Read the whole setupGet the setup that works.
Drop your email and unlock the rest: what you need, the safe dual-boot install path, the BIOS settings to change first, and how to recover if the first boot fails.
One email. No follow-up unless I ship something that fits.
WHAT YOU NEED- A machine with Secure Boot and TPM disabled in BIOS
- A wired or 2.4GHz keyboard, not Bluetooth, for the first boot
- A USB stick, 8GB or larger, and balenaEtcher or caligula to write the ISO
- A full backup, before choosing the full-disk install path specifically
INSTALLFree space first, full disk once you are sure
The dual-boot path installs into free, unpartitioned space next to an existing OS. It is the reversible way to try Omarchy before committing a whole machine to it.
The prep
before booting the USBBIOS settings
1. Disable Secure Boot 2. Disable TPM 3. Shrink an existing partition to free unallocated space, if dual-booting 4. Boot from the USB and choose the free-space install option
Windows dual-boot needs BitLocker disabled first too, or the installer cannot see the free space correctly.
Prove itA successful first boot lands on the desktop with the top bar and AI menu visible. If it drops to a text prompt instead, Secure Boot or TPM is still enabled.
CONFIGUREThe AI menu is the reason to be here
Agent tools are listed under Install > AI in the base menu, not hunted down as third-party packages. The Claude desktop app was added directly to that menu in the most recent releases.
system menuwhat ships in the base image
Install > AI → Claude desktop app → Hermes integration → OpenClaw integration
| Setting | Default | Why I change it |
|---|
| Theme | T3 (current default) | Cosmetic, but the manual has a dedicated guide for making your own if the defaults do not fit. |
| Security updates | manual per-release | v4.0.1 through v4.0.3 were all security-fix releases. Update promptly rather than staying on an older point release. |
Security teamOmarchy now has a named security team reviewing releases, per the changelog for v4.0.1 through v4.0.3. Report anything you find through the responsible-disclosure process at omarchy.org/security rather than a public issue.
DAILY DRIVINGIt is still Arch underneath
Every Arch and Hyprland skill you already have still applies. The manual is the fast path for what Omarchy changed or added on top.
- Read the manual first. It is the authoritative source, shipped in the
manual/ folder and mirrored at learn.omacom.io. - Use the Omarchy CLI. A router command covers day-to-day tasks the manual documents under
14-omarchy-cli.md, rather than raw pacman calls for everything. - Check `omarchy-on` before assuming. Hardware-specific quirks, laptops, specific chipsets, are tracked there rather than scattered across issues.
Coming from Mac or Windows has its own manual page, worth reading before you start renaming muscle memory to Omarchy's keybindings.
WHEN IT DRIFTSTwo failures, both configuration
Installer will not boot
Secure Boot or TPM is still enabled. Both must be off in BIOS before the USB will boot into the installer at all.
Cannot log in at first boot
A Bluetooth keyboard has not initialized yet under full-disk encryption. Use a wired or 2.4GHz keyboard for the first login specifically.
RecoverySystem snapshots are documented in the manual under 47-system-snapshots.md, the intended way back from an update that breaks something.
THE SHAPE OF ITWhere everything lives
manual/the full documentation, authoritative over the mirror install/the installer scripts the ISO boots into config/default configs for the shell, apps and theming themes/the built-in themes, including the current T3 default agents/the Claude, Hermes and OpenClaw integration code
Dotfiles and further customization are documented in the manual rather than expected to be hand-rolled from a bare Arch install.
That is the whole setupFree space first, full disk only once you are sure, and disable Secure Boot before any of it. What you get for the reboot is a desktop where the agent tooling was never an afterthought.
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