# Omarchy for Windows, macOS, and Ubuntu Users

> A where-did-X-go map for people arriving on Omarchy from Windows, macOS, or Ubuntu: the Super key, the Omarchy menu, translation tables for every habit you brought with you, the ten hotkeys to learn on day one, and drills that retrain the reflexes that will fight you.


---

# Omarchy for Windows, macOS, and Ubuntu Users

You booted into Omarchy and the mouse does almost nothing. There is no Start menu, no dock, no desktop icons, and the first window you open swallows the whole screen. Every habit your hands built over the years points at something that is not there.

That feeling is the expected first-day experience, and it passes quickly. This guide is the translation layer: for each thing you used to reach for, what you press instead, why it works that way, and which habits will keep fighting you until you retrain them. Checked against Omarchy 4.0.4.

## Prerequisite

You need a running Omarchy install. If you do not have one yet, start with [Installing Omarchy](/guides/installing-omarchy), and for the bigger picture of what you are looking at, [What Omarchy Actually Is](/guides/what-omarchy-actually-is).

## How to read this

- **Lost right now?** Jump to [Phase 4](04-your-first-week.md) for the ten hotkeys, then come back for the rest.
- **Want to know where one specific thing went?** Phase 2 is a set of lookup tables, one per operating system.
- **Want it to stick?** Read in order. Phase 3 has drills that retrain the reflexes, and drills work better than reading.

## The phases

1. **[Super Is the Center of Everything](01-super-is-the-center.md)** - why nothing is clickable at first, the one key everything hangs off, and the single hotkey you must memorize.
2. **[Where Did It Go? Translation Tables](02-where-did-it-go.md)** - Start menu, taskbar, dock, Alt+Tab, Task Manager, Settings, screenshots, installing apps, shutting down, per origin system.
3. **[Habits That Will Fight You](03-habits-that-fight-you.md)** - copy and paste, closing windows, dragging, Caps Lock, Ctrl+Alt+Delete, and drills to retrain each.
4. **[Your First Week](04-your-first-week.md)** - the ten day-one hotkeys, how to look up the rest, and a plan for the first two weeks.

This guide is the map. Windows and workspaces get their own deep treatment in [Tiling Windows and Workspaces](/guides/omarchy-tiling-windows-and-workspaces), the menu and panels in [Menus, Panels, and the CLI](/guides/omarchy-menus-panels-and-cli), and software in [Installing and Updating Software](/guides/installing-and-updating-software-on-omarchy).


---

# Super Is the Center of Everything

Omarchy is built so you rarely reach for the mouse. The manual says that when the system first starts, you cannot do a thing with the mouse alone. That sounds hostile until you learn that one key unlocks everything, and that key is the same one you already have under your left hand.

## What Super is

**Super** is the Windows key on a PC keyboard. On a Mac keyboard, Linux treats the Command key as Super, so it sits exactly where Cmd always was, and Omarchy does not remap anything. If you came from Ubuntu, Super is the same key you may have met there, but on Omarchy it is the anchor for nearly every hotkey, not an occasional shortcut.

In this guide, and in the manual, hotkeys are written like `Super + Space`: hold the first keys, press the last one.

> 📝 **Terminology.** A *hotkey* (also called a keybinding) is a key combination that triggers an action. Omarchy's desktop is Hyprland, and its hotkeys live in a plain text file you can edit. That file comes up in [Making Omarchy Comfortable](/guides/making-omarchy-comfortable), not here.

## The Omarchy menu: your new Start menu

Press `Super + Space`. A menu opens. Start typing and it filters. This one menu launches apps, changes settings, installs software, and captures the screen. Your Spotlight, Raycast, or Start menu reflex now ends here.

Three details save you confusion:

- It is nested. Entries open sub-menus, and typing searches through them.
- `Super + Alt + Space` opens a smaller apps-only version of it, when all you want is to launch something.
- `Super + Escape` opens the System menu: lock, suspend, reboot, shut down. More on that in the next phase.

