Finally, I’ve done it after months in Linux Mint. Now, I use arch btw. Remember? When I change my Windows to Linux Mint? Here is the blog: Windows doesn't love me but Linux do.(and Linux might love you too👀). I’m happy with it, right? Now! I’m very happy too!

In this blog, I’ll tell you how I got on arch (Omarchy to be precise) and:

• Needed to learn to switch arch

• Installing it on VM (failed :>)

• New emerging Arch-based distro “omarchy”

• My Insight and experience in Omarchy

• My plan in Omarchy

• Conclusion

Needed to learn to switch arch

Yeah, this is me. While im in Linux Mint, I’m eying other distros, especially the Arch one. So I asked ChatGPT what is needed to learn to install Arch Linux, and it gave me a list, which is this:

Core Things to Learn Before Installing Arch (According to ChatGPT)

1. Basic Linux Commands

   • Navigating with cd, ls, pwd

   • Creating/removing files and dirs: touch, mkdir, rm

   • Moving/copying: cp, mv

   • Editing text files with nano or vim

2. Partitioning & Filesystems

   • How to use fdisk or parted to create partitions

   • Formatting with mkfs.ext4, mkfs.fat, mkswap

   • Mounting partitions with mount and umount

3. Boot Process Basics

   • Difference between BIOS/MBR and UEFI/GPT

   • Installing and configuring a bootloader like GRUB or systemd-boot

4. Networking

   • Using ip link, ping

   • Connecting to Wi-Fi with iwctl (if using iwd) or wifi-menu (if using netctl)

5. Package Management

   • Using pacman (Arch’s package manager): pacman -S, pacman -R, pacman -Syu

6. System Configuration

   • Setting timezone, locale, hostname

   • Editing /etc/fstab for mounting

   • Adding users and groups (useradd, passwd, usermod)

7. Kernel and Initramfs

   • Installing Linux kernel (linux, linux-lts) and initramfs (mkinitcpio)

8. Desktop Environment / Window Manager

   • Choosing and installing one (e.g., GNOME, KDE, XFCE, i3)

   • Installing a display manager (LightDM, GDM, SDDM) or just using startx

So I follow this path.

In 1. the basic Linux commands, I have basic knowledge for that since im studying the Linux filesystem and Linux command line while im in Linux Mint. In No. 2 of the list, parted and fdisk, I always use GParted for partitioning because I have two SSDs (128 GB, 256 GB) and one HDD (500GB) for storage. But I don’t know how to partition in the terminal, so I studied it. In the boot process, no. 3 I already know BIOS (from my old computer) and UEFI (from my new computer). I have NC2 CSS (computer system servicing), which taught me more about BIOS, UEFI, and Windows servers. I already know GRUB just for dual booting since I did it in Linux Mint. In No.4, I don’t usually do networking, I just use ping since im using ethernet, which doesn’t need configuration, and this is a desktop, not a laptop. In No. 5 Pacman, I'm already reading and watching videos about Pacman, but I don’t do it in practice/hands-on. I plan to do this in pre- and post-installation of Arch, and I can also do this inside Arch and familiarize it. In 6-7, this is a basic given for the arch wiki installation guide. Lastly, 8. The setup I plan to use is an Arch Sway for a minimal setup

The time I finish all of that. THE DAY HAS COME. But hehe, I tried first in a Virtual Machine.

But reality in terms of installing Arch?

You just really need to know how to read from the Arch wiki

Installing it on VM (failed :>)

Sadly, I don’t take screenshots of installation, im too busy there. My initial setup was sway xfce4. I aim to be a minimalist coder. I tried installing it 4 times, and it's hard. At first, I didn't know why it wasn't going. I did all the steps by step from archwiki, and i ai it too, but in VM, it is doing, I have this error: no backend was able to open a seat. Failed to start DRM session. Unable to create a seat. In short, Sway won’t run in VirtualBox directly because it can’t access real graphics hardware. I decided to give it a break and watch some Linux YouTube, and I see this...

New emerging Arch-based distro “omarchy”

I watch the recently posted videos by Fireship and other YouTubers about Omarchy, and I consider, let's try it. It looks cool! Reading documentations on their website and watching some DHH videos and... issues ;)

I got interested in the Omarchy, which is an Arch Hyprland, Linux with many pre-configured styles like Nord, Kanagawa, Tokyo Night, and many more!

