "Super" key. But if you're worried about finding the right key, you can always click on the Omarchy logo on the left end of the menu bar to open the Omarchy menu to get started.

Try it before you commit

The easiest first step: try it in your web browser. Go to a fan-made site, tryomarchy.dev (https://tryomarchy.dev/), that gives you your own real Omarchy machine running on a remote computer and streamed to your browser tab. Its own page lists the limits: 15-minute sessions (you can extend them), no sound yet, no fancy blur or animations, and it's best on a desktop computer rather than a phone. Everything is wiped when you close the tab. Because browsers keep the Windows key to themselves, you press Alt (or Command on a Mac) wherever you'd normally press Super.

Ready for something closer to the real thing? The official site also offers a "Try it first" option that runs Omarchy inside a virtual machine (a pretend computer running in a window on your real one). It's available for Apple Silicon Macs and for Windows 10 and 11. This one is a download, but it still doesn't touch your existing system.

Your before-you-install checklist

1. Back up everything. A full-disk install erases the whole drive. On a Mac, installing wipes the drive and macOS won't boot anymore (you can bring it back later through Apple's Internet Recovery).
2. Want to keep Windows? Omarchy 4 can now dual boot (sit next to Windows so you pick one when you start up). You make free space in Windows first, and you'll have to turn off BitLocker (Windows' drive encryption) before you install.
3. Turn off Secure Boot (and TPM, if needed) in your computer's BIOS, the settings screen that appears before Windows starts. The manual says this is required.
4. Grab a wired keyboard or one with a USB dongle. Omarchy encrypts your drive by default (scrambles it so only your password unlocks it), and you type that password at startup, before Bluetooth is running. A Bluetooth keyboard won't work at that point.
5. Get a USB stick. The installer file is under 6GB. Using one that is at least 8GB is recommended.

Getting the installer

1. Download the ISO (the installer file) from omarchy.org (https://omarchy.org/). It's currently "Omarchy 4.0.4." The site also lists a checksum (SHA-256) you can use to confirm the download isn't corrupted.
2. Put it on your USB stick with balenaEtcher (on Windows, Mac or Linux) or caligula (on Linux).
3. Start your computer from the USB stick, answer a handful of setup questions, pick your drive, and watch. The manual says it can take under a minute on fast machines and no more than about five minutes on older ones.

If you get stuck, the #omarchy-help channel on the official Discord is friendly. Say hi to me there! My Discord name is "Kat Lemieux" (BlancoKat) and I plan to hang out there to answer whatever questions I can about getting started.

A Word of Caution

My installation of Omarchy was not the best experience. Luckily I heeded the warnings and made a full backup of my data on Manjaro to the cloud before trying to do a dual-boot installation. When I tried creating a second partition to install Omarchy, my system choked, and I wound up simply shutting it down and running the installation using the full disk, abandoning Manjaro. So, if you are using an existing operating system, do your backups before trying to install Omarchy, or any other OS for that matter. The good news is that after that first hiccup, Omarchy has been running perfectly, and I really like it.

Meetups

If you enjoy meeting other people with similar interests, you may like Omarchy meetups. This new distro has generated a lot of buzz on X and elsewhere, and as a result there have already been several local meetups around the world. This Friday I'll be attending one in Austin, Texas, and there are others scheduled in various places. See https://luma.com and search for events in your city.

That's it for now. Hit reply and tell me what's making you hesitate. I read every message, and your questions will shape future issues.

Warmly,
Katherine

Coming next issue: You've installed it... and there's no Start button, no dock, and no desktop icons. Don't panic. I'll help you get through your first hour.