Omarchy 4.0 Quattro replaces Waybar, Walker, Mako and other shell components with unified Quickshell-based desktop

The defining change in Omarchy 4.0 is the move from a collection of independent desktop tools to a single Quickshell-based shell process. Previously the bar, app launcher, notifications, lock screen, idle daemon, wallpaper setter, OSD, and Polkit agent were separate programs, Waybar, Walker, Mako, hyprlock, hypridle, swaybg, SwayOSD, and polkit-gnome. All of these are gone from the default install, replaced by a unified shell that uses plugins and IPC for customization. This means your existing configurations for those tools will not carry over, and if you relied on a specific feature of one of them, you will need to check whether the new shell's plugin system covers it.

The new shell introduces a plugin model where you can install third-party bar widgets or full replacement bars from Git repositories, and enable, disable, clone, or remove plugins through Omarchy's configuration interface. The bar itself supports interactive widgets for workspaces, active window, clock, weather, media playback, system tray, battery, keyboard layout, microphone, updates, Do Not Disturb, Night Light, and screen recording, and can be moved to any screen edge with toggleable transparency. The application launcher is folded into the main Omarchy menu under Super + Space with fuzzy and acronym matching, while a separate apps-only launcher remains available under Super + Alt + Space. Notifications now include Do Not Disturb, duplicate suppression, and a replayable history of the last ten notifications, with clipboard management and emoji selection as native features.

Under the hood, the shell shifts from polling the system at regular intervals to event-driven updates for status indicators, network state, monitor changes, and backgrounds, which reduces idle CPU usage. Hyprland configuration is now written in Lua instead of the previous format, specifically for compatibility with Hyprland 0.56, so existing Hyprland configs will need to be migrated. An ALPM guard routes system upgrades through Omarchy's own update tool, bypassable via an environment variable. NetworkManager replaces iwd and other tools for Wi-Fi, adding support for enterprise 802.1X, QR-code sharing, band selection, ping tests, live transfer stats, speed tests, and custom DNS. Bluetooth pairing and audio device switching are now built into the shell rather than handled by external utilities.

On the application side, Foot becomes the default terminal for lower resource use, and three new lightweight apps are bundled: Omawrite replaces Typora as the Markdown editor, Omacut provides FFmpeg-based video trimming, and Omacalc replaces GNOME Calculator. The color palette expands from eight to 24 colors, with three new themes, Solitude, Last Horizon, and Lupine, and machine-specific visual overrides can be set in ~/.config/omarchy/shell.toml with immediate effect and no shell restart. AI tooling is expanded: you can pick a default coding agent from Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Pi, Oh My Pi, Gemini, Grok, Copilot, or Crush, launched via keyboard shortcut or terminal alias with automatic installation, and ChatGPT is available as a desktop app through the Install > AI menu.

Installation improvements include dual-boot support when free disk space is available and the ability to prepare a machine for another owner without creating the final user's account. Fresh Quattro installations support a factory-reset feature through Setup > Reset Computer, which restores from a snapshot created during installation, removes accounts and machine identity information, and returns the system to first-boot setup. Only one feed carried this story, so details beyond what the source article describes are unavailable, and the scope of changes means anyone upgrading from a prior Omarchy version should expect significant migration work across their desktop configuration, networking setup, and Hyprland bindings.