Omarchy After Installation: What to Do First

An Omarchy desktop can be ready before you know where to click. The first useful move is to press Super + Space. That opens the Omarchy menu, where you can find apps, settings, installation choices, and system actions. The rest of this first session builds from that one entry point.

These actions follow the current Omarchy manual, checked on September 29, 2026. They are a route through the desktop, not a claim that every computer needs the same customizations.

Open two windows and learn where focus goes

Press Super + Return for a terminal, then Super + Shift + Return for a browser. Omarchy tiles them automatically. Press Super + Arrow toward the window you want to use; Super + Shift + Arrow swaps its position. The navigation manual uses this sequence to show how window focus and placement work.

Move one window to a second workspace with Super + Shift + 2, then press Super + 2 to follow it. This is enough to see why a workspace is more than another desktop wallpaper. For the rest of the bindings, Super + K opens the on-machine list; the 20-shortcut starter guide groups the most useful ones by task.

Confirm your network and sound

The bar’s network icon opens connection controls. The same panel opens with Super + Ctrl + W; it can scan for Wi-Fi networks and connect to one. Super + Ctrl + A opens audio controls, including output selection. If sound is coming from the wrong device, selecting the intended output in that panel is a better first check than changing system files. These controls are documented in the top bar guide.

If Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, audio, or the trackpad stopped working after it previously worked, Omarchy’s troubleshooting guide points to Update → Hardware to restart the affected subsystem before rebooting the entire computer. A hardware-specific failure at first boot may need more diagnosis; this step is for a subsystem that has stopped responding.

Use Omarchy’s update path

Open the menu and choose Update → Omarchy, or use the update indicator when it appears near the clock. The update manual says this path combines packages with Omarchy migrations, configuration updates, and a pre-update snapshot. It also says direct pacman -Syu or yay -Syu bypasses that coordinated flow and is blocked by default. If the new installation is already current, there may be nothing to apply.

This is also a good time to learn where recovery lives, before you need it. The system snapshot manual explains that an update creates a snapshot of the root filesystem. A snapshot can help roll back a broken update, but it does not restore personal files in /home. Keep a separate backup for those.

For an app you actually need, open Install → Package and search for it. Omarchy’s package guide also documents omarchy pkg add <package> in the terminal and a separate Install → AUR path. Do not pick an AUR result merely because it is the first fuzzy match; AUR entries are community build recipes and the manual notes that they are not vetted by the Arch team.

You can also choose a different browser or editor through Omarchy’s dedicated installation menus. Installing an alternative is separate from making it the default; the browser manual gives Setup → Defaults → Browser as the place to make that choice.

Change one preference, then find its file

Pick a theme with Style → Theme or Super + Ctrl + Shift + Space. That changes more than the background: Omarchy themes also style its shell, terminal, and several applications. Super + Ctrl + Space cycles a theme’s available backgrounds. Start with a built-in option and learn the theme and wallpaper controls before installing a community theme.

Omarchy’s personal settings live largely in ~/.config, while files under /usr/share/omarchy belong to installed packages. The dotfiles manual identifies the main user files and recommends making your changes there. Once you have settings worth keeping, back up your user configuration along with your own documents. That leaves you with a repeatable first-day result: a working connection, an updated system, one needed app, and a desktop you know how to navigate.

References

Omarchy navigation establishes the window and workspace exercise.
The top bar documents network and audio panels.
Updates, Other Packages, and Dotfiles document the three maintenance and configuration steps.