✨ RAINZ'S Arch Hyprland Rice

A meticulously crafted Arch Linux desktop experience

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Elevate your Linux workflow with this carefully curated collection of dotfiles

Neovim setup with bufferline, telescope, and modern UI tweaks

⚡ Tech Stack

Component	Choice	Why
🐧 OS	Arch Linux	Rolling release perfection
🪟 WM	Hyprland	Smooth Wayland animations
🌙 Desktop Shell	Noctalia Shell	Sleek, minimal Wayland shell
🌐 Browser	Zen Browser	Privacy-focused & customizable
🖥️ Terminal	Kitty + Wezterm	GPU-accelerated performance
🐚 Shell	Fish + Starship	Beautiful & user-friendly
✏️ Editor	Neovim	Extensible text editing
🚀 Launcher	Rofi + Vicinae	Fast application switching
📊 Bar	Noctalia Bar	Built into Noctalia Shell
🔔 Notifications	Noctalia Notifications	Integrated notification system
🖼️ Wallpaper	Hyprpaper + Waypaper	Dynamic wallpaper management
📁 File Manager	Yazi	Terminal-based file manager
📄 PDF Viewer	Zathura	Vim-like document viewer
🖥️ Multiplexer	Tmux	Terminal session management

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🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

# Ensure you have these essentials
- Arch Linux (fresh install recommended)
- git, yay, sudo privileges
- Proper GPU drivers installed

One-Command Setup

git clone https://github.com/R7rainz/dotfiles.git ~/dotfiles && cd ~/dotfiles

Neovim Setup ( recommended to setup in a different repo for better updates and management )

Want to try my Neovim configuration?
You can find it here: https://github.com/R7rainz/neovim-conf

If you like it, consider leaving a ⭐ — it really helps!

Clone it directly into your Neovim config directory:

git clone https://github.com/R7rainz/neovim-conf ~/.config/nvim

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📦 Installation Steps

🏗️ Step 1: Hyprland Installation

System Update & Dependencies

sudo pacman -Syu
sudo pacman -S base-devel cmake meson ninja gcc pkgconf libxcb xcb-proto xcb-util xcb-util-keysyms libxfixes libx11 libxcomposite xorg-xinput libxrender pixman wayland-protocols cairo pango seatd libxkbcommon xcb-util-wm xorg-xwayland libinput libliftoff libdisplay-info cpio tomlplusplus hyprlang hyprcursor hyprwayland-scanner

GPU Drivers

NVIDIA:

sudo pacman -S nvidia nvidia-utils nvidia-settings
# Add to /etc/mkinitcpio.conf: MODULES=(nvidia nvidia_modeset nvidia_uvm nvidia_drm)
sudo mkinitcpio -P
# Add to GRUB: nvidia_drm.modeset=1
sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

AMD:

sudo pacman -S mesa lib32-mesa vulkan-radeon lib32-vulkan-radeon

Intel:

sudo pacman -S mesa lib32-mesa vulkan-intel lib32-vulkan-intel

Install Hyprland

sudo pacman -S hyprland
# Or for latest features:
yay -S hyprland-git
yay -S xdg-desktop-portal-hyprland-git

Configure XDG Desktop Portal

# Install required portal packages
sudo pacman -S xdg-desktop-portal-wlr xdg-desktop-portal-gtk

# Create portal configuration
mkdir -p ~/.config/xdg-desktop-portal
cat > ~/.config/xdg-desktop-portal/portals.conf << EOF
[preferred]
default=hyprland;gtk
org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Screenshot=hyprland
org.freedesktop.impl.portal.ScreenCast=hyprland
org.freedesktop.impl.portal.FileChooser=gtk
EOF

🌙 Step 1.5: Noctalia Shell Installation

What is Noctalia Shell?