The top-level entries in 4.0.4 are Apps, Learn, Trigger, Style, Setup, Install, Remove, Update, About, and System. You do not need to memorize them. Open the menu, read the list, and you will have a feel for where things live within a day.

## There is no dock, no desktop, and nothing to minimize into

Three absences that surprise people:

- **No dock or taskbar for launching.** Apps start from hotkeys or the menu. `Super + Return` opens a terminal. `Super + Shift + Return` opens the browser.
- **No desktop icons.** There is nothing to arrange.
- **No stack of overlapping windows.** Windows tile the screen instead of stacking, so you never hunt for one hiding behind another. That idea gets its own guide: [Tiling Windows and Workspaces](/guides/omarchy-tiling-windows-and-workspaces).

What you do have is **the top bar**, the one persistent piece of interface. It covers what the menu bar, system tray, and Notification Center used to do: workspaces, the clock, network, Bluetooth, audio, and power. Nearly every widget on it does something different on left, right, and middle click. [Menus, Panels, and the CLI](/guides/omarchy-menus-panels-and-cli) covers it properly.

## Try it: your first two minutes

Do these now, with Omarchy open:

1. Press `Super + Return`. A terminal opens and fills the screen.
2. Press `Super + Shift + Return`. A browser opens, and the two windows share the screen side by side.
3. Press `Super + Space`, type the name of any installed app, and press `Return` to open it.
4. Press `Super + W` once for each open window to close them all.

*What just happened:* the first window took the whole screen, the next ones split it, and `Super + W` closed windows. That is tiling in miniature, and you did not drag anything.

## The one hotkey to memorize

Press `Super + K`. A list of every main keybinding appears.

The manual's advice is to skim the hotkeys chapter once, and whenever you blank on a binding, press `Super + K`. It calls this the only hotkey you actually have to memorize. Related lookups:

| Press | Shows |
|---|---|
| `Super + K` | The main keybindings |
| `Super + Alt + K` | The Tmux keybindings |
| `Super + Ctrl + K` | The Herdr keybindings (Herdr is a terminal workspace manager with persistent sessions) |

Many things a hotkey does are also reachable through `Super + Space`, with more keystrokes. The hotkeys exist so that the things you do all day take one chord.

Check yourself before moving on:

```quiz
[
  {
    "q": "On a Mac keyboard running Omarchy, which key plays the role of Super?",
    "choices": [
      "Control",
      "Command, because Linux treats it as Super and Omarchy does not remap anything",
      "Option, because Omarchy swaps it with Command by default"
    ],
    "answer": 1,
    "explain": "Linux treats Command as Super, and Omarchy leaves the mapping alone, so Super sits where Cmd always was.",
    "why": ["Control is a different key, used in combos like Ctrl + Alt + Tab.", null, "Omarchy does not swap anything by default. Swapping Alt and Super is an opt-in setting."]
  },
  {
    "q": "You forgot which key combination closes a window. What is the fastest reliable way to find it?",
    "choices": [
      "Search the web for the Omarchy hotkey list",
      "Press Super + K to show every main keybinding",
      "Open the browser and read the manual before doing anything else"
    ],
    "answer": 1,
    "explain": "Super + K shows the main keybindings on the machine you are sitting at, so it always matches your version and your own edits."
  },
  {
    "q": "Which hotkey opens the Omarchy menu, your replacement for Spotlight or the Start menu?",
    "choices": ["Super + K", "Super + Space", "Super + Escape"],
    "answer": 1,
    "explain": "Super + Space opens the Omarchy menu. Super + K lists keybindings and Super + Escape opens the System menu."
  }
]
```

## Recap

1. Super is the Windows key, or Command on a Mac keyboard, and it anchors nearly every Omarchy hotkey.
2. `Super + Space` opens the Omarchy menu, which launches apps, changes settings, installs software, and captures the screen. `Super + Alt + Space` is the apps-only version.
3. There is no dock and no desktop icons, and windows do not overlap. The top bar is the one persistent piece of interface.
4. `Super + K` shows every main keybinding. It is the one hotkey worth memorizing.

Next up, [Where Did It Go? Translation Tables](02-where-did-it-go.md): the specific thing you used to reach for, and its Omarchy replacement.


---

# Where Did It Go? Translation Tables

When something you used every day is missing, the useful question is "what does Omarchy call it, and what do I press?" This phase answers that for the common cases, one table per system, then covers the entries that nearly everyone needs on day one.

Read the table for your old system, skim the other two, and skip the rest. The details live in the guides linked at the end of the phase.

## Coming from Windows

| You reached for | On Omarchy |
|---|---|
| Start menu | `Super + Space`, the Omarchy menu. Type to filter. |
| Taskbar | The top bar. It shows workspaces, clock, network, audio, and power. Launching is done by hotkey or menu. |
| Alt + Tab | `Alt + Tab` and `Alt + Shift + Tab` cycle through the windows on the active workspace |
| Virtual desktops | Workspaces: `Super + 1/2/3/4` jumps to one, `Super + Shift + 1/2/3/4` sends the window there |
| Win + Left/Right snapping | Not needed. Windows tile on their own. |
| Task Manager | Activity, which is `btop`, on `Super + Ctrl + T` |
| File Explorer | Files (Nautilus) on `Super + Shift + F` |
| Settings, Control Panel | _Setup_ in the Omarchy menu, which opens plain config files |
| Win + Shift + S | `Print Screen` |
| Win + V clipboard history | `Super + Ctrl + V`, and it holds images as well as text |
| Win + L | `Super + Ctrl + L` |
| Downloading a `.exe` installer | _Install_ in the menu, or `omarchy pkg add` |
| Windows Update | _Update > Omarchy_ |
| Ctrl + Alt + Delete | Careful: on Omarchy, `Ctrl + Alt + Delete` closes **all windows** |

## Coming from macOS

| You reached for | On Omarchy |
|---|---|
| Spotlight, Raycast | `Super + Space`, the Omarchy menu |
| Dock | None. Apps start from hotkeys or the menu. |
| Menu bar, Notification Center | The top bar. Notification history is on `Super + Shift + Alt + ,` |
| Cmd + Tab | `Alt + Tab`. It cycles through *windows* on the active workspace. |
| Spaces, Mission Control | Workspaces: `Super + 1/2/3/4`, `Super + Shift + 1/2/3/4` |
| Finder | Files (Nautilus) on `Super + Shift + F` |
| Activity Monitor | Activity (`btop`) on `Super + Ctrl + T` |
| System Settings | _Setup_ in the Omarchy menu |
| Cmd + Shift + 4 | `Print Screen`. No such key? `Super + Ctrl + C` opens a capture menu. |
| AirDrop | LocalSend, through the Share menu on `Super + Ctrl + S` |
| Time Machine (for the system) | Automatic system snapshots, taken on every update |
| App Store | _Install_ in the menu, or `omarchy pkg add` |
| Cmd + Q | `Super + W`. Closing the window quits the app. |
| Apple menu > Shut Down | `Super + Escape`, the System menu |

## Coming from Ubuntu

You already know Linux, so the surprises are different. Omarchy is based on Arch Linux, not Debian, and it replaces the usual desktop environment with a tiling window manager.

| You reached for | On Omarchy |
|---|---|
| `apt install` | `omarchy pkg add`, or _Install > Package_. Arch's package manager is `pacman`, and the AUR is reachable through `yay`. |
| `sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade` | _Update > Omarchy_, or `omarchy update`. A direct `pacman -Syu` is stopped on purpose. |
| Software center | _Install_ in the Omarchy menu |
| Settings app | _Setup_ in the Omarchy menu, which opens the right config file |
| Files | Files (Nautilus) on `Super + Shift + F` |
| Terminal | `Super + Return` |
| System monitor | Activity (`btop`) on `Super + Ctrl + T` |
| Taking screenshots | `Print Screen` |

