Omarchy

Research References
1

Last tested on Debian unstable, on September 20th, 2026

Omarchy is a Linux distribution build from Arch Linux, written with AI and designed for AI use.

Check that your CPU exposes virtualization extensions:

grep -Eoc '(vmx|svm)' /proc/cpuinfo

Any number above 0 is fine. Zero means VT-x or AMD-V is off in firmware: reboot into the BIOS/UEFI and enable it.

Install the required packages:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install qemu-system-x86 qemu-utils ovmf \
  libvirt-daemon-system libvirt-clients \
  virt-manager virtinst virt-viewer virtiofsd

Enable the daemon and put your user in the right group:

sudo systemctl enable --now libvirtd.service
sudo usermod --append --groups libvirt,kvm "$USER"

Log out and back in so the group change takes effect.

Set up libvirt’s NAT network, for internet access:

sudo virsh net-start default
sudo virsh net-autostart default

Check omarchy.org for the current version. The latest as of today is 4.0.4. Download and verify the ISO:

cd ~/Downloads
curl --location --remote-name https://iso.omarchy.org/omarchy-4.0.4.iso
curl --location --remote-name https://iso.omarchy.org/omarchy-4.0.4.iso.sha256
curl --location --remote-name https://iso.omarchy.org/omarchy-4.0.4.iso.sig
sha256sum --check omarchy-4.0.4.iso.sha256

Verify the signature:

gpg --keyserver hkps://keys.openpgp.org \
    --recv-keys 40DFB630FF42BCFFB047046CF0134EE680CAC571
gpg --fingerprint 40DFB630FF42BCFFB047046CF0134EE680CAC571
gpg --verify omarchy-4.0.4.iso.sig omarchy-4.0.4.iso

Move the ISO where libvirt can read it:

sudo mv ~/Downloads/omarchy-4.0.4.iso /var/lib/libvirt/images/

Boot the installer:

virt-install \
  --connect qemu:///system \
  --name omarchy \
  --osinfo archlinux \
  --memory 8192 \
  --vcpus 4 \
  --cpu host-passthrough \
  --machine q35 \
  --boot uefi,firmware.feature0.name=secure-boot,firmware.feature0.enabled=no \
  --disk path=/var/lib/libvirt/images/omarchy.qcow2,size=80,format=qcow2,bus=virtio,discard=unmap \
  --cdrom /var/lib/libvirt/images/omarchy-4.0.4.iso \
  --network network=default,model=virtio \
  --video virtio,accel3d=yes \
  --graphics spice,gl.enable=yes,listen=none \
  --sound none

A viewer window opens on the installer. After the installation it reboots.

On the first boot it will asks for the login password, and then drop you into Hyprland.

The SPICE guest agent gives you a shared clipboard with the Debian host and makes the guest resolution follow the viewer window:

sudo pacman --sync --needed spice-vdagent
sudo systemctl enable --now spice-vdagentd

To share a folder shut omarchi down and edit it:

virsh --connect qemu:///system edit omarchy

Add memoryBacking directly under <domain>:

<memoryBacking>
  <source type="memfd"/>
  <access mode="shared"/>
</memoryBacking>

And the filesystem element inside <devices>:

<filesystem type="mount" accessmode="passthrough">
  <driver type="virtiofs"/>
  <source dir="/home/agami/worskpace"/>
  <target dir="share"/>
</filesystem>

Start the guest again and open its console:

virsh --connect qemu:///system start omarchy
virt-viewer --connect qemu:///system omarchy

Then inside the guest:

sudo mkdir --parents /home/agami/workspace
sudo mount --types virtiofs share /home/agami/workspace

Created together with Claude Opus 5 :penguin::nesting_dolls: