try-omarchy-linux

Use Omarchy Linux on Linux via QEMU/KVM

Why Fork QEMU?

Different Linux distributions ship different versions of QEMU and system libraries. This project maintains a forked QEMU 11.0.4 with patches to minimize host OS dependencies, allowing Omarchy to run on various Linux distributions (Ubuntu 20.04+, Debian, Fedora, etc.) without requiring specific system library versions.

Current patches:

• glib compatibility: Lowered requirement from 2.66 to 2.64 for older distros
• GLib URI API: Stubbed nbd_parse_uri to avoid GLib 2.66+ dependency
• GCC compatibility: Fixed missing errno.h include for GCC 9

Additionally, Omarchy has been patched to detect QEMU/KVM virtual machines and automatically enable software rendering (LLVMpipe) for compatibility.

Quick Start

# Install dependencies (Ubuntu/Debian)
sudo apt install qemu-kvm

# One-click setup (builds QEMU, creates disk, downloads ISO)
./scripts/setup.sh

# Start Omarchy
./scripts/start.sh

Usage

# First time: run setup
./scripts/setup.sh

# Start from ISO (install to disk)
./scripts/start.sh --iso ./iso/omarchy-4.0.3.iso

# After installation, apply all QEMU patches (rendering + keybindings)
# Mount shared folder in VM: sudo mount -t 9p -o trans=virtio hostshare /mnt/hostshare
# Then run: /mnt/hostshare/patch-qemu-all.sh

# Boot installed system
./scripts/start.sh

Shared Folder

The scripts/ directory is automatically shared to the VM via 9p. Inside the VM:

# Mount the shared folder
sudo mount -t 9p -o trans=virtio hostshare /mnt/hostshare

# Apply all patches (rendering + keybindings)
/mnt/hostshare/patch-qemu-all.sh

# Reboot
sudo reboot

Options

  --iso PATH    Path to Omarchy ISO file
  --ram SIZE    RAM size (default: 4G)
  --cpus N      Number of CPUs (default: 4)
  --uefi        Use UEFI boot (requires OVMF)

Known Limitations

• Config/About windows flicker: Omarchy uses GPU-accelerated rendering for certain UI elements (config, about). QEMU's virtual VGA doesn't fully support this. These menu items may flicker or render incorrectly.
• No 3D acceleration: virglrenderer doesn't work properly on Ubuntu 20.04 with QEMU 11.0.4.
• No network: Network support (slirp/user-mode) is disabled due to library compatibility issues on Ubuntu 20.04.

Screenshots

Tips

• Release mouse: Press Ctrl+Alt+G
• Performance: KVM is recommended (sudo apt install qemu-kvm), doesn't work with VMware Workstation

Requirements

• Linux (Ubuntu 20.04+ or similar)
• KVM support (recommended)
• GTK3

Project Structure

try-omarchy-linux/
├── qemu-11.0.4/           # QEMU source code (forked, with Ubuntu 20.04 patches)
│   ├── meson.build        # Patched: glib >=2.64.0 (was >=2.66.0)
│   ├── include/
│   │   └── glib-compat.h  # Patched: GLIB_VERSION_*_2_64
│   ├── block/
│   │   └── nbd.c          # Patched: stubbed nbd_parse_uri (GLib 2.66+ API)
│   └── ...
├── qemu -> qemu-11.0.4    # Symlink for convenience
├── build-qemu/            # Build scripts
│   ├── versions.conf      # QEMU version config
│   ├── download.sh        # Download/source management
│   └── build.sh           # Compile QEMU
├── scripts/
│   ├── setup.sh           # One-click setup
│   ├── start.sh           # Start VM
│   ├── create-disk.sh     # Create virtual disk
│   ├── download-iso.sh    # Download ISO
│   └── download-ovmf.sh   # Download UEFI firmware
├── ovmf/                  # UEFI firmware (after download)
├── disks/                 # Virtual disks (after creation)
└── iso/                   # ISO files (after download)

License

MIT