> ⚠️ **Gotcha.** Do not carry over the habit of running a system upgrade by hand. Omarchy intercepts a direct `pacman -Syu` and points you to `omarchy update`, because a direct upgrade would skip the snapshot, the migrations, and the configuration updates that the Omarchy update performs. Software installation is covered in [Installing and Updating Software on Omarchy](/guides/installing-and-updating-software-on-omarchy).

Ubuntu users also keep their terminal fluency. Everything in [Linux From Zero](/guides/linux-from-zero) and [The Terminal and Shell](/guides/the-terminal-and-shell) still applies. What changes is the package manager and the desktop.

## The entries everyone needs on day one

### Locking and shutting down

There is no power button in a corner of the screen. Instead:

- `Super + Ctrl + L` locks the computer.
- `Super + Escape` opens the System menu, which lists Screensaver, Lock, Suspend, Hibernate, Logout, Reboot, and Shutdown.

### Screenshots

`Print Screen` freezes the screen so nothing shifts while you aim. You can drag a box for a freeform region, or click once and the shot snaps to whatever window or monitor you clicked. The picture is saved as a PNG in `~/Pictures` and copied to the clipboard at the same time, so you can paste it straight into a chat with `Super + V`.

Related keys: `Alt + Print Screen` records the screen, and `Super + Print Screen` is a color picker. Every capture option is also under _Trigger > Capture_ in the menu.

### Settings are files

The biggest conceptual swap is the settings app. A lot of Omarchy settings live in text files you edit, not panels you click through. The _Setup_ menu drops you into the right file and restarts whatever needs restarting when you close the editor. Every tweak can be seen, copied to your next machine, and kept in version control, which is why [Git From Zero](/guides/git-from-zero) turns out to be relevant here.

Some panels do exist, for the things you adjust constantly: `Super + Ctrl + A` for audio, `Super + Ctrl + W` for network and Wi-Fi, `Super + Ctrl + B` for Bluetooth, `Super + Ctrl + D` for display, and `Super + Ctrl + P` for power.

### Installing and updating

Software comes from a package manager, never a downloaded installer. _Install_ in the menu lets you search packages, and one command, _Update > Omarchy_, updates Omarchy and every package on the system after taking a snapshot. There are no per-app updaters.

Check yourself before moving on:

```quiz
[
  {
    "q": "You are coming from Windows and press Ctrl + Alt + Delete out of habit. What happens on Omarchy?",
    "choices": [
      "A security screen with a Task Manager link appears",
      "It closes all of your windows",
      "It locks the computer"
    ],
    "answer": 1,
    "explain": "On Omarchy, Ctrl + Alt + Delete closes all windows. Lock is Super + Ctrl + L, and Activity (btop) is on Super + Ctrl + T.",
    "why": ["There is no Windows-style security screen. The combination is bound to closing windows.", null, "Locking is Super + Ctrl + L."]
  },
  {
    "q": "Which pairing is correct?",
    "choices": [
      "Task Manager or Activity Monitor is Activity (btop) on Super + Ctrl + T",
      "Start menu is Super + K",
      "Screenshots are on Super + Ctrl + S"
    ],
    "answer": 0,
    "explain": "Super + K lists keybindings and Super + Ctrl + S is the Share menu. Screenshots are Print Screen, or Super + Ctrl + C for a capture menu."
  },
  {
    "q": "On Ubuntu you ran sudo apt upgrade. What is the Omarchy habit that replaces a hand-run system upgrade?",
    "choices": [
      "sudo pacman -Syu, which works the same way",
      "Update > Omarchy or omarchy update, because it snapshots first and runs migrations",
      "Reinstalling Omarchy from the ISO"
    ],
    "answer": 1,
    "explain": "Omarchy stops a direct pacman -Syu and points you to omarchy update, which takes a snapshot, runs migrations, and updates the packages."
  }
]
```

