A Month with Omarchy

I wrote in September that I was starting a new journey, with a new Framework laptop that was running Omarchy. I wasn't sure how I'd report back on my experience, but seeing as it's been just over a month, it's probably a good time to share my current opinions.

Right now, I've got 2 computers, my recently purchased Framework 13, and a PC that I primarily use for gaming. Both of these have Omarchy installed, albeit my PC is still mostly "stock" as all I really do is browse the web and play World of Warcraft. the laptop is where I've made a few tweaks. As for my other computers, including my long-admired MacBook Pro, I haven't used that since my Framework arrived.

My opinions haven't really changed since when I first started using Omarchy. It feels fast to use, I feel in control, and mostly the opinions that it has been designed around match mine.

There are some aspects of a Linux installation that while I don't care about the specifics, it's good to have readily configured. Those are things like a good menu bar, application launcher, WiFi and Bluetooth tools, etc. I've played with distros such as Arch before, and I've tended to slowly build my own Hyprland configuration. But to me, those parts are just a waste of time. I don't care what tool I use to manage Bluetooth, I just want something usable.

I think that's the best thing about Omarchy in my opinion. It's built in a way that it gives you a good foundation, an opinionated (but reasonable) layer on top, good documentation, and a growing community.

For some people, the boundaries of what they don't care about may be bigger or smaller than mine. So I can imagine for a number of people, they can just use Omarchy without any changes just as they would macOS or Windows. Others, that may have already been on Linux for some time, may find that there are just too many opinions, and it's easier for them to build up from scratch.

As for myself, although I've used Linux on various machines, for a number of years, I'm somewhere in the middle. I'd say, the first 75% of configuring an Arch/Linux installation, is wasted on me. For that part, I'd just want something that works. But as for the themeing, terminal setup, programming environment, etc. That's what I want to put more time into.

And that is around where I'm at right now. I have 2 working computers, with choices that mostly match my own. But it's probably time to start to remove the shackles of those opinions. I've managed to play games, browse the web, write some Rails code. But like I hinted at last month, it's time to make this computer my own.

I think the biggest project will be my programming environment. That mostly happens inside Neovim, but I go back to using something totally built around my own usage. So that means ripping out the config that comes with Omarchy, and really building from scratch again.

Then there are things like making the theme look a bit better. For that I can use Omarchy to my own benefit, as I've seen various theme creation tools for Omarchy being built by the community. It should now be reasonably simple to make my own now.

Once I've got programming and the theme sorted, next up are working on better solutions for writing. This blog is simple, as I can write in the online editor. But I want to start writing more, whether it is research, for a blog, or just writing notes. I want something I can use on my PC, laptop, and maybe even my phone.

One thought about Omarchy that just popped in to my head as I was writing this post. Even though I've been using only Linux computers for the past month or so, it sort of doesn't feel like it.

In the past when I've used Ubuntu, Pop OS, Arch, etc. It's always been at the forefront of my mind that I'm using Linux. It's as if I'm constantly reminded that Linux is different, and I always have to think twice how to do something.

With Omarchy, it just feels like I'm using a computer. In the same way that when I was a Mac user, I didn't feel like I needed to know what was going on underneath the hood. People (including DHH himself) may disagree with this, but I think what Omarchy does, is that it brings the "It just works" feeling to Linux.