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docs(omarchy): #78 Omarchy → Nomarchy migrant one-pager

Add docs/OMARCHY.md for users coming from Omarchy (VISION § F). Leads
with the one real difference — imperative dotfiles vs a declarative flake
built via the menu, with rollback through NixOS generations — then maps
the deltas: install (ISO/nomarchy-install or MIGRATION.md), a familiar
keybindings table, theming (SUPER+T / nomarchy-theme-sync), installing
software (home.packages / nix shell, no AUR), and update+rollback
(nomarchy-pull/-rebuild/-home, boot-menu generations, nomarchy-doctor).
Registered in docs/README.md; VISION § F marked shipped.

The Nomarchy side is grounded in the code: keybindings pulled from
keybinds.nix, and every cited command (7), the nsearch alias, and the
named theme slugs (gruvbox/rose-pine/nord) verified to exist. Omarchy-side
claims kept to known facts (Arch, dotfiles, pacman/AUR).

Verification: V0 (docs-only); commands/slugs/binds checked against the tree.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

2026-07-10 21:15:36 +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:

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.
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+?`	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-theme-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 (theme-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.

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