## Recap

1. `Super + Space` replaces the Start menu, Spotlight, and the software center. The top bar replaces the taskbar and the menu bar.
2. `Alt + Tab` still cycles windows, but only on the active workspace. Workspaces replace virtual desktops and Spaces.
3. Activity (`Super + Ctrl + T`), Files (`Super + Shift + F`), and `Print Screen` replace Task Manager, File Explorer or Finder, and the snipping tool.
4. `Ctrl + Alt + Delete` closes all windows on Omarchy. Lock with `Super + Ctrl + L` and open the System menu with `Super + Escape`.
5. Settings are text files reached through _Setup_. Software and updates go through _Install_ and _Update > Omarchy_.

Next up, [Habits That Will Fight You](03-habits-that-fight-you.md): the reflexes that need retraining, with drills.


---

# Habits That Will Fight You

Your hands know hundreds of reflexes and none of them asks permission. On Omarchy a few of those reflexes do the wrong thing, a few do nothing, and one closes every window you have open. This phase names each one, explains why Omarchy does it differently, and gives you a drill to replace it.

## Copy and paste: Super, not Ctrl

On Windows and most of Linux, `Ctrl + C` and `Ctrl + V` copy and paste, except in the terminal, where `Ctrl + C` stops a running program. On Linux terminals the copy and paste combos are usually `Ctrl + Shift + C` and `Ctrl + Shift + V`. On macOS it was Cmd everywhere. Three conventions, one for each of you.

Omarchy adds a fourth that is deliberately the same everywhere:

| Hotkey | Does |
|---|---|
| `Super + C` | Copy |
| `Super + X` | Cut (not in the terminal) |
| `Super + V` | Paste |
| `Super + Ctrl + V` | Open clipboard history |

They work in the browser, in editors, and in the terminal, so there is no separate reflex for the shell. If you are on a Mac keyboard, this is the same finger movement you already have, since Super sits where Cmd was.

Clipboard history is the Win + V equivalent. Press `Super + Ctrl + V`, start typing to search, pick an entry with `Return`, and it lands on the clipboard ready for `Super + V`. It holds images as well as text.

> ⚠️ **Gotcha.** Two exceptions to know about. The manual lists `Super + X` as not working in the terminal. And the manual notes that most AI agent harnesses use `Ctrl + V` for pasting images but `Super + V` for pasting text, so if an image paste does nothing, try `Ctrl + V` there.

Sharing something with another device is a different feature. The Share menu on `Super + Ctrl + S` offers Clipboard, File, Folder, and Receive, and the manual describes it as LocalSend.

## Windows do not need to be arranged

The habit: drag a window by its title bar, snap it to half the screen, or resize it from a corner. The Omarchy reality: windows place themselves. The first takes the whole screen, the second splits it, and windows do not overlap.

You can still use the mouse. Hold `Super` and drag with the left mouse button to move a window, or with the right mouse button to resize it. But the keyboard versions are faster once you know them, and they are the subject of [Tiling Windows and Workspaces](/guides/omarchy-tiling-windows-and-workspaces).

If you truly need a window floating, `Super + T` toggles the active one out of the tiling and back. The manual's advice is to give tiling a real chance first, because it is the heart of the whole thing.

## Closing a window quits the app

On macOS, closing the last window of an app can leave it running with no windows. On Omarchy there is no limbo: `Super + W` closes the window and the app is gone.

The related combination is the one that bites Windows users hardest. `Ctrl + Alt + Delete` on Omarchy closes **all windows**. Do not expect a security screen. Treat it as the panic button for a messy workspace and nothing more.

