Omarchy Can Do WHAT? 20+ Features You Are Missing

I installed Omarchy three weeks ago.I sat there for twenty minutes staring at an empty screen with a bar at the top and absolutely no idea what to do next. It looked beautiful. It felt fast.But it also felt like a puzzle I had not been given the instructions for.

So I did what any frustrated user does. I opened the manual. All 4.0 of it. And then I spent the next three weeks living inside Omarchy, breaking things, fixing them and discovering features I didn't know existed.

Here are fifty things you can do right now. Not theoretical. Not "you could if you wanted to." These are the features I actually use every single day.

1. Your first Five minutes: Keybindings that Replace your Mouse

The first thing you need to learn is the keybindings. Without them you are lost.

Super + Return opens a terminal. That's your new best friend.
Super + Q closes the current window.
Super + D opens the application launcher. Type the name of any app and hit enter.
Super + Tab cycles between open windows.
Super + 1 through 9 switches between workspaces instantly.

Copy and Paste That Works Everywhere

Omarchy handles clipboard management better than any Linux distro I have used. Copy text in one app paste it in another. It just works. No clipboard manager to install. No configuration required. This sounds small but if you have used Linux before you know how rare it is.

Press Super + D. That's your application launcher. It's fast it's searchable and it learns what you use most. I have not opened a terminal to launch an app in weeks.

2. Workspaces instead of Monitors

I used to have three monitors. Now I have one monitor and nine workspaces.

Super + Shift + 1 moves the current window to workspace 1.
Super + Shift + Left/Right moves windows between workspaces.
Super + (number) switches to that workspace instantly.

Fullscreen Three Ways

Super + F toggles fullscreen for the current window.
Super + Shift + F makes the window float above the tiling layout.
Super + Alt + F forces a window into a specific workspace.

The Scratchpad

A scratchpad is a hidden workspace you can summon with a keybinding. I keep a notes app and a calculator in mine.

Super + (backtick) toggles the scratchpad.

It's like having a secret room where you can hide your messiest apps.

3. Let an AI Agent work without Roaming

This is the feature that still feels illegal.

Omarchy has built in AI integration. You can hand an AI agent the keys to your desktop and let it make changes. But you don't have to give it full access.Omarchy uses allowlisting and ringfencing to restrict what the AI can and can't do.

Allowlisting: Only approved applications can run. The AI can't install random software.
Ringfencing: The AI can't access your personal files unless you explicitly grant permission.

I set up an AI agent to reorganize my desktop. It created new workspaces moved windows and applied a theme. All without touching anything i didn't want it to.

The security model is smart. You are not giving the AI root access. You are giving it a sandbox. It can play but it can't break anything.

4. Installing anything (and When to be Careful with the AUR)

Omarchy uses Pacman and the AUR (Arch User Repository).

Pacman: The official package manager. sudo pacman -S package-name installs anything from the official repos.
AUR: A community driven repository with thousands of packages. You use an AUR helper like yay or paru to install from it.

The warning: AUR packages are not vetted. Anyone can upload. I have seen malware in the AUR. Read the PKGBUILD before installing. Check the comments. If something feels off don't install it.

The AUR is a blessing and a curse. It's how you get the newest software before it hits official repos. It's also how you accidentally install something you should not.

5. Turn any Website or Terminal App into a Real App

This is one of my favorite features.

Web Apps: You can turn any website into a standalone application.Open the browser navigate to the site and use the "Install as App" option.It gets its own launcher icon and window.
Terminal Apps: You can also turn terminal applications into desktop apps. I turned btop into a system monitor that launches with a single click.

I have separate apps for Gmail, YouTube and a project management tool I use. They open in their own windows. They don't mix with my browser tabs. It's a cleaner faster workflow.

6. Dev Environments, Editors, Terminals and Shell tools you Already have

Omarchy comes preloaded with tools that make development easier.

Neovim — A powerful terminal editor. The config is already optimized.
Tmux — Terminal multiplexer. Split your terminal into panes.
Zsh — The default shell. It's fast, configurable and has excellent autocompletion.
Fzf — Fuzzy finder. Type part of a filename and fzf finds it instantly.
Ripgrep — Search through files at lightning speed.

You don't need to install anything to get started.It's all there.

7. Updating the right way (and What Btrfs Snapshots actually save)

Updating Omarchy is simple. But you should understand what's happening.

sudo pacman -Syu updates all packages.
Btrfs Snapshots: If you are using Btrfs (and you should be), Omarchy takes automatic snapshots before updates. If something breaks you can roll back to the previous state.

Snapshots don't replace backups. They save you from a bad update. They are a safety net not a disaster recovery plan.

8. The Security you Already have

Omarchy ships with security features that most distros make you configure manually.

