Thoughts on Omarchy

Technical value of Omarchy

• Some commenters dismiss Omarchy as “r/unixporn in ISO form,” predicting it will break like other highly opinionated Arch-based setups (e.g., Manjaro/LARBS-like scripts).
• They argue competent users can install Arch + i3/Hyprland in minutes and that relying on someone else’s dotfiles without understanding them is a long-term handicap.
• Others with decades of Linux experience say Omarchy is highly productive and fun: strong TUI focus, good launchers, fast “from ISO to working dev environment,” and simple text-based customization.
• One user highlights technical strengths: Btrfs + snapper + Limine provide multiple bootable rollbacks, directly countering claims of “no rollbacks.”
• Some report practical pain points: dislike of Hyprland, difficulty integrating Flatpaks, heavy AUR dependence, and complexity beyond what they want.

“Distro vs dotfiles” and user elitism

• Debate over whether Omarchy is really a distro or just packaged dotfiles; several say it’s essentially “convenient repackaging” and another base layer to customize.
• Accusations that Omarchy users “don’t know what they’re doing” are criticized as elitist; defenders note not everyone wants to tinker endlessly.
• A side argument devolves into “nerds vs geeks” stereotypes and parasocial attitudes toward creators.

Ethics, politics, and open source

• One camp insists there is “no ethics complication”: open source licenses forbid discrimination, and judging software by its author’s politics is seen as misguided “complicity” thinking.
• Another camp argues “everything is political,” especially OSS, and explicitly avoids Omarchy and related projects due to the creator’s alleged xenophobic/racist statements.
• Others say users should be informed of the controversy and decide for themselves; some ask what happens when people are informed but use it anyway, prompting sarcastic replies about exaggerated moral purity.
• A meta-thread explores whether “no discrimination” principles should also constrain community behavior (e.g., racist maintainers), and whether forking over such behavior is itself “politicizing.”
• Separate but related debate erupts over whether current US politics are “fascist,” with arguments hinging on definitions and historical analogies rather than Omarchy itself.

Alternatives and practicalities

• Suggested alternatives include “roll your own Hyprland setup,” CachyOS (Arch with preconfigured Hyprland/Niri), and Pop!_OS for something simpler.
• Some question the article’s torrent-vs-HTTP critique: HTTP supports resumable downloads; download managers or wget -c are suggested.
• Minor side topics: Omarchy’s pronunciation (tied to “Arch Linux,” not Greek “-archy”) and whether the article fits the site’s stated mission.