## Caps Lock is not Caps Lock

On Omarchy, Caps Lock has been designated as the *compose key*. That is what powers quick emoji and text completions. The side effect is that pressing it does not give you capital letters.

Two ways to deal with that:

- Press both Shift keys together, which toggles Caps Lock.
- Remap the compose key to another key so Caps Lock behaves normally. The manual's example uses the right Alt key. Edit `~/.config/hypr/input.lua`:

```lua
hl.config({
  input = {
    kb_options = "compose:ralt",
  },
})
```

Hyprland's configuration is written in Lua on Omarchy 4, which is why this looks like code rather than a settings dialog. You do not need to understand Lua to paste this block. [Making Omarchy Comfortable](/guides/making-omarchy-comfortable) goes through the config files properly.

## If the Super key is uncomfortable

Some keyboards make the Windows or Cmd key awkward to reach. The manual offers a swap that makes Alt act as Super, in the same `input.lua`:

```lua
hl.config({
  input = {
    kb_options = "compose:caps,shift:both_capslock_cancel,altwin:swap_alt_win",
  },
})
```

Treat this as a last resort. Every hotkey in every guide, including this one, assumes the standard Super key.

## Your turn: retrain the reflexes

Try these with Omarchy open. They take about two minutes each.

```exercise
[
  {
    "type": "predict",
    "task": "You have a terminal and a browser open and want to close the focused window. Which hotkey does it? Write it the way this guide does, for example `Super + Space`.",
    "accept": ["Super + W", "Super+W", "/^super\\s*\\+\\s*w$/i"],
    "hint": "W for window."
  },
  {
    "type": "predict",
    "task": "You copied three different things and want to pick the second one again. Which hotkey opens the clipboard history?",
    "accept": ["Super + Ctrl + V", "Super+Ctrl+V", "/^super\\s*\\+\\s*ctrl\\s*\\+\\s*v$/i"],
    "hint": "It is the paste key with Ctrl added."
  },
  {
    "type": "task",
    "task": "Run the paste drill. Open a terminal with `Super + Return` and a browser with `Super + Shift + Return`. Select a sentence on any web page and copy it with `Super + C`. Focus the terminal with `Super + Left` or `Super + Right`, then paste into it with `Super + V`. Repeat three times, never touching `Ctrl + C` or `Ctrl + V`.",
    "reveal": "If paste does nothing in the terminal, check you copied with `Super + C` and not `Ctrl + C`. Mixing the two is the most common slip while the habit is changing.",
    "checklist": ["Copied with Super + C", "Pasted into the terminal with Super + V", "Opened clipboard history with Super + Ctrl + V and picked an older entry", "Closed both windows with Super + W"]
  }
]
```

Check yourself before moving on:

```quiz
[
  {
    "q": "You are in the terminal and want to paste. Which hotkey works there and everywhere else on Omarchy?",
    "choices": ["Super + V", "Ctrl + V", "Ctrl + Shift + V only"],
    "answer": 0,
    "explain": "Super + V is the unified paste. It works in the terminal and in graphical apps, so you do not need a separate reflex for the shell.",
    "why": [null, "Ctrl + V works in graphical apps, but in a terminal Ctrl + C is the interrupt key, which is why Linux terminals use Ctrl + Shift + C and Ctrl + Shift + V instead.", "Ctrl + Shift + V is the traditional Linux terminal paste, but the unified Super + V covers the terminal too, and it works everywhere else as well."]
  },
  {
    "q": "You press Caps Lock expecting capital letters and nothing changes. Why?",
    "choices": [
      "The keyboard is broken",
      "Omarchy designates Caps Lock as the compose key for emoji and completions",
      "Caps Lock only works inside the terminal"
    ],
    "answer": 1,
    "explain": "Caps Lock is the compose key on Omarchy. Press both Shift keys to toggle Caps Lock, or move the compose key with kb_options in input.lua."
  },
  {
    "q": "What does Ctrl + Alt + Delete do on Omarchy?",
    "choices": ["Opens a security menu", "Locks the screen", "Closes all windows"],
    "answer": 2,
    "explain": "It closes all windows. Lock is Super + Ctrl + L."
  }
]
```