So I am interested now, and I installed Omarchy. The installation is easy!

First impression? MAN, IT'S COOL. I'm like a hecker

This OS made me feel more like a developer, and I like it.

My experience in Omarchy

https://youtu.be/pjSk0dWuRCg?si=HuvAnP03tuC2YWec

Omarchy is beautiful with pre-configured setups, as you can see in the videos, and also when you change the setup, it updates nvim, btop, and terminal. Also, when I do oh-my-zsh with the powerlvl10k setup, it's auto-changing when I see the config files from the github good

https://github.com/basecamp/omarchy/blob/dev/default/elephant/omarchy_themes.lua

Here is the logic of the Omarchy theme picker. It uses an elephant launcher. It's intuitive and gave me ideas if I want to build a os like this (I am not discussing the file deeply here since this is about my experience in Omarchy)

Omarchy sits in a middle ground—it’s easier than pure Arch, but still forces you to troubleshoot and understand the system like me! im planning to use Arch, but landed on Omarchy. But there is a consideration about your planning. Omarchy is not beginner-friendly like other distros, like Linux Mint. During the use of it, expect some errors and fix them (this is a great learning experience in Linux when im here. Understand it. Fix it.)

What I learned in Omarchy

setup configs

Working with .config Files gave me direct control over system behavior and UI styling.

Tiling WM (New looks!)

To give you perspective, Omarchy uses Hyprland, and Hyprland is a Tiling Window Manager, which means it automatically arranges windows without overlapping. Tacking/Floating Window Manager lets windows overlap with minimize/maximize controls, like Windows OS. As a first timer using this kind of OS, this is nice in productivity with the workspaces.

Things I like in Omarchy

here are the things that I like in Omarchy.

Web app

I like the idea of the web app in Omarchy. Look at this:

chromium-browser --app=https://chatgpt.com --class=chatgpt

Run this command. change your browser chromium-browser into your respective browser (e.g., Brave, Chrome)

Beautiful pre-configured style(desktop setups)

As of November 30 2025, these are the pre-configure desktop you can see Catppuccin, Catppuccin Latte, Everforest... and my all-time favorite is KANAGAWA!! why? It is easy to see, calm, and not hurting my eyes when im coding. If you want to know more about why I like Kanagawa, read my article

Productivity focused

Clean user interface, no distractions. Many workspaces, if you multitasking, for example, I like to use workspace 1 with my coding with tmux, 2nd workspace is the browser, 3rd workspace for AI chatgpt, 4th others unnecesary, and lastly, the fifth workspace is Discord.

Arch is a rolling release, which can introduce breakage if unmanaged

As made of arch itself, this is not the issue, this is normal, and I kinda like it whenever I break, I fix it, which equals new learning

Things that I don't like to omarchy

Pre-installed software

There is software that is basically default added by DHH(the creator of omarchy), like hey, Basecamp, etc., which is i dont like to have

Kinda bloated too...

im actually shocked about when I installed the iso files, 3GB(as of October 2025)

My plan in Omarchy

So my plan in Omarchy is to leverage this os and understand underlying it, and if I get tired of using this ill go to Arch and build my setup.

Conclusion

Switching from Linux Mint to an Arch-based system wasn’t just about changing distributions—it was about changing how I approach computing. What started as curiosity about Arch turned into a deeper understanding of how Linux actually works under the hood.

I didn’t land on pure Arch right away. My failed attempts in a virtual machine reminded me that theory and practice are very different things. But instead of stopping there, I adapted—and that’s how I discovered Omarchy. It gave me a working Arch-based environment while still exposing me to the complexity and responsibility that comes with it.

Using Omarchy taught me more than just configuration. I learned how to read documentation properly, how to debug issues, how to navigate dotfiles, and how a tiling window manager can completely change workflow and productivity. It’s not always stable, and it’s definitely not beginner-friendly—but that’s exactly why it’s valuable.

For now, Omarchy is my bridge. It lets me operate in an Arch-like environment while still building the confidence and skills I need. Eventually, I plan to move to a fully manual Arch setup and build everything from scratch—this time, with a real understanding instead of just following steps.

If there’s one takeaway from this journey, it’s this: you don’t need to start perfect—you just need to start, break things, fix them, and keep going.

And yeah… I use Arch, btw.

Note: I started writing this blog in October 2025, but only finished it on April 24, 2026. Fitting, since the journey itself wasn’t rushed either.