Full Disk Encryption: Enabled by default. Your data is protected if your laptop is stolen.
Firewall: A basic firewall is already configured. You can customize it with ufw or firewalld.
Fingerprint Unlock: If your hardware supports it you can unlock your desktop with your fingerprint.

Most people don't think about security until something goes wrong.Omarchy makes it the default.

9. The Toggles, Screensaver and Network Tricks nobody shows you

Night Light: Toggle it with a keybinding or from the menu. It reduces blue light.
Screensaver: It's not just a screensaver. It's a lock screen with a clock.
Network Tricks: Omarchy shows signal strength IP address and connection type in the top bar. Click it to switch networks instantly.

The network manager is one of the best I have used. It connects to Wi-Fi, Ethernet and VPNs without the usual Linux headaches.

10. SSH that Reconnects Itself, Power Profiles and btop

SSH Reconnection: If your SSH session drops Omarchy automatically tries to reconnect. No more lost work.
Power Profiles: Switch between performance balanced and power saving modes. It extends battery life significantly.
btop: A system monitor that looks like a work of art. CPU, memory, disk, network all in one view.

The power profiles are a game changer for laptops. Performance mode when you are plugged in. Power saving mode when you are on battery. It just works.

11. Screenshots that Freeze the Screen and recording with a webcam Bubble

Screenshot: Press Print Screen. The screen freezes, you select an area and it's copied to your clipboard.
Recording with Webcam Bubble: Omarchy has built in screen recording. It can also overlay a webcam bubble so viewers can see you while you present.

I have used this for tutorials and presentations. It's faster than OBS. It's simpler. And it's already installed.

12. Voxtype: Dictate Anywhere, Completely Local

Voxtype is a local dictation tool. You press a keybinding, speak and your words appear wherever your cursor is.

It runs entirely on your machine. No cloud. No data leaving your device.

I use it for writing emails and taking notes. It's accurate, fast and private. It's like having a transcriptionist in your pocket.

13. LocalSend: AirDrop for Linux

LocalSend lets you send files between devices on the same network.

It works on Linux, Windows, macOS, Android and iOS.No accounts. No cloud. Just peer to peer transfers.

I use it to send files from my laptop to my phone.It's faster than email. It's faster than cloud storage. And it does not require an internet connection.

14. The Emoji Key Built in Reminders and Grabbing Video off any Page

Emoji Key: Press Super + to open an emoji picker. Insert emojis into any text field.
Built-In Reminders: Set reminders with natural language. "Remind me to call mom at 5 PM" actually works.
Video Grabber: Paste a URL and Omarchy downloads the video. No external tools required.

The video grabber is particularly useful. I have used it to download tutorials, presentations and reference videos. No sketchy websites. No pop up ads. Just a clean download.

15. Themes and a whole theme from one Wallpaper

This is the feature that blew my mind.

Drop a wallpaper into the theme folder. Omarchy analyzes the colors and generates a complete theme window borders, terminal colors, bar everything. It's cohesive. It's beautiful. And it took me ten seconds.

I have created five themes from five wallpapers. Each one looks professional. Each one feels intentional. I did not have to configure anything.

16. Plugins and the Marketplace

Omarchy has a plugin marketplace.

You can install plugins that add new features: weather widgets, system monitors, custom menus and more. The marketplace is curated so you don't have to worry about malware.

I have installed a weather widget and a network monitor. Both work flawlessly. Both took seconds to install.

17. Pick Your AI, Then tell it to Rewrite Your Operating System

Omarchy supports multiple AI providers. You can use OpenAI, Anthropic or local models.

Once configured you can tell the AI to make changes to your desktop. I asked it to create a custom keybinding that opens my notes app. It did it. I asked it to change the color scheme. It did that too.

The AI integration is deep. It's not just a chatbot in a sidebar. It's an agent that can actually modify your system.

18. Running a Local Model on a Laptop with No GPU

This was the biggest surprise.

I run a local AI model on my laptop. No GPU. It's slow but it works. And it's completely private. No data leaves my machine.

Omarchy's local model integration is simple. Download the model, configure the settings and start chatting.

It's not fast enough for production work. But for writing, brainstorming, and simple queries it's more than enough.

19. Build Your Own Plugin then Publish It

I built a plugin. It's a simple weather widget. It took me an afternoon.

The plugin API is well documented. The community is helpful. And the marketplace makes it easy to share your work with others.

If you have ever wanted to contribute to open source this is a great place to start.

20. A Prayer for You

If you have made it this far you are ready to explore Omarchy for yourself.Don't be afraid to break things. That's how you learn.

The operating system is yours. Make it yours.

Thanks for reading. Shahzaib

Good Luck Guys !