## Recap

1. Use `Super + C`, `Super + X`, and `Super + V` for clipboard actions everywhere, and `Super + Ctrl + V` for clipboard history. `Super + X` does not cut in the terminal.
2. Stop arranging windows. Let them tile, and hold `Super` with the mouse only when you need to drag or resize.
3. `Super + W` closes the window and quits the app. `Ctrl + Alt + Delete` closes every window.
4. Caps Lock is the compose key. Both Shifts together act as Caps Lock, or remap the compose key in `~/.config/hypr/input.lua`.
5. Retraining takes drills, not reading. Repeat the paste and close drills until your hands stop reaching for the old keys.

Next up, [Your First Week](04-your-first-week.md): the ten hotkeys to learn first and a two-week plan.


---

# Your First Week

Omarchy has a long hotkey table, and trying to memorize it is the wrong plan. The manual's advice is to give it two weeks, skim the hotkeys once, and use `Super + K` whenever a binding slips. This phase gives you the short list worth learning on day one, the places to look up the rest, and an order to learn things in.

## The ten to learn on day one

These cover launching, closing, moving around, copying, and capturing. Everything else can wait.

| # | Hotkey | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | `Super + Space` | Omarchy menu: apps, settings, installs, everything |
| 2 | `Super + K` | Show every main keybinding |
| 3 | `Super + Return` | Open a terminal |
| 4 | `Super + Shift + Return` | Open the browser |
| 5 | `Super + W` | Close the window (and quit the app) |
| 6 | `Super + Arrow` | Move focus to the window in that direction |
| 7 | `Super + 1/2/3/4` | Jump to a workspace |
| 8 | `Super + Shift + 1/2/3/4` | Send the focused window to that workspace |
| 9 | `Super + C` and `Super + V` | Copy and paste, everywhere including the terminal |
| 10 | `Print Screen` | Take a screenshot |

With these ten you can open apps, switch between them, close them, move text around, and capture the screen. The next tier is in the same neighborhood: `Super + Shift + Arrow` swaps windows, `Super + F` goes full screen, `Super + Ctrl + V` opens clipboard history, `Super + Ctrl + L` locks the machine. Swapping and full screen are explained in [Tiling Windows and Workspaces](/guides/omarchy-tiling-windows-and-workspaces). Clipboard history is in Phase 3 of this guide, and locking is in Phase 2.

## Four places to look things up

1. **`Super + K`.** The keybindings, on your own machine, at your own version. This is the first stop.
2. **The Omarchy menu.** `Super + Space`, then browse. The _Learn_ entry opens the keybindings, the Omarchy manual, the Hyprland wiki, the Arch wiki, LazyVim keymaps, a bash cheatsheet, and the Tmux keybindings.
3. **The manual.** [omarchy.org/manual](https://omarchy.org/manual/) covers every chapter, including the full [hotkeys table](https://omarchy.org/manual/hotkeys/).
4. **The community.** The manual points to the `#omarchy-help` channel on the Omarchy Discord for questions the manual does not answer.

> ⚠️ **Gotcha.** Omarchy changed substantially in version 4. Older blog posts, videos, and cheat sheets may describe a different launcher, a different bar, and a different config format. Prefer the manual and `Super + K`, and when a tutorial disagrees with them, trust them.

## A two-week plan

You do not need to follow this to the day. The shape is what matters: learn the small set, use it until it is automatic, then add.

**Days 1 to 2: survive.** Use the ten hotkeys and nothing else. Open the menu, look at the entries, and open an app from there each time you are unsure. Press `Super + K` as often as you want.

