FAQ
Short answers to the questions that come up.
Is this Omarchy?
Yes, the real one. Upstream Omarchy is installed unchanged at a pinned tag, and an Ubuntu overlay replaces only what Arch has and Ubuntu does not. The CLI, menu, themes, bar, launcher, lock screen and keybindings are Omarchy's.
Why not just install Arch?
Some people want the Omarchy experience on the Ubuntu they already run, with apt, Ubuntu's kernel and driver support, and their existing XFCE session as a fallback. Ombuntu is for them.
Does it replace Xubuntu's desktop?
No. XFCE stays installed and untouched. You choose Ombuntu or Xubuntu Session at the login screen.
Why does the command say omarchy if this is Ombuntu?
Everything Ombuntu adds is named Ombuntu: the session, branding, wallpapers, the ombuntu command. The upstream engine keeps its omarchy-* command names because its 280-plus scripts call each other by them. ombuntu and omarchy run the same dispatcher.
I see two top bars, or two error popups at login.
Ubuntu's waybar and hypridle packages enable user services globally, which duplicated what Omarchy starts. Run the installer again; it masks them.
Signal says "file is not a database". My browser lost its passwords.
Chromium and Electron apps only use the GNOME keyring on desktops they recognise; under Hyprland they fall back to plain-text storage and cannot decrypt what was saved under XFCE. Ombuntu launches them with the keyring backend selected. Use the launcher entries or the Super key bindings, not a bare command.
Firefox says it is already running after I switch from XFCE.
The XFCE session left it running. pkill -f /snap/firefox, then open it again. Rebooting between desktops avoids this.
Where are the Omarchy plugins, hooks and extra themes?
Disabled on purpose. Hooks, menu extensions and remote theme installs execute arbitrary code with your user rights on everyday actions. Use the bundled themes, or copy a theme you have reviewed into ~/.config/omarchy/themes/ by hand.
Why no minimize, maximize or close buttons in the browser?
Hyprland is a tiling compositor and draws no title bars. Ombuntu sets browsers to system decorations so their own buttons disappear; Super + W closes, Super + F goes full screen. ombuntu-browser-decorations on brings the buttons back.
Does it work on arm64?
Yes. Ubuntu builds the whole desktop for arm64. Walker and Elephant have no arm64 releases, so the installer compiles them from source, which takes 10 to 30 minutes.
How do I update?
ombuntu update, the menu's Update entry, or run the one-line installer again. Ubuntu packages come from apt; Ombuntu re-applies its overlay.
An Install menu entry says "not packaged for Ubuntu by Ombuntu".
That is a deliberate stop, not a bug. The entry's software has no apt package, vendor repository or checksummed download, and Ombuntu does not pipe remote scripts into a shell. The message says where to get it by hand.
Where are Spotify, Obsidian, Typora, 1Password?
Omarchy preinstalls them on Arch. Ombuntu offers them under the menu's Install, Apps, from the official snaps and vendor apt repositories. Once installed, Omarchy's shortcuts for them (Super + Shift + M, O, W, /) work.
Can I use my fingerprint reader or a security key?
Yes: Setup, Security in the menu enrols a fingerprint (fprintd) or registers a FIDO2 key (pam_u2f) for sudo, polkit and the lock screen, using Ubuntu's PAM layout.
Does hibernation work?
On an ext4 root, yes: Setup, System, Enable Hibernate creates a swapfile the size of RAM (or reuses Ubuntu's), sets the resume parameters for GRUB and the initramfs, and makes suspend hand over to hibernate after two hours.
How do I check my install is healthy?
ombuntu-doctor. One line per check; re-running the installer fixes most warnings.
Is Ombuntu affiliated with Ubuntu or Omarchy?
No. It is an independent community project. Ubuntu and Xubuntu are Canonical trademarks; Omarchy belongs to DHH and contributors.