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Nomarchy/docs/OMARCHY.md
Bernardo Magri d8e1a13d50
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refactor(#107): theme-state.json → state.json, theme-sync → state-sync
The machine flake's git-tracked settings file is system state, not
"theme" only — rename it to state.json. CLI becomes nomarchy-state-sync
with a nomarchy-theme-sync symlink for scripts and muscle memory.

Eval (mkFlake, doctor, lifecycle) still accepts theme-state.json; the
next write migrates to state.json and removes the legacy file.
Documented in MIGRATION.md; drop the CLI alias after release notes.
2026-07-15 11:26:59 +01:00

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Coming from Omarchy

Nomarchy and Omarchy are cousins: the same Hyprland + Waybar desktop feel, the same opinionated "beautiful out of the box," one-command theming, and a keyboard-driven menu. If you liked Omarchy, you'll be at home here in minutes.

The one real difference is the foundation:

Omarchy Nomarchy
Base Arch Linux NixOS
Config imperative dotfiles you edit in ~/.config, live declarative — built from a flake; changed via the menu or your home.nix/system.nix
Packages pacman / yay / AUR, anytime nixpkgs — added to your flake (no AUR)
Recovery reinstall / restore dotfiles every rebuild is a bootable generation — roll back from the boot menu

This page maps the day-to-day deltas. Nothing about the desktop has to be relearned — only how you change it.


The one mental shift: declarative, not dotfiles

In Omarchy you open a file under ~/.config, save it, and the change is live. In Nomarchy the whole desktop is built from your flake, so you change it one of two ways:

  1. The menu (SUPER+M) — the everyday path. It writes the change into your flake's state and rebuilds for you. You never hand-edit a config for theming, night light, wallpaper, keyboard layout, power, etc.
  2. Your flake — for anything the menu doesn't cover, edit home.nix / system.nix (a handful of nomarchy.* options and plain Home-Manager/NixOS), then run a rebuild.

The payoff for the extra indirection: a bad change never bricks you. Every nomarchy-rebuild is a new NixOS generation; if one misbehaves, reboot and pick the previous entry from the boot menu — your files (/home) are never touched. See RECOVERY.md.

Editing ~/.config/hypr/* by hand won't stick — Home-Manager owns those files and rewrites them on the next rebuild. Change the source (menu or flake) instead.


Install

Omarchy Run the bootstrap on a fresh Arch install.
Nomarchy Boot the ISO and run nomarchy-install (single-disk UEFI, optional LUKS, hibernation-ready swap).
Already on NixOS? Convert in place, no reformat — MIGRATION.md.

Keybindings (they'll feel familiar)

The full, always-current list is one keypress away: SUPER+? opens the live cheatsheet — you never have to memorize this table.

Key Action
SUPER+Return Terminal
SUPER+Space App launcher
SUPER+M Main menu (theme, network, audio, power, tools…)
SUPER+T Theme picker
SUPER+SHIFT+T Next wallpaper
SUPER+E File manager (yazi)
SUPER+X Power menu (lock / suspend / hibernate / reboot …)
SUPER+CTRL+L Lock screen
SUPER+? Keybindings cheatsheet
Print Screenshot region → clipboard
SUPER+CTRL+<key> Jump straight to a menu module (clipboard V, calc C, emoji E, capture S, …)

Theming

Both distros reskin everything from one place. In Nomarchy:

  • SUPER+T (or nomarchy-menu theme) — pick from 24 presets with live previews; it rebuilds and applies to Hyprland, Waybar, the terminal, btop and GTK/Qt at once.
  • Or from a shell: nomarchy-state-sync apply <slug> (e.g. gruvbox, rose-pine, nord).
  • Tweak gaps / rounding / fonts / opacity / icon pack without leaving the theme system — see OVERRIDES.md. One git-tracked JSON (state.json) is the single source of truth.

Installing software

There is no AUR. Two paths:

  • Keep it: add the package to home.packages in your flake's home.nix, then nomarchy-home. It's now declared, reproducible, and part of your rollback history. A curated default app set already ships — you extend the list.
  • Just this once: nix shell nixpkgs#<pkg> drops you into a shell with it on PATH, gone when you exit — the equivalent of a throwaway install.

Search with nsearch <name> (nix search nixpkgs).


Update & roll back

Omarchy Nomarchy
Update update command nomarchy-pull (bump inputs), then nomarchy-rebuild (system) + nomarchy-home (desktop)
Roll back restore dotfiles reboot → pick the previous generation in the boot menu (or a snapper snapshot)
Health check nomarchy-doctor (System Doctor) — read-only pass/fail sheet, each ✖ shows its fix

On a failed rebuild, nomarchy-rebuild / nomarchy-home print the last log lines and point you at nomarchy-doctor and RECOVERY.md — you're never left guessing.


What's exactly the same

Hyprland tiling and feel, Waybar, the rofi-driven menu, the blur/rounding aesthetic, keyboard-first everything, and strong opinionated defaults. The desktop is the part you already know — this page is only about the NixOS plumbing underneath.