How to Install Apps on Omarchy: Packages, AUR, and Plugins

Searching for an app in Omarchy can lead to three different things: a package you install, a community AUR build recipe, or a shell plugin that changes the desktop itself. The names can look similar in a menu, but their maintenance and trust boundaries differ. Identify which one you need before copying a command from a search result.

The paths below follow Omarchy’s package manual, shell plugin manual, and update manual, checked on September 29, 2026. Package availability and names can change, so search your own installation for the exact item.

Start with the Install menu

Press Super + Space, then open Install. Some familiar app categories have dedicated entries, such as browsers and editors. For a general Arch package, choose Install → Package and type the program name; Omarchy filters the package list. The equivalent terminal form is:

omarchy pkg add <package-name>

Replace the placeholder with the exact package name shown by your search. To remove a package later, use Remove → Package or omarchy pkg drop <package-name>. The official package instructions say the remove flow handles the package, its configuration files, and unneeded dependencies; review what the operation proposes before confirming.

If you install a second browser, the install alone does not necessarily make it your default. Omarchy’s browser manual puts that choice under Setup → Defaults → Browser. This distinction helps when a new app is present in the launcher but links still open in the old one.

Use AUR when you understand the source

If you cannot find a package in the regular list, Install → AUR is a separate search path. The Arch User Repository holds community-submitted package build scripts; Omarchy’s manual explicitly notes that the Arch team does not vet them. Check the upstream project, the maintainer, dependencies, and the build instructions before installing an unfamiliar entry.

AUR is not a synonym for all Linux apps, and it is not the default answer for every missing program. A dedicated Omarchy browser or editor installer may provide the integration you want; an ordinary package may already exist under a slightly different name. Search those paths first, then decide whether an AUR recipe is warranted.

When updating the machine, use Update → Omarchy or omarchy update. Omarchy’s update guide explains that direct pacman -Syu and yay -Syu skip its snapshot, migrations, and configuration work and are stopped by default. Installing an individual package and upgrading the whole operating system are different operations.

Treat shell plugins as desktop code

A shell plugin is not an app package. It can add a bar widget, panel, menu, service, or even a replacement bar inside the long-running Omarchy shell. Run omarchy plugin list to see the plugins discovered on your system. The plugin guide also documents Setup → Plugins for adding, enabling, disabling, cloning, and removing them.

For a third-party Git repository, the CLI form is omarchy plugin add <repository-url>. Omarchy shows a confirmation because plugin code runs with your user access inside the shell. Inspect the repository and its requirements before enabling it. If your goal is a specific bar function, the Omarchy bar widget selection explains what several projects do and where their limits are.

Removing a plugin is not the same as removing an Arch package. Use the plugin menu or omarchy plugin remove <plugin-id> for a plugin. The official plugin manual explains how removal handles Git checkouts, symlinks, and handmade local folders differently.

A quick choice before installing

What you want	Look first	Why
A browser or editor	Dedicated Install category	It may set up Omarchy-specific integration
An ordinary program or command	Install → Package	It uses the package path Omarchy documents
A program absent from the package list	Install → AUR	It is a community recipe to inspect before running
A new bar widget or shell panel	Setup → Plugins	It runs in Omarchy’s shell, with a different trust boundary

After installing, launch the program or open the widget once, confirm it does the job you intended, and note which of the four paths you used. That makes both future updates and removal much less mysterious.

References

• Other Packages documents package and AUR installation and removal.
• Shell Plugins describes plugin kinds, Git installation, and code execution.
• Updates explains Omarchy’s coordinated system update path.