Noctalia Shell is a sleek and minimal desktop shell thoughtfully crafted for Wayland. Built on Quickshell, it provides:

• Beautiful status bar with integrated modules
• Notification center
• Application launcher
• Control center with quick settings
• Lock screen
• Plugin support for extensibility

Installation (Arch Linux)

Using AUR (Recommended):

# Install stable version
paru -S noctalia-shell

# Or install development version for latest features
paru -S noctalia-shell-git

Dependencies

Noctalia Shell will automatically install its dependencies, but here's what it uses:

Required:

• quickshell - Core shell framework
• brightnessctl - Screen brightness control
• imagemagick - Image processing for wallpapers
• python - Required for template processing
• git - Update checking and plugin system

Optional (Recommended):

paru -S cliphist cava wlsunset power-profiles-daemon ddcutil

• cliphist - Clipboard history support
• cava - Audio visualizer component
• wlsunset - Night light functionality
• power-profiles-daemon - Power profile management
• ddcutil - External display brightness control

Running Noctalia Shell

Add this line to your Hyprland config (~/.config/hypr/hyprland.conf):

exec-once = qs -c noctalia-shell

Hyprland Settings for Noctalia

Add these settings for optimal integration with Noctalia Shell:

# Enable blur for Noctalia panels
layerrule {
  name = noctalia
  match:namespace = noctalia-background-.*$
  ignore_alpha = 0.5
  blur = true
  blur_popups = true
}

Noctalia IPC Commands

Noctalia uses IPC for various functions. Example keybind for lock screen:

# Lock screen
bind = SUPER, L, exec, qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call lockScreen lock

Configuration

Noctalia configuration is stored in:

• Config: ~/.config/noctalia/
• Cache: ~/.cache/noctalia/

Resources

• Noctalia Documentation
• GitHub Repository
• Discord Community

📦 Step 2: Core Packages

# System essentials
sudo pacman -S git stow brightnessctl pacman-contrib pipewire pipewire-pulse wireplumber bluez-utils pulseaudio pavucontrol blueman wayland wayland-protocols wlroots

# Applications
sudo pacman -S kitty wezterm fish neovim rofi hyprpaper thunar gvfs gvfs-mtp npm yazi zathura zathura-pdf-mupdf tmux
yay -S waypaper zen-browser-bin pnpm-bin avizo vicinae

# Noctalia Shell (replaces waybar, swaync, mako)
yay -S noctalia-shell

# Fonts & Tools
sudo pacman -S ttf-jetbrains-mono-nerd ttf-liberation ttf-dejavu starship
yay -S ttf-inconsolata-lgc-nerd ttf-hurmit-nerd bat fastfetch kotofetch

🌐 Step 3: Zen Browser Setup

Nebula Theme Installation

git clone https://github.com/JustAdumbPrsn/Zen-Nebula.git ~/zen-nebula

Apply Custom CSS

1. Open Zen Browser → about:config
2. Set toolkit.legacyUserProfileCustomizations.stylesheets to true
3. Go to about:support → Open Profile Folder
4. Create chrome folder
5. Copy CSS files:

cp ~/zen-nebula/userChrome.css ~/.zen/[your-profile]/chrome/
cp ~/zen-nebula/userContent.css ~/.zen/[your-profile]/chrome/

Extensions & Settings

• Install uBlock Origin
• Enable Compact Sidebar Mode
• Configure privacy settings

🎭 Step 4: SDDM Theme Setup

# Install SDDM theme
sudo chmod +x ~/dotfiles/install-sddm-theme.sh
sudo ~/dotfiles/install-sddm-theme.sh

# The theme will be installed to: /usr/share/sddm/themes/silent

⚙️ Step 5: System Configuration

Services

# Audio
systemctl --user enable pipewire pipewire-pulse wireplumber
systemctl --user start pipewire pipewire-pulse wireplumber

# Bluetooth
sudo systemctl enable bluetooth && sudo systemctl start bluetooth

# Display Manager
sudo systemctl enable sddm

Configure Display Manager

# Configure SDDM to use Wayland session
sudo mkdir -p /etc/sddm.conf.d
sudo tee /etc/sddm.conf.d/10-wayland.conf << EOF
[General]
DisplayServer=wayland
GreeterEnvironment=QT_WAYLAND_SHELL_INTEGRATION=layer-shell