**Days 3 to 5: let windows tile.** Resist floating windows with `Super + T`. Open three or four windows on one workspace, swap them with `Super + Shift + Arrow`, and move one to another workspace. This is the phase where the tiling idea clicks, and [Tiling Windows and Workspaces](/guides/omarchy-tiling-windows-and-workspaces) is the guide for it.

**Days 6 to 9: learn the panels and the bar.** `Super + Ctrl + A` opens audio, `Super + Ctrl + W` opens network, `Super + Ctrl + B` opens Bluetooth, `Super + Ctrl + D` opens display, and `Super + Ctrl + P` opens power. [Menus, Panels, and the CLI](/guides/omarchy-menus-panels-and-cli) is the guide for those.

**Days 10 to 14: make it yours.** Open _Setup_ from the menu and read what is there. Change one small thing: a theme, a font, a monitor setting. Software and updates are in [Installing and Updating Software on Omarchy](/guides/installing-and-updating-software-on-omarchy), and the config files are in [Making Omarchy Comfortable](/guides/making-omarchy-comfortable).

## The terminal will matter more

You will spend more time in the terminal than you did on Windows or macOS. If it still feels like a wall, [The Terminal and Shell](/guides/the-terminal-and-shell) and [Editing in the Terminal](/guides/editing-in-the-terminal) are where to start. For Omarchy's own terminal setup, [The Omarchy Terminal Workflow](/guides/the-omarchy-terminal-workflow) comes next.

## Your turn: write your own card

A card you wrote is worth more than any list you read.

```exercise
[
  {
    "type": "task",
    "task": "Write your own day-one card. On paper or in a text file, list the ten hotkeys from the table, but write each one next to the thing you used to do. For example: `Super + Space` next to 'Start menu' or 'Spotlight'. Then close the card and recall all ten from memory. Press `Super + K` for any you miss.",
    "reveal": "Each hotkey has a natural pairing with an old habit: Super + Space for the Start menu or Spotlight, Super + W for closing or quitting, Super + 1/2/3/4 for virtual desktops or Spaces, Print Screen for the snipping tool, Super + C and Super + V for copy and paste.",
    "checklist": ["Wrote all ten hotkeys", "Paired each with an old habit", "Recalled at least eight from memory", "Used Super + K for the rest"]
  }
]
```

Check yourself before moving on:

```quiz
[
  {
    "q": "A friend sends you an old cheat sheet for a different Omarchy version and one hotkey does not work. What do you do?",
    "choices": [
      "Assume your install is broken and reinstall",
      "Press Super + K and trust the list on your own machine",
      "Edit the config file until the old hotkey works"
    ],
    "answer": 1,
    "explain": "Super + K shows the bindings your install actually has. Omarchy 4 changed a lot, so older cheat sheets can be out of date."
  },
  {
    "q": "Which of these is NOT in the ten day-one hotkeys?",
    "choices": ["Super + W", "Super + Shift + Return", "Super + Ctrl + L"],
    "answer": 2,
    "explain": "Super + Ctrl + L locks the computer. It is useful but comes after the ten: open apps, close windows, move focus, switch workspaces, copy and paste, and screenshots."
  },
  {
    "q": "According to the manual, which hotkey is the only one you actually have to memorize?",
    "choices": ["Super + Space", "Super + K", "Super + Return"],
    "answer": 1,
    "explain": "Super + K lists every binding, so memorizing it means you can recover any other hotkey."
  }
]
```

## Recap

1. Learn ten hotkeys on day one: the menu, the keybinding list, terminal, browser, close, focus, workspace jump, workspace send, copy and paste, and `Print Screen`.
2. Look things up with `Super + K` first, then the menu's _Learn_ entry, then the manual, then the Discord.
3. Treat anything written before Omarchy 4 as possibly outdated.
4. Spend the first two weeks surviving, tiling, using the panels, and then customizing.

You have the map. Continue with [Tiling Windows and Workspaces](/guides/omarchy-tiling-windows-and-workspaces) to make the windows behave.