[Wayland]
CompositorCommand=Hyprland
EOF

🔗 Step 6: Apply Dotfiles

cd ~/dotfiles

# Individual stowing (recommended)
stow avizo
stow batfetch
stow fastfetch
stow fish
stow kitty
stow wezterm
stow neovim
stow rofi
stow hyprland
stow yazi
stow zathura
stow starship

# Note: Noctalia Shell manages its own config in ~/.config/noctalia/
# You don't need to stow waybar, swaync, or mako if using Noctalia Shell

# Or stow everything at once (be careful of conflicts)
# stow */

Configure Shell

# Set Fish as default shell
echo /usr/bin/fish | sudo tee -a /etc/shells
chsh -s /usr/bin/fish

# Verify Oh My Posh theme
ls -la ~/.config/oh-my-posh/themes/custom.omp.json

Font Configuration

# Refresh font cache
fc-cache -fv

# Verify fonts are installed
fc-list | grep -i "jetbrains\\|hurmit\\|inconsolata"

✅ Step 7: Final Configuration

Reload Fish Configuration

fish
source ~/.config/fish/config.fish

Test Applications

# Test fetch tools
batfetch
fastfetch

# Test terminal
kitty &

# Test editor
nvim

# Test application launcher
rofi -show drun

# Test browser
zen-browser &

Launch Hyprland

# If using a display manager, select Hyprland from the session menu
# Or start Hyprland manually from TTY:
Hyprland

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🔄 Updating Dotfiles

To update your dotfiles after making changes:

cd ~/dotfiles

# Restow modified packages
stow -R package-name

# Or restow all packages
stow -R */

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🗂️ Directory Structure

~/dotfiles/
├── .config/
│   ├── avizo/              # Volume/brightness OSD
│   ├── batfetch/           # Fetch utility
│   ├── fastfetch/          # System info fetch
│   ├── fish/               # Fish shell config
│   ├── hypr/               # Hyprland configs
│   │   ├── hyprland.conf   # Main config (includes Noctalia autostart)
│   │   ├── hypridle.conf
│   │   ├── hyprlock.conf
│   │   ├── window_rules.conf
│   │   └── scripts/
│   ├── kitty/              # Kitty terminal (Noctalia theme)
│   ├── kotofetch/          # Fetch utility
│   ├── nvim/               # Neovim config
│   ├── oh-my-posh/         # Shell prompt theme (alternative)
│   │   └── themes/
│   │       └── custom.omp.json
│   ├── rofi/               # Application launcher
│   ├── scripts/            # Utility scripts
│   ├── starship.toml       # Starship prompt config
│   ├── wezterm/            # Wezterm terminal
│   │   ├── wezterm.lua     # Main config with Noctalia colors
│   │   └── colors/
│   │       └── Noctalia.toml  # Noctalia color scheme
│   ├── yazi/               # File manager (Noctalia flavor)
│   └── zathura/            # PDF viewer
├── system/
│   └── sddm/
│       └── themes/
│           └── silent/
├── bluetooth-auto-switch.sh
├── install-bluetooth-auto-switch.sh
└── install-sdddm-theme.sh

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🎨 Customization Options

🌙 Noctalia Shell

This rice uses Noctalia Shell as the primary desktop shell, replacing traditional status bars and notification daemons.

Features

• Status Bar - Clean, minimal bar with workspace indicators, system tray, and clock
• Notification Center - Integrated notification system with history
• Control Center - Quick settings panel for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, brightness, volume
• Application Launcher - Built-in launcher (or use Rofi/Vicinae)
• Lock Screen - Integrated lock screen via IPC

Key Components

Component	Noctalia Equivalent
Waybar	Noctalia Bar
SwayNC/Mako	Noctalia Notifications
wlogout	Noctalia Power Menu

Configuration

Noctalia Shell stores its configuration at ~/.config/noctalia/. Access settings through the shell's built-in settings panel.

Useful IPC Commands

# Lock screen
qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call lockScreen lock

# Toggle control center
qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call controlCenter toggle

# Toggle launcher
qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call launcher toggle

Noctalia Color Theme

The Noctalia color palette is used across multiple applications:

Color	Hex	Usage
Background	#141316	Dark charcoal base
Foreground	#e6e1e6	Light gray text
Accent Pink	#eeb8cb	Highlights
Accent Purple	#cbbeff	Secondary accent
Accent Red	#ffb4ab	Alerts/errors

🪟 Hyprland Configuration

The Hyprland setup includes:

• 🎨 Custom animations - Smooth window transitions and effects
• ⌨️ Keybindings - Optimized keyboard shortcuts for productivity
• 🖥️ Multi-monitor support - Seamless workspace management across displays
• 🎯 Window rules - Automatic window positioning and behavior
• 🔧 Performance optimizations - Tuned for smooth operation

Key Features

• Tiling and floating modes with easy switching
• Workspace management with smooth animations
• Custom gaps and borders for aesthetic appeal
• Screen sharing support via xdg-desktop-portal-hyprland

🌐 Zen Browser

The browser setup includes:

• 🌌 Nebula Theme - Beautiful dark theme with cosmic aesthetics
• 🛡️ uBlock Origin - Advanced ad and tracker blocking
• 📱 Compact Sidebar - Space-efficient navigation
• 🎨 Custom CSS - Personalized interface styling

Browser Extensions

• uBlock Origin: Essential privacy and ad-blocking extension
  • Enable additional filter lists for enhanced protection
  • Configure custom filters as needed

Nebula Theme Features

• Dark cosmic color scheme
• Smooth animations and transitions
• Compact interface design
• Enhanced readability

🔤 Fonts

The setup uses these carefully selected fonts:

• 🚀 JetBrains Mono Nerd Font - Main monospace font with excellent readability
• ⚡ Hurmit Nerd Font - Alternative monospace with unique character
• 📝 InconsolataLGC Nerd Font - Additional monospace option for variety

🎭 Oh My Posh / Starship Theme

Two shell prompt options are available:

• Oh My Posh: Custom theme at ~/.config/oh-my-posh/themes/custom.omp.json
• Starship: Configuration at ~/.config/starship.toml

Modify these files to customize your shell prompt appearance and behavior.

📊 Status Bar (Noctalia)

Noctalia Shell provides an integrated status bar with:

• 📶 Bluetooth & Network indicators
• 🔊 Audio control (PipeWire integration)
• 🔆 Brightness control
• 💻 System information
• 🪟 Hyprland workspaces integration
• 🔔 Notification indicator

Note: Waybar config files are included in this repo for reference, but Noctalia Shell's bar is the primary status bar.

🖥️ Terminal Emulators

Two terminal options are included, both with the Noctalia color scheme:

• Kitty: Fast, GPU-accelerated terminal with config at ~/.config/kitty/
  • Uses Noctalia theme via current-theme.conf
• Wezterm: Feature-rich terminal with Lua config at ~/.config/wezterm/
  • Custom Noctalia color scheme at ~/.config/wezterm/colors/Noctalia.toml
  • Full color palette defined inline in wezterm.lua

📁 Yazi File Manager

Terminal-based file manager with:

• Noctalia theme/flavor for both dark and light modes
• Vim-style keybindings
• Image previews support
• Configuration at ~/.config/yazi/theme.toml

📄 Zathura PDF Viewer

Minimalist PDF viewer with vim keybindings configured at ~/.config/zathura/

🖥️ Tmux Configuration

Terminal multiplexer setup at ~/.config/tmux/tmux.conf

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🛠️ Troubleshooting

⚠️ Common Issues

1. 🔗 Stow conflicts: Use stow --adopt package-name to resolve conflicts
2. 🔤 Font not loading: Run fc-cache -fv and restart applications
3. 🔊 Audio issues: Check PipeWire services with systemctl --user status pipewire
4. 📶 Bluetooth not working: Ensure bluetoothd service is running
5. 🌐 Zen Browser CSS not applying: Ensure toolkit.legacyUserProfileCustomizations.stylesheets is set to true
6. 🪟 Hyprland not starting: Check GPU drivers and Wayland support
7. 🖥️ Screen sharing not working: Ensure xdg-desktop-portal-hyprland is installed and configured
8. 🌙 Noctalia Shell not starting: Check if quickshell is installed with pacman -Q quickshell
9. 🌙 Noctalia bar not showing: Ensure exec-once = qs -c noctalia-shell is in your hyprland.conf

🌙 Noctalia Shell Troubleshooting

# Check if Noctalia/Quickshell is running
pgrep -f "qs.*noctalia"

# Restart Noctalia Shell
killall qs && qs -c noctalia-shell &

# Check Noctalia logs
journalctl --user -f | grep -i noctalia

# Verify quickshell installation
pacman -Qi quickshell
pacman -Qi noctalia-shell

# Test IPC commands
qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call lockScreen lock

# Clear Noctalia cache (if having issues)
rm -rf ~/.cache/noctalia/

🔍 Logs and Debugging

# Check Hyprland logs
journalctl --user -u hyprland

# Check Waybar logs
journalctl --user -u waybar

# Check PipeWire status
systemctl --user status pipewire pipewire-pulse wireplumber

# Test audio
pactl info

# Check Zen Browser profile location
zen-browser --ProfileManager

# Debug Hyprland configuration
hyprctl version
hyprctl monitors
hyprctl workspaces

🪟 Hyprland Troubleshooting

# Check if Hyprland is running
pgrep Hyprland

# Restart Hyprland (from within Hyprland)
hyprctl dispatch exit

# Check GPU acceleration
glxinfo | grep "direct rendering"

# For NVIDIA users - check if drivers are loaded
lsmod | grep nvidia

# Test Wayland support
echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE

🌐 Browser Troubleshooting

# Reset Zen Browser profile if needed
rm -rf ~/.zen/[profile-name]/chrome/

# Reapply Nebula theme
cp ~/zen-nebula/*.css ~/.zen/[profile-name]/chrome/

# Check if custom CSS is enabled
# Navigate to about:config and verify toolkit.legacyUserProfileCustomizations.stylesheets = true

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📝 Important Notes

⚠️ Backup Warning: Always backup your existing configurations before stowing

• 🔄 Some applications may require a logout/login or restart to fully apply themes
• 👑 The SDDM theme requires root privileges to install
• 📶 Custom bluetooth scripts are included (bluetooth-auto-switch.sh, install-bluetooth-auto-switch.sh)
• 🎨 Themes and colors can be customized in individual config files
• 🌐 Browser CSS changes require browser restart to take effect
• 🛡️ uBlock Origin settings can be exported/imported for easy setup across devices
• 🪟 NVIDIA users: May need additional configuration for optimal Hyprland performance
• 🖥️ Multi-monitor setups: Configure displays in ~/.config/hypr/hyprland.conf
• ⚡ Performance: Hyprland performs best with modern GPUs and drivers
• 🖥️ Terminal choice: Both Kitty and Wezterm configs included with Noctalia theme
• 🌙 Noctalia Shell: Replaces Waybar, SwayNC, and Mako - all-in-one desktop shell
• 🌙 Noctalia config: Stored in ~/.config/noctalia/ (not managed by stow)

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💝 Support

Enjoying this rice? Show some love!

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🤝 Contributing

Found a bug? Have an improvement?

Feel free to fork this repository and submit pull requests for improvements or additional configurations.

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🙏 Credits

• Arch Linux - The best rolling release distribution
• Hyprland - Dynamic tiling Wayland compositor
• Noctalia Shell - Sleek and minimal desktop shell for Wayland
• Quickshell - Building blocks for desktop shells
• Zen Browser - Privacy-focused Firefox-based browser
• Nebula Theme - Beautiful cosmic theme for Zen Browser
• Starship - Cross-platform prompt

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Crafted by RAINZ • Making Linux beautiful, one rice at a time

⭐ Star this repo if it helped you!

Made with ❤️ for the Arch Linux